Here are the answers to the trivia that took place during the SPICE Spring Invitational:
1. When did William Steinitz become the first official world champion?
A: 1886
2. What is grandmaster Pal Benko’s birth country?
A: France
3. What year did the Polgar sisters win their first Olympic Gold medal for Hungary?
A: 1988
4. Which country finished second at the 1966 Chess Olympiad?
A: USA
5. Who won the men’s individual gold on board 1 at the 1970 Chess Olympiad?
A: Boris Spassky with 9.5 points in 12 games
6. What was Bobby Fischer’s highest chess rating?
A: 2785
7. In which country does world champion Vishy Anand have his second home?
A: Spain
8. What was Topalov’s highest ever rating?
A: 2813
9. Who won the 1957 world championship match between Botvinnik and Smyslov?
A: Smyslov
10. What year did Kasparov lose his match against Deep Blue?
A: 1997
11. Who said “When you see a good move, look for a better one”?
A: Emanuel Lasker
12. Who said “I don’t believe in psychology. I believe in good moves”?
A: Bobby Fischer
13. Who said “It is not enough to be a good player… you must also play well”?
A: Siegbert Tarrasch
14. Who said “There are two types of sacrifices: correct ones and mine”?
A: Mikhail Tal
15. Who said “Life is a kind of chess, with struggle, competition, good and ill events.”?
A: Benjamin Franklin
16. Who said “Chess is a test of wills”?
A: Paul Keres
17. Where was grandmaster Walter Browne born?
A: Australia
18. Who was England’s first grandmaster?
A: Anthony Miles
19. Why are the Melody Amber events called as such?
A: Melody Amber is the name of the sponsor’s daughter
20. Which currently married chess couple has the highest combined average rating?
A: Alexander Grischuk and Natalia Zhukova
Very cool quiz.
I was a little surprised to see a post like this. It had been my understanding that chess and trivia puzzles were always left to the solver, with no solutions posted.
You’re right Mark. I rarely do it. But I got over 400 emails and messages asking me to post the answers so I gave in 🙂
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar