Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing

Moscow (1935) Ten years after the Moscow (1925) tournament and following on from the Botvinnik - Flohr Match (1933), Nikolai Vasilyevich Krylenko, the head of Soviet Chess, decided it was time to test its progress against its Western counterpart. To this end, eight foreign masters, including two former World Champions, were invited to pit their skills against twelve Soviet masters in early 1935. The tournament opened on the 14th of February and finished on the 15th of March and was held in the Museum Of Fine Arts in Moscow. The joint winners were Botvinnik and Flohr. The 66-year-old Dr Emanuel Lasker was undefeated and finished just half a point behind them, a result hailed as "a biological miracle". This was to be his last great tournament performance. He finished half a point ahead of his great rival Jose Capablanca, whom he brilliantly defeated in their game. This tournament showed that the Soviets, led by Botvinnik, were well on their way to becoming a major chess power. B F L C S K L L R R A G R R L B S P C M Pts Botvinnik * ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 13 Flohr ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ 13 Lasker ½ ½ * 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 12½ Capablanca ½ ½ 0 * ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 12 Spielmann 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 11 Kan 1 ½ 0 0 ½ * ½ 0 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 10½ Levenfish 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 1 1 ½ 0 1 10½ Lilienthal ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 10 Ragozin 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½ 1 * 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 10 Romanovsky 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 1 * ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 10 Alatortsev ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ * 0 0 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 9½ Goglidze 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 1 1 9½ Rabinovich ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 ½ 0 1 ½ * 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 9½ Riumin 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 0 0 0 1 0 ½ 1 * 0 1 1 1 ½ 1 9½ Lisitsin ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 * 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 9 Bohatirchuk 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 * ½ ½ 0 ½ 8 Stahlberg 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 0 0 ½ 1 1 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 1 8 Pirc ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 1 7½ Chekhover 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0 * 1 5½ Menchik 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 * 1½ Allocation Of Prizes: - Foreign Players Flohr 400 dollars Lasker 250 dollars Capablanca 150 dollars Spielmann 100 dollars Lilienthal 1000 rubles - Soviet Players Botvinnik 5000 rubles Levenfish 2250 rubles Kan 2250 rubles Ragozin 1000 rubles Romanovsky 1000 rubles Special Izvestiya Prizes: Ragozin - best result against foreign masters (6 out of 8) Flohr - best result against Soviet masters (8½ out of 12) Capablanca - best result against Soviet masters (8½ out of 12) As a result of finishing joint first, The All-Union Committee for Physical Culture awarded the title of grandmaster to Mikhail Botvinnik. He also received a car from The People's Commissariat Of Heavy Industry. Best Games of the Tournament: =1st Lasker for his game against Capablanca =1st Botvinnik for his game against Riumin 3rd Spielmann for his game against Chekhover =4th Riumin for his game against Rabinovich =4th Ragozin for his game against Lilienthal =6th Capablanca for his game against Ragozin =6th Levenfish for his game against Bohatirchuk. The Moscow (1936) event followed the year after. The main source for this collection was The Second International Chess Tournament Moscow 1935 book published by Caissa Editions. ISBN 0-939433-52-4. Original Collection: Game Collection: Moscow 1935, by User: Benzol.  