Looking at the games from the recent Russian Team Championship, played in Sochi, prompted Jon Speelman to reminisce on a tournament he played nearly four decades ago in the same Russian city near the Black Sea. “In those distant Soviet times, the seven foreigners were put up in the Zhemchuzhina (Pearl) Hotel while the nine Soviets were dispersed among other lesser establishments”. | Photo: John Saunders / John Nunn 60th Birthday Blitz Chess Tournament
€29.90
My friend, Max was excited. “See, isn’t that Garry?”
Then he was perplexed. “But this was how he looked 40 years before. What is he doing here now on the cover of ChessBase Magazine?”
“They are running a special on his ascent to the world championship through the Interzonal and the Candidates’ in which he beat Beliavsky, Korchnoi and Smyslov in succession”, I explained.
Moscow Interzonal 1982. Young Garry Kasparov contemplates his next move against Efim Geller. His anxious opponent and Misha Tal wonder what he would play. The game ended in a draw. | Photo: Boris Dolmatovsky, ChessPro
Max was bemused. “Not Smyslov! He would have retired long since after those matches with Botvinnik.”
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Lev Polugaevsky vs Rashid Nezhmetdinov
Born on December 15, 1912 in Aktiubinsk, Rashid Nezhmetdinov was an eminent Soviet chess player. Despite never getting the GM title given how difficult it was to do so at that time he is considered one of the most dangerous attackers of all time, with Jon Speelman recently describing him thus:
A player so violent that he was able more than once to out-hack Misha Tal himself.
In order to pay tribute to the man from Aktiubinsk, Lawrence analyses a game in which Nezhmetdinov defeated the great Lev Polugaevsky with black in 1958. Spoiler alert: the game lasts 33 moves and includes an astounding queen sacrifice!