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Vasily Smyslov

XIV Schach-Olympiade Leipzig, 1960

VASILY SMYSLOV (born Mar-24-1921, died Mar-27-2010, 89 years old) Russia PRONUNCIATION: [what is this?] Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov was born in Moscow. His father Vasily Osipovich Smyslov was a strong amateur player. A talented singer, Smyslov narrowly missed joining the Bolshoi Opera. Opera's loss was the chess world's gain. He was awarded the Soviet Grandmaster title in 1941. He won the Moscow Championship in 1942 and 1944-45. He first beat Botvinnik at the 1943 Moscow Championship. Smyslov finished second to Botvinnik at the FIDE World Championship Tournament (1948). He shared first with David Bronstein at the USSR Championship (1949). He won the Chigorin Memorial (1951) by 1.5 points. Smyslov earned the right to challenge Botvinnik for the world championship by winning the Zuerich Candidates (1953), two points ahead of Bronstein, Samuel Reshevsky, and Paul Keres. He and Botvinnik tied the Botvinnik - Smyslov World Championship Match (1954), which resulted in Botvinnik retaining the title. Smyslov shared first place with Keres at Hastings (1954/55). He tied for first with Efim Geller at the USSR Championship (1955), but lost the playoff. Smyslov won the Amsterdam Candidates (1956) by 1.5 points over Keres, thus again securing the right to challenge Botvinnik. He and Botvinnik shared first at the Alekhine Memorial (1956). Finally Smyslov wrested the world championship from Botvinnik, winning the Botvinnik - Smyslov World Championship Match (1957) by three points. Under the then-existing rules, Botvinnik had the right to a rematch a year later. It proved a disaster for Smyslov. He lost the first three games of the Smyslov - Botvinnik World Championship Rematch (1958), and went on to lose the match, and the championship, by two points. Smyslov tied for first with Bronstein and the young superstar Boris Spassky at the Alekhine Memorial (1959). He was only able to finish fourth at the Bled-Zagreb-Belgrade Candidates (1959), won by the meteoric Mikhail Tal, who would go on to defeat Botvinnik for the championship. Smyslov shared first with Ratmir Kholmov at the Central Chess Club International (1960), and with Evgeni Vasiukov at the Central Chess Club International (1961). He won Moscow (1963), a point ahead of Tal. He won Stockholm (1963/64), half a point ahead of Isaac Boleslavsky. Smyslov once again put himself on the road to a potential world championship when he won the Amsterdam Interzonal (1964) (tied with Tal, Spassky, and the Dane Bent Larsen). He tied for first with Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany at the Capablanca Memorial (1964). He suffered a stinging defeat in the Geller - Smyslov Candidates Quarterfinal (1965), losing by three points. Smyslov won many more tournaments. He won Havana (1965), half a point ahead of Geller, Robert James Fischer, and Borislav Ivkov. He won Mar del Plata (1966), ahead of Leonid Stein. He won Monte Carlo 1969. In 1982 at the Las Palmas Interzonal Tournament, Smyslov finished second and qualified for the Candidates Matches, and at age 61 advanced past Robert Huebner in the quarter-finals (winning the spin of a roulette wheel to decide the tied match), then defeating Zoltan Ribli in the semi-final, before losing to challenger Garry Kasparov, just over a third his age, in the final. Smyslov crowned a remarkable career by becoming the first Senior World Champion at Bad Worishofen in 1991. Crosstables and other info can be found here: [rusbase-1] [rusbase-2] http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/48$... [rusbase-3] http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/525... http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/525... [rusbase-4] [rusbase-5] http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/555... [rusbase-6] http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/646... Smyslov Videos: Singing, playing piano, beating Botvinnik (1957) http://www.britishpathe.com/record.... Receiving World Championship Laurels (1957) http://www.britishpathe.com/record.... Walking with Keres in the Netherlands (1948) http://www.britishpathe.com/record.... Wikipedia article: Vasily Smyslov ############################## <Revision and Expansion> of this bio under construction by JFQ. Beginnings His father was an "Economic Engineer" working in the "Department for the Preparation of Securities" <125 Games, 1> Lived in a small flat in an old house on the outskirts of Moscow. Highlight of our life was a 'Schroeder' piano, on which my father used to play. He began teaching me piano and chess <125 Games, 2> Autumn 1938- 1st year student at the Moscow School of Aviation <Romanovsky xii> "Starting in 1948, I seriously studied singing under Professor Konstantin Zlobin, whom I met by chance in Leningrad in 1947, when I was playing in the 15th USSR Championship. For many years I took lessons from him, and even appeared in a singing competition in the Bolshoi Theatre. But, as in the life of my father, singing remained something for my own satisfaction." <125 Games, 17> Father Vasily Osipovich Smyslov taught him to play chess at age 7. <125 Games, 1> After winning a rook odds match against his Uncle Kirill, he was given Alekhine's "Best Games" as a prize. Inscription: 'To the winner of the match, to future champion Vasya Smyslov' <125 Games, 1> Soviet Grandmaster Summer of 1935 participated in 1st chess event. Unrated players in chess club of Gorky Park. He won this and two more, by the end of the summer he was 3d Category. <125 Games, 4-5> Fall 1935, joins the Moskvoretsky House of Pioneers. <125 Games, 5> "In 1936 he entered the second category, and in the autumn of the same year the first category." <Romanovsky, xi> In 1937- 1. <Moskvoretsky House of Pioneers Championship 1937> (Fall) 1st, 11-0. Had earned <1st Category rank> in autumn 1936 -<Smyslov> on his "happiest moment": At the championship of the Young Pioneers Stadium, where I won all 11 games, didn't give away a single draw, and there were strong players there, almost all of them became masters, I kept the tournament table from that event." <Sosonko> pp.126-27 Jan. 1938- Leningrad- Smyslov won the USSR under 18 Championship. <Averbakh p.34> Grigory Levenfish gave him 1st prize of an inscribed clock, which "continues to count out the time of my chess career.<125 Games, 9> Shared 1-3 places with Anatoly Ufimtsev and Mark Stolberg in the <Gorky National 1st Category Tournament 1938 (2d group)> [rusbase-7] This result earned him the Candidate Master title. <Romanovsky, xi> Shared 1st with Sergey Belavenets, ahead of Grandmaster Andre Lilienthal at <18th Moscow Championship 1938>, awarded Master Title. <125 Games, 9> <[rusbase-8]> Finished 3d in the USSR Championship (1940), Finished 3d in the USSR Absolute Championship (1941) "in accordance with the norms in existence, for these two successes I was awarded the title of USSR grandmaster." <125 Games, 9-10> 1st International tournament Groningen 1946. Groningen (1946) "third place... behind Mikhail Botvinnik and Max Euwe opened the way for my participation in the battle for the World Championship." <125 Games, 11> World Champion Smyslov's 2d in the <1948 WCC> seeded him into the <Budapest 1950 Candidates Tournament>. Budapest Candidates (1950) They were to be joined by the unsuccessful invitees to the 1948 Championship, but only Vasily Smyslov and Paul Keres took their places.<nescio> Smyslov: "3d place in the <Budapest 1950 Candidates Tournament> gave me the automatic right to a place in the next Candidates Tournament." <125 Games, 12> 1st in the <Zurich Candidates Tournament 1953> Zuerich Candidates (1953) 1954 <World Championship Match> Botvinnik - Smyslov World Championship Match (1954) Drew Botvinnik, who retained championship on draw odds. Candidates Cycling Theoretical Contributions -<Grunfeld Defense, Smyslov variation (D99)> 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4 Bg4 8.Be3 <Nfd7> http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... This plan was developed in preparation for the <1948 WCC>. Smyslov: "The point of the plan, involving the transfer of the king's knight to b6, and the development of the other knight at c6, lies in piece pressure on White's pawn centre."> <125 Games, 11> === -<Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense (C93)> 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 <h6> http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... === -<Slav Defense: Smyslov Variation (D16)> 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 <Na6> === -<Ruy Lopez Fianchetto Defense (C60)> 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 Smyslov revived this line at <Szolnok 1975> === Treachery === Personality ############################# Sources [<1> Vasily Smyslov, "Smyslov's 125 Selected Games" Ken Neat transl. Cadogen, 1983 2 P.A. Romanovsky, "Vassily Vassilievitch Smyslov." Published in Vasily Smyslov, "My Best Games of Chess (1935-1957)" P.H. Clarke ed., transl. (Routledge and Kegan Paul 1958), pp. xi-xxvii (First published as "Izbrannie partii" in Russian in 1952) 3 P.H. Clarke, "V.V. Smyslov, 1952-57." Published in Vasily Smyslov, "My Best Games of Chess (1935-1957)" 4 Yuri Averbakh "Centre-Stage and Behind the Scenes" Steve Giddins transl. New in Chess, 2011 5 Genna Sosonko "The World Champions I Knew." New in Chess, 2013 6 Edward Winter, ed. "World Chess Champions." Pergamon Press, 1981 7 Andrew Soltis, "Soviet Chess 1917-1991" McFarland, 1997 8 Harry Golombek "The World Chess Championships of 1957 and 1958" Hardinge Simpole, 1958 9 Smyslov Interview by Vladimir Anzikeev for "Shakhmatnaya Nedelia" (Chess Week). Translated by Zoya Vlassova. First appeared in "Chess Today" No. 1045. 10 Mikhail Botvinnik, "Botvinnik's Complete Games (1942-1956) and Selected Writings (Part 2)" Kean Neat ed., transl. Olomouc, 2012. -Originally published in Mikhail Botvinnik, "Match Botvinnik-Smyslov" (Fizkultura i sport, Moscow 1955) 11 Mikhail Botvinnik "Achieving the Aim" Bernard Cafferty, transl. Pergamon, 1981 12 Dmitry Plisetsky and Sergey Voronkov, "Russians vs. Fischer" Ken Neat transl. Everyman Chess, 2005 Tournament Sources [-<18th Moscow Championship 1938> <[rusbase-9]> -<Gorky National 1st Category Tournament 1938 (2d group)> <[rusbase-10]> ############################ Last updated: 2025-03-30 05:38:14

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page 1 of 113; games 1-25 of 2,820  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. K Gerasimov vs Smyslov 0-1 22 1935 Moscow Pioneer Home championsip D05 Queen's Pawn Game 2. G Dzagurov vs Smyslov   1-0 32 1935 Moscow Pioneer Home championship C29 Vienna Gambit 3. S Belavenets vs Smyslov   ½-½ 34 1937 Clock simul, 6b E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical 4. Smyslov vs Averbakh 1-0 24 1938 junior tt E17 Queen's Indian 5. Smyslov vs Rekach 1-0 23 1938 18th Ch Moscow (sf - 5) B10 Caro-Kann 6. N Zanozdra vs Smyslov 1-0 30 1938 Ch URS (juniors) B17 Caro-Kann, Steinitz Variation 7. Smyslov vs V Zak 1-0 36 1938 All Union First Category A43 Old Benoni 8. Smyslov vs N Rudnev   1-0 43 1938 All Union First Category C10 French 9. Smyslov vs Lilienthal 1-0 56 1938 18th Ch Moscow C11 French 10. Smyslov vs A Chistiakov ½-½ 32 1938 18th Ch Moscow C12 French, McCutcheon 11. Smyslov vs M Yudovich Sr   1-0 49 1938 18th Ch Moscow B20 Sicilian 12. A S Sergeev vs Smyslov   1-0 64 1938 18th Ch Moscow A47 Queen's Indian 13. Smyslov vs S Kogan   ½-½ 37 1938 18th Ch Moscow C42 Petrov Defense 14. V Baturinsky vs Smyslov 0-1 34 1938 18th Ch Moscow C45 Scotch Game 15. Averbakh vs Smyslov 0-1 24 1939 19th Ch Moscow A06 Reti Opening 16. Smyslov vs Panov   0-1 43 1939 19th Ch Moscow C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed 17. Smyslov vs I Kan   ½-½ 31 1939 Leningrad / Moscow training C43 Petrov, Modern Attack 18. Smyslov vs A Konstantinopolsky 1-0 57 1939 Leningrad / Moscow training C77 Ruy Lopez 19. Alatortsev vs Smyslov 0-1 40 1939 Leningrad / Moscow training E47 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 20. Smyslov vs V Makogonov ½-½ 49 1939 Leningrad / Moscow training B10 Caro-Kann 21. S Belavenets vs Smyslov 0-1 36 1939 Leningrad / Moscow training D02 Queen's Pawn Game 22. Smyslov vs Ragozin 0-1 35 1939 Leningrad / Moscow training C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense 23. Panov vs Smyslov ½-½ 42 1939 Leningrad / Moscow training C77 Ruy Lopez 24. Smyslov vs V Goglidze 1-0 80 1939 Leningrad / Moscow training B83 Sicilian 25. Reshevsky vs Smyslov 1-0 70 1939 Leningrad / Moscow training D51 Queen's Gambit Declined  page 1 of 113; games 1-25 of 2,820

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 52 OF 54 ·  Later Kibitzing> May-15-15    Howard: Focus certainly seems to know a lot of them, judging from his recent postings. May-15-15    A.T PhoneHome: Indeed. :P as for the man (Vasily Smyslov), he is one of those very few I consider to be an artist in chess. May-15-15    TheFocus: <A considerable role in the forming of my style was played by an early attraction to study composition> - Vasily Smyslov. May-15-15    TheFocus: <In my opinion, the style of a player should not be formed under the influence of any single great master> - Vasily Smyslov. May-17-15    TheFocus: <No fantasy, however rich, no technique, however masterly, no penetration into the psychology of the opponent, however deep, can make a chess game a work of art, if these qualities, do not lead to the main goal - the search for truth> - Vasily Smyslov. May-17-15    TheFocus: <Despite the development of chess theory, there is much that remains secret and unexplored in chess> - Vasily Smyslov. May-17-15    TheFocus: <My fascination for studies proved highly beneficial, it assisted the development of my aesthetic understanding of chess, and improved my endgame play> - Vasily Smyslov. May-22-15    TheFocus: <Smyslov has a very safe style and he represents the real positional player. He has something in common with the late Dr. Lasker in the way he does not try to gain advantage out of the openings by study, but applies on them the general principles of chess> - Imre Konig, writing about Smyslov after his victory at Zurich 1953 in the San Francisco Argonaut, November 5, 1953. May-22-15    TheFocus: <In chess I am also a staunch supporter of classical clarity of thought. The content of a game should be a search for truth, and victory a demonstration of its rightness. No fantasy, however rich, no technique, however masterly. no penetration into the psychology of the opponent, however deep, can make a chess game a work of art, if these qualities do not lead to the main goal - the search for the truth> - Vasily Smyslov. May-23-15    TheFocus: <Smyslov was a practitioner, while Botvinnik was a researcher. Vasily Vasilievich played more intuitive chess. Botvinnik wanted to study all the nuances, and Smyslov's playing was like a stream of chess consciousness. Though in his best years his principle was quite simple: I make 40 good moves, and if my partner also makes 40 good moves, then there's a draw> - Gary Kasparov. May-23-15    TheFocus: On "The Hand": <His hand knows on which square to place every piece, and he does not need to calculate anything with his head> - Boris Spassky in an interview circa 1977 talking about Vassily Smyslov. May-23-15    TheFocus: Part 2: <When you look at his games, you have that light feeling as if his hand is making the moves all by itself while the man is making no effort at all - just like he was drinking coffee or reading a newspaper! This has the feel of Mozart's light touch! No stress, no effort, everything is simple yet brilliant> - Vladimir Kramnik talking about Vassily Smyslov May-24-15    TheFocus: <Simple positions give an inexperienced player an opportunity not only to understand, but also to feel deeply what each piece is able to do> - Vasily Smyslov. Aug-15-15    offramp: BAD NEWS FOR CHESS PLAYERS As I mentioned last week, this most uncometlike chess player has an asteroid named after him. It is minor planet 5413. That's the good news. The bad news for us is that it is scheduled to collide with the earth on Wednesday, August 20th 2021 with an impact of about 220,000 Yottatonnes of TNT. That is the equivalent of 90 tunguskas sellotaped on top of 255 krakatoas. The fact that the asteroid is named after a former world champion will definitely bring our great game into disrepute. Aug-15-15    alexmagnus: Huh? I went through all websites monitoring potential threats to the Earth, and found no such info. Not even with some extremely low probability Aug-15-15    keypusher: <alexmagnus> Well then stop waiting around for asteroids and get busy! http://m.livescience.com/17875-dest... Mar-24-16    offramp: As they say in the great big state of Texas, Smyslov is stronger. Mar-24-16    paavoh: To me, he was and continues to be the JS Bach of chess. Such lucidity, clarity and harmony. I guess his affinity to chess compositions shows. Mar-24-16    Howard: And he was stronger than Seirawan...whose birthday is also today! Mar-24-16    TheFocus: Happy birthday, Rook Endgame maestro. Mar-24-16    eternaloptimist: I love to play over GM Smyslov's games. He was definitely 1 of the best endgame players of all time & he was a strong enough player to beat Botvinnik for the World Championship. When I think of him, I think of this game.: Bondarevsky vs Smyslov, 1946 Indeed GM Bondarevsky played too passively but I think it's a really cool game b/c Smyslov was able to push ♙s on *both* sides of the board & suffocate Bondarevsky's position. Smyslov had tons of space & used that to get the victory. Smyslov showed a very high level of understanding in this game. Of course Smyslov defeated stronger GMs than Bondarevsky but still this game is very instructive as Chernev explained in 1 of his books. As <plang> kibitzed at this game, "...Smyslov at his best...". Mar-25-16    waustad: The 95th anniversary of the birth of one of the most elegant players ever. He played beautiful chess in the Capablanca, Karpov sort of style. RIP Mar-25-16    luftforlife: "For a long time others took first place, but Smyslov obstinately continued to go his own way. It was as if he believed: what I create neither time nor fresh analyses will erase. When the vogue for fixed systems had passed, Smyslov's moment had come." GM Svetozar Gligoric, The World Chess Championship (Lovett P. Edwards tr., R.G. Wade ed.) (London: Harper & Row 1972), 12. "[A]mong contemporary masters, it is he who has invented the greatest number of basic new ideas in the Ruy Lopez, French Defence, Caro-Kann, Queen's Gambit accepted, Slav Defence, the Nimzo-Indian, the Grünfeld Defence, the English Opening, and even in irregular systems." GM Gligoric, id. at 15. "In chess, as in life, a man is his own most dangerous opponent." GM Vasily Smyslov, quoted in id. at 14. Mar-25-16    luftforlife: <A.T PhoneHome>: Heinrich Fraenkel Assiac, The Delights of Chess (New York: Dover Publications 1974), 70 ("Befitting his monumental stature and imposing appearance, he is what may be called a stately walker. He walks in slow and measured step . . . ."). Cf. GM Svetozar Gligoric, The World Chess Championship (Lovett P. Edwards tr., R.G. Wade ed.) (London: Harper & Row 1972), 11 ("Tall and strongly built, he walks firmly and steadily . . . his movements slow and dignified."). Mar-28-16    TheFocus: Rest in peace, Vasily Smyslov. Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 54) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 52 OF 54 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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