page 1 of 8; games 1-25 of 190  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. P Romanovsky vs Stahlberg 1-0 62 1935 Moscow A06 Reti Opening 2. Botvinnik vs Spielmann 1-0 12 1935 Moscow B13 Caro-Kann, Exchange 3. V Goglidze vs Flohr 0-1 29 1935 Moscow E60 King's Indian Defense 4. Levenfish vs Menchik 1-0 25 1935 Moscow C13 French 5. Ragozin vs V Chekhover   ½-½ 22 1935 Moscow B13 Caro-Kann, Exchange 6. N Riumin vs Capablanca 1-0 29 1935 Moscow E37 Nimzo-Indian, Classical 7. Pirc vs F Bohatirchuk   ½-½ 40 1935 Moscow D31 Queen's Gambit Declined 8. I Kan vs Lasker 0-1 50 1935 Moscow D14 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Exchange Variation 9. Lisitsin vs Lilienthal   ½-½ 31 1935 Moscow A09 Reti Opening 10. Alatortsev vs I Rabinovich 0-1 34 1935 Moscow D26 Queen's Gambit Accepted 11. Capablanca vs Botvinnik ½-½ 24 1935 Moscow D90 Grunfeld 12. Flohr vs Lisitsin 1-0 34 1935 Moscow E46 Nimzo-Indian 13. P Romanovsky vs Levenfish   ½-½ 30 1935 Moscow B18 Caro-Kann, Classical 14. Lilienthal vs Ragozin 0-1 47 1935 Moscow E24 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch 15. Menchik vs N Riumin 0-1 26 1935 Moscow A04 Reti Opening 16. F Bohatirchuk vs I Kan 0-1 29 1935 Moscow C42 Petrov Defense 17. V Chekhover vs Pirc 0-1 38 1935 Moscow D48 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, Meran 18. Stahlberg vs Lasker ½-½ 26 1935 Moscow D56 Queen's Gambit Declined 19. Spielmann vs Alatortsev 1-0 38 1935 Moscow A47 Queen's Indian 20. I Rabinovich vs V Goglidze   ½-½ 61 1935 Moscow D58 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) Syst 21. Botvinnik vs Menchik 1-0 38 1935 Moscow A34 English, Symmetrical 22. Ragozin vs Flohr ½-½ 36 1935 Moscow B18 Caro-Kann, Classical 23. Levenfish vs Stahlberg 1-0 53 1935 Moscow D43 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 24. V Goglidze vs Spielmann   ½-½ 32 1935 Moscow D70 Neo-Grunfeld Defense 25. Lasker vs F Bohatirchuk ½-½ 59 1935 Moscow C17 French, Winawer, Advance  page 1 of 8; games 1-25 of 190    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   Jul-21-13    cannedpawn: So, how much was 5000 rubles at that time? Jul-21-13    Phony Benoni: About $75,000 in today's US currency. May-19-14    Conrad93: Lasker must have been 65-66 in this tournament. It's amazing to go undefeated in such a strong tournament at that age... And was only half a point away from second place. What a beast! May-19-14    Strelets: 66, in poverty since his investment in German war bonds during World War I returned nothing, forced to immigrate by the rise of National Socialism, and finally arriving in Stalin's USSR just in time for the purges. And yet he finished undefeated, beating Capa and drawing Botvinnik and Flohr. Small wonder that Korchnoi is on record as calling Dr. Lasker "my chess hero." May-19-14    Strelets: On top of all of this, he was a mathematician who worked on abstract algebra and game theory. Chess, interestingly enough, was not his only game either. A recent German biography has a chapter entitled »Nicht nur Schach Emanuel Lasker als Bridgespieler« (Not only Chess: Emanuel Lasker as Bridge Player) and it reveals that he was an outstanding contract bridge player. The book is called »Emanuel Lasker Denker Weltenbürger Schachweltmeister« (Thinker, World Citizen, World Chess Champion) Richard Forster, Stefan Hansen, Michael Negele, eds. (Berlin, 2009) May-19-14    Conrad93: Hr also wrote a play, wrote some unsuccessful philosophical works, and was apparently a world-class bridge player. There was no limit to his talents apparently. May-19-14    whiteshark: <Strelets> fyi http://www.lasker-gesellschaft.de/ May-19-14    Strelets: <whiteshark> Vielen Dank! Sep-05-18    RookFile: Unbelievable that Lasker almost tied for first. What an amazing man! Jan-23-19    ughaibu: Lasker also invented the game Lasca: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasca NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion. Please observe our posting guidelines: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members. Nothing in violation of United States law. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members. No trolling. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers. Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times. See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator. NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific tournament only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café. Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors. All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration. Spot an error? Please suggest your correction and help us eliminate database mistakes! Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us Copyright 2001-2023, Chessgames Services LLC