Chess: Secret of Soviet chess supremacy on February 6, 2016 – 12:01 AM Shelby Lyman The secret of Soviet chess supremacy was in numbers, particularly of schoolchildren actively engaged in chess groups and competition. Pioneer Palaces, venues for various hobby and cultural groups, produced such graduates as Boris Spassky, Tigran Petrosian and Vassily Smyslov, each […]
The Soviet Chess Revolution
Shelby Lyman on Chess: It Was Time for Chess Sunday, January 31, 2016 (Published in print: Sunday, January 31, 2016) In general, art, music, sports, or literature reflect the culture that spawns them. Looking back, we can see this was no less true of chess as the 19th century came to an end. Russian chess, […]
Anand: Soviet players were ordered to (cheat)
Soviet players didn’t want to cheat, they were ordered to: Viswanathan Anand Written by Shivani Naik | Published:September 28, 2015 12:52 am Viswanathan Anand talks to Shivani Naik about the dividing line between Cold War and post-Cold War chess, the perception of Indian players during that period and the genius of Bobby Fischer and his […]
4,000,000 members strong
Artwork by Justin Jenkins Chess mateAn authoritative biography of a perverse American genius.By CARL ROLLYSON, Special to the Star TribuneLast update: February 19, 2011 – 12:15 PM When Bobby Fischer (1943-2008) defeated Boris Spassky, the Russian world champion, in an epic match that ran from July to September 1972, his victory seemed to mark a […]
Kasparov compared Armenia and Azerbaijan with Soviet Union
Garry Kasparov compared Armenia and Azerbaijan with Soviet UnionJanuary 09, 2011 13:45 In an interview with German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper Garry Kasparov compared chess in Armenia and Azerbaijan with the Soviet Union. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Why do Russians gain no chess titles despite support of the government? Garry Kasparov: There is a lack of […]
Happy Birthday to GM Psakhis!
My friend, former coach and second, super GM Lev Psakhis has a birthday today. Please join me in wishing him a happy birthday! Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Supremacy at Russia’s expense
Armenia and Azerbaijan vie for supremacy at Russia’s expenseLeonard BardenThe Guardian, Saturday 7 November 2009 More than 150 nations are affiliated to the global chess body Fide, yet team supremacy on the board is currently being fought out by two small Caucasian republics. In the process the pair have humilated their big neighbour Russia, for […]
The forgotten Soviet player
Fedor BohatirchukBy Bobby Ang Last Friday I was talking about the 27 original grandmasters of the World Chess Federation (FIDE). This comprised of: 1) the world champion (Botvinnik) 2) 14 players who had played in the inaugural Candidates’ Tournament in 1950 (Boleslavsky, Bondarevsky, Bronstein, Euwe, Fine, Flohr, Keres, Kotov, Lilienthal, Najdorf, Reshevsky, Smyslov, Stahlberg and […]
Cold War spy chess messages
Postcards containing Cold War spy messages unearthed Postcards thought to contain coded messages sent from a Cold War spy to a MI5 boss have come to light. Published: 7:00AM BST 24 Jul 2009 The messages are covered in cryptic text based around a series of chess games and were posted in 1950 to Graham Mitchell, […]
A Soviet chess enthusiast who saved the world
The Soviet chess enthusiast who saved the worldhttp://www.thefirstpost.co.uk Twenty-five years ago this week, a Russian soldier averted a nuclear holocaust, writes PHILIP JACOBSON When Lt Col Stanislav Petrov arrived to work the graveyard shift at the secret command bunker near Moscow from which the Soviet Union’s early warning satellites were monitored, he was anticipating another […]