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

Yuri Averbakh

Averbakh, playing at Hoogovens, 1963. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

YURI AVERBAKH (born Feb-08-1922, died May-07-2022, 100 years old) Russia PRONUNCIATION: [what is this?] Yuri Lvovich Averbakh was born in Kaluga, Russia. He was awarded the IM title in 1950, the GM title in 1952 and played in the Zuerich Candidates (1953). Notable tournament results: Averbakh won the USSR Championship in 1954 (1) ahead of Mark Taimanov, Viktor Korchnoi, Tigran V Petrosian, Efim Geller and Salomon Flohr he was also equal first in the Soviet Championship of 1956, but lost in the playoff for first place. He won the Championship of Moscow in 1949 (2), 1950 (3) (jointly), and 1962 (jointly). Averbakh also won international tournaments in Vienna in 1961, Moscow in 1962 and Rio de Janeiro in 1965 (4). Theoretician, author and historian: Averbakh is renowned as an opening and endgame theorist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he co-edited a five-volume anthology on the endgame, Shakhmatnye okonchaniya, which was revised in 1980-84 and translated as Comprehensive Chess Endings. A list of Averbak's books can be found in the Wikipedia article about him (see footnotes below). He also edited the magazines Shakhmaty v SSSR and Shakhmatny Bulletin, and has published more than 100 endgame studies and written several books, mainly about endgame theory. Averbakh has a deep interest in chess history, shown in his most recent book about life in the chess world called Centre-Stage and Behind the Scenes. He also gave an in depth interview about the history of chess and other board games on his 90th birthday. (5) Eponymous opening variations: Opening variations named for Averbakh include: King's Indian Defence, Averbakh Variation (E73): 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Bg5: click for larger view Kings Indian Defence, Semi-Averbakh system (E73): 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Be3 click for larger view Modern Defense: Averbakh variation (A42): 1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.e4 click for larger view Other: Averbakh became an International Judge of Chess Composition in 1956 and an International Arbiter in 1969. He was President of the Soviet Chess Federation from 1972 until 1977 and took an active role on a number of important FIDE committees. Averbakh was the world's oldest grandmaster. Sources and references: Wikipedia article: Yuri Averbakh; 1[rusbase-1]; (2) [rusbase-2]; (3) [rusbase-3]; (4) [brasilbase-1]; (5) http://www.chessintranslation.com/2... Last updated: 2022-08-09 19:02:12

Try our new games table.

page 1 of 46; games 1-25 of 1,134  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Averbakh vs Y Neishtadt 1-0 33 1938 Moscow C70 Ruy Lopez 2. Averbakh vs Brekhes   1-0 27 1938 Ch URS (juniors) C12 French, McCutcheon 3. E Stoliar vs Averbakh   0-1 34 1938 Ch URS (juniors) B73 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical 4. Smyslov vs Averbakh 1-0 24 1938 junior tt E17 Queen's Indian 5. Averbakh vs Smyslov 0-1 24 1939 19th Ch Moscow A06 Reti Opening 6. V Lyublinsky vs Averbakh   0-1 48 1940 Candidates-Masters C28 Vienna Game 7. Sakin vs Averbakh   0-1 40 1940 20th Ch Moscow (qf-9) E19 Queen's Indian, Old Main line, 9.Qxc3 8. Averbakh vs A Kuznetsov 1-0 28 1940 20th Ch Moscow (qf-9) C02 French, Advance 9. Averbakh vs P Morton   1-0 33 1940 20th Ch Moscow (sf-1) B84 Sicilian, Scheveningen 10. Averbakh vs A Ebralidze   0-1 36 1940 Candidates-Masters B14 Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik Attack 11. V Mikenas vs Averbakh   0-1 31 1943 Moscow Championship 1943/44 E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 12. Averbakh vs Botvinnik   ½-½ 40 1943 Moscow Championship 1943/44 C07 French, Tarrasch 13. Averbakh vs Simagin   1-0 41 1943 Moscow Championship-sf A56 Benoni Defense 14. Yaroshevsky vs Averbakh   0-1 61 1943 23rd Ch Moscow (sf-3) A45 Queen's Pawn Game 15. Averbakh vs F Duz-Khotimirsky   1-0 37 1944 Ivanovo C78 Ruy Lopez 16. P Dubinin vs Averbakh   1-0 44 1944 URS-ch sf Moscow D38 Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin Variation 17. Averbakh vs N Ovechkin   0-1 34 1944 Ivanovo C03 French, Tarrasch 18. Averbakh vs Ragozin   ½-½ 43 1944 URS-ch sf Moscow A10 English 19. P Romanovsky vs Averbakh   1-0 42 1944 training tournament B15 Caro-Kann 20. Averbakh vs Botvinnik ½-½ 40 1944 23rd Ch Moscow C07 French, Tarrasch 21. Alatortsev vs Averbakh   0-1 66 1944 URS-ch sf Moscow E22 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann Variation 22. Averbakh vs Flohr   ½-½ 18 1944 URS-ch sf Moscow C82 Ruy Lopez, Open 23. Averbakh vs Kotov 0-1 30 1944 URS-ch sf Moscow B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky (Rossolimo) Attack 24. Averbakh vs M Yudovich Sr   ½-½ 30 1944 URS-ch sf Moscow C67 Ruy Lopez 25. Ragozin vs Averbakh 1-0 36 1944 Ivanovo B73 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical  page 1 of 46; games 1-25 of 1,134

REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Averbakh wins | Averbakh loses

< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 8 OF 11 ·  Later Kibitzing> Feb-08-21    Fusilli: <Nosnibor: Why is he not on the birthday list for today?> Some programming glitch, I suppose. Unfortunate, as his is by far the most important birthday of the day. A living legend. Quite literally. Mar-03-21    ndg2: Happy belated biethday, Yuri! Mar-04-21    alexmagnus: He is actually the oldest GM ever now (since February 12, when he surpassed Lilienthal's lifespan). Jul-18-21    ndg2: Correct, <alexmagnus>. Lilienthal died three days after his 99th birthday. Averbakh so far is going strong. Jan-26-22    FSR: Only 13 days left until he hits 100. Don't do a Betty White on us, Yuri. Jan-30-22    ndg2: Don't jinx it, Fred ;-) Feb-07-22    Olavi: And it is the 100, and 35 minutes. Feb-07-22    Cibator: It's the 8th already, down here in the S Pacific. Many happy returns, Yuri. Feb-08-22    Dionysius1: ⏳⏳🎈🎈🎇 Feb-08-22    Bubo bubo: The first centenarian grandmaster! Happy birthday, Juri Averbakh! 💯🍾🎂 P.S: Dear cg.com, don't you think that a living GM turning 100 is worth of being POTD? 🤔 Feb-08-22    whiteshark: Happy Birthday, <Yuri>! Hope you have a great Day! ................ .() ..........()...._||_....() ....().._||_(........)_||_....() .._||_(... ........... ... ...)_||_ (_________<100>________) Feb-08-22    0ZeR0: Happy one-hundred years young, GM Yuri Averbakh! Feb-08-22    ndg2: Congratulations, Yuri! And a big thank you for teaching me endgames the proper way! Feb-08-22    alexmagnus: Happy 100! Feb-08-22    Nosnibor: The same question I asked last year is why does he not figure on the birthday list? This is especially bad bearing in mind that he is celebrating his 100th. Feb-08-22    offramp: <Nosnibor: The same question I asked last year is why does he not figure on the birthday list? This is especially bad bearing in mind that he is celebrating his 100th> Perhaps they'll remember it in 2122. Feb-08-22    HeMateMe: A Russian man living to age 100! "Hold the cigarettes and vodka, please!" I once owned one of his endgame books but the production quality was horrible, 9 pt bold type, unreadable. tiny, ink smeared diagrams. Gave it away. Great chess though! Feb-08-22    vonKrolock: "Quote: <On the occasion of his 100th birthday, Chess.com got in touch with Averbakh and learned that he's OK in both health and spirit. "The Russian Chess Federation offered me one month of treatment in a recovery center after I had been released from the hospital," he said about the period after contracting Covid, in June 2021. "I'm doing OK now. Taking into account how far I am from my youth, I can say that I'm doing well."> Feb-08-22    vonKrolock: Many happy returns!! Feb-08-22    SkySports: Celebratory articles on Chess.com and Chess24: https://www.chess.com/news/view/yur... https://chess24.com/en/read/news/yu... Feb-08-22    Penguincw: Happy 100th birthday to Averbakh! Feb-08-22    MissScarlett: <P.S: Dear cg.com, don't you think that a living GM turning 100 is worth of being POTD?> How about some prior warning? Maybe next year. Feb-08-22    Messiah: Happy birthday GM Averbakh! <3 Feb-08-22    Williebob: The chess world celebrates your life today, GM Averbakh! Health and happiness to you. Feb-08-22    An Englishman: Good Morning: Happy 100! Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 11) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 8 OF 11 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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 player 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.

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC