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I thought about starting a new series about the history of world championship matches. I think it is very important for every chess player to know the history of our game. I hope this thread will refresh your memory, perhaps you'll even learn something new, and it will make easier to understand things that happened later, and affect highest levels of chess even today.
Feel free to add some other facts, your own comments and thoughts, pictures etc. We'll start with the first official World Championship match: 1886 World Championship: Wilhelm Steinitz vs. Johannes Hermann Zukertort  Background Previously there have been many matches between the leading players on the world, but none of them was called "the world championship" at that time. By 1880's two players could (and have) claimed to being the best on the world - Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort. Players Wilhelm Steinitz's claim for being the best player on the world was based on his match records where he won against all the leading players of that time (including Zukertort), however his tournament play at that time, was less succesful. Later in his life Steinitz claimed to have been the world champion since 1866 match against Adolf Anderssen (the leading player before and after the brief Paul Morphy era), but there is no evidence that he claimed that at that time. Besides Steinitz claimed a lot of things in the last years of his life (including that he played against God and won - at pawn odds) Johannes Hermann Zukertort's claim for being the best is based on his tournament results, specially on the 1883 London tournament* where he won convincingly ahead of all the leadning players of that time (including Steinitz). * - in those days the drawn games were replayed. If the game was still drawn, it was replayed again. If the third game was also drawn the result would stand (no wonder it took almost 3 months to finish the tournament ). Some games were not played. In this tournament the doubled-sided chess clocks were used for the first time. Preparations Steinitz and Zukertort didn't like each other, so the negotiations for the match dragged on for a long time. At the end they finally agreed to play in the USA (Zukertort prefered London). Zukertort was given 750$ to make the trip across the Atlantic and the winner of the match was promised a quarter of the proceeds from the betting syndication. Steinitz insisted that this match is "for the championship of the world". It was the first match to be called the World championship beforehand - thats why this match is considered as the first 'official' World championship. For the first time in chess history, a demonstration board measuring approximately 1 metre square was erected above the players, so that the spectators could follow the game while remaining in their seats. Match Conditions:
The Match  In case you are wondering about the flags:
Although being 1-4 down after 5 games, Steinitz ended up winning convincigly 10 wins to 5 (with 5 draws), thus becoming the first official World Champion. In the aftermath, it was apparent that Zukertort's play had been overly impulsive; he had regularly taken half the time of Steinitz and it is likely that this was connected to a heart condition he had carried since childhood. Zukertort himself blamed his failure on the climate, explaining that he did fine in New York (4-1), not as well in Saint Louis (0.5-3.5), and fell apart in the New Orleans(3-8) heat. A rematch was discussed, but never took place, as Zukertort died two years later of a heart attack. Impact on the Future Obviously this match started an unbroken line (the successor always defeating previous champion in a match*) of World champions until Alekhine's death in 1946. * - there is a little twist here concearning Lasker and Capablanca (we'll come to this match later) For his 1975 title defence against Karpov, Bobby Fischer demanded that the match is played under the same rules as this 1886 Steinitz-Zukertort match. That where his 9-9 tie clause cames from, but with the slight difference - if the 1886 match would be tied at 9-9 neither player would be World champion, on the other hand a 9-9 tie in 1975 would mean that the reigning champion (Fischer) keeps the title, meaning that the challenger has to win with at least two games margin. This ends my recap of the 1886 World championship match, I'll recap the Steinitz's first tile defence next time. In the meantime feel free to add some other facts, your own comments and thoughts, pictures etc. about the 1886 World championship. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1889 World Championship: William Steinitz vs. Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin
 Background After the 1886 match Steinitz was regarded as the best player on the world, however his popularity was very short-lived. The main reason was his positional playing style, which was not as spectacular as the wild attack-at-all-costs style of his contemporaries. He often intentionally played very passivly to lure his opponent into a wild sacrifical attack, only to later defend his position and after all the fireworks were over, he comfortably won in the endgame. Soon the speculation started on who will de-throne Steinitz. Since there was no organization to govern the World Championship it was not clear how to chose the next challenger. Steinitz (who in 1888 became the American citizen) himself supported the idea of the American chess congress to set up somekind of regulations about the future World Championships. He felt that he was becoming too old (he was 50 years old at the time of 1886 match) to remain World champion. It is unclear, but it looks like he wanted to step down as a champion at that time. The American Chess Congress' final proposal was that the winner of a tournament to be held in New York in 1889 should be regarded as world champion for the time being, but must be prepared to face a challenge from the 2nd or 3rd placed competitor within a month. In the meantime the Havana Chess Club offered to sponsor the World Championship. The match backers gave Steinitz a free choice to pick anyone he wishes - a unique case in the history. Steinitz nominated the Russian Mikhail Chigorin, on the condition that the invitation should not be presented as a challenge from himself (whatever this means - see * below). He picked Mikhail Chigorin, probably for two reasons: 1. Chigorin had a 3-1 record against Steinitz 2. Chigorins play style was opposite to Steinitz's. Steinitz was a father of positional play, while Chigorin was a brilliant attacking player and would play the type of positions that Steinitz wanted to play against in order to prove his chess theories (his theories were severly criticized at that time). Players William Steinitz, the reigning World Champion. He freely picked Chigorin as his opponent because Chigorin was "the greatest living exponent of the Evans Gambit" and Steinitz wanted to prove his theories in this opening. And since Chigorin had a 3-1 score against him, he wanted to show that he feared no one. Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin was the leading Russian chess player and was a brilliant attacking player. Steinitz's poor record against Mikhail Chigorin in previous tournament meetings meant that the Russian had good credentials. Chigorin was generally toppling everyone in his path and so the announcement of a match between the two met with universal approval. Of added interest was the pitting of Chigorin's old-fashioned, 'bludgeoning' style against Steinitz' new teachings. Commentators saw it as a match between the 'Romantic' and 'Modern' Schools of chess. Preparations When Chigorin accepted the match conditions the bookmakers began to take wagers on the outcome. It quickly became apparent that in spite of the public's dissatisfaction with Steinitz, they still believed him to be overwhelmingly the best player. The pre-match betting receipts showed that $52,000 had been placed on Steinitz, compared with a mere $900 on Chigorin. Match Conditions:
* - Although this match is generally recognized as the World championship, there are some doubts if the title was really on stake. Both Steinitz's letters and the publicity material just before the match conspicuously avoided the phrase "world championship". The proposed match was to have a maximum of 20 games, and Steinitz had previously said that fixed-length matches were unsuitable for world championship contests because the first player to take the lead could then play for draws. Steinitz was at the same time supporting the American Chess Congress' world championship project (see above). The Match  Download games Whatever the status of this match was, Steinitz won convincingly 10.5 to 6.5 (only the last game was drawn!!!) The highlight of this match is Steinitz's 6...Qf6 line in the Evans Gambit, and the tangled positions he voluntarily accepted to try to prove that Black could keep the Pawn and emerge with the better endgame. This line appears in all the games where Steinitz had black (except game 3) in the regular contest, and also in two (of three) exhibition games that were played after the match was already decided. Impact on the Future This Steinitz's win (and his 1892 win against the same opponent) marked the end of the 'romantic' era in chess. Steinitz proved that his 'new' positional play works better than the wild attacking play of the 'old school'. In spite of the initial criticism, all players eventually started to learn the positional elements of Steinitz's play. Bobby Fischer used exactly the same arguments as Steinitz about the fixed-length championship matches. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1890 World Championship: William Steinitz vs. Isidor Arthur Gunsberg
 Background After Steinitz won the first World championship match in 1886, he supported the American chess congress in seting up the regulations for the future World championships. It is unclear but (since he thought that he is too old to remain the world champion) it looks like Steinitz wanted to step down as a champion. So the American chess congress came to the proposal that the winner of the 6th American Congress played in New York 1889 will be regarded as the World champion, but he must defend his title against the 2nd or 3rd placed player if the challenge comes within a month. Stenitz said that he won't participate and won't challenge the winner (confirming that he is stepping down). However later Steinitz (probably after his convincing win against Chigorin) changed his mind about stepping down and this tournament served as the "candidates" tournament. The tournament was won by Mikhail Chigorin and Max Weiss (they were tied even after 4 tie-break games). Chigorin didn't want to play with Steinitz so soon again (they played half a year ago), and Max Weiss didn't want to play at all - he basically retired from international chess after this tournament and later only played in Vienna tournaments. When first two players refused, the 3rd placed Isidor Gunsberg challenged Steinitz. Since Gunsberg had a good match record against other players, the challenge was accepted by Steinitz. The "candidates" tournament experiment was not repeated and later World Championship matches were private arrangements between the players. Players William Steinitz the reigning world champion. It was the first time that he didn't pick his opponent, but the opponent challenged him. Since Gunsberg "qualified", he was somewhat "required" to play with him, although in reality it was all up to him to accept the challenge or not. Gunsberg was one of the leading players of that era and had a good match record, so Steinitz considered him as a worthy opponent and accepted his challenge. Isidor Arthur Gunsberg was one of the top players in the late 1880's and early 1890's. In matches he defeated Joseph Henry Blackbourne and Henry Bird and drew a match with Mikhail Chigorin. This match record together with the third place in 6th American chess congress, made him a worthy challenger. He was for a long time the only person to "qualify" for the World championship. Match Conditions:
The Match  Although living in UK since 1876, Gunsberg hasn't become a British citizen until 1908. Thats why the Austro-Hungarian flag (he was born in Budapest, Hungary). Download games If there are doubts about Steinitz-Chigorin, this was without a doubt a World Championship match. Steinitz won but not as convincingly as before (end result was 10.5 to 8.5) and there were more draws than in both previous matches combined. The 19th and final game saw two situations that could never occur today. Steinitz offered a draw to Gunsberg on Move 14, which was refused. By the 42nd move, Gunsberg was unhappy with his position and offered his own draw. Since it won the match, Steinitz was happy to take it. However, after this, Gunsberg proposed that they play the game out to see what would have happened. Steinitz agreed and offered Gunsberg draw odds provided that they play for a small stake. Gunsberg agreed, and after a dozen or so moves, resigned. Steinitz still felt guilty about taking the draw and explained in print that he felt it was more important to secure victory in the match, rather than risk making a mistake. Isn't that something? A Grandmaster feeling guilty about accepting a draw? On Move 42!!! Impact on the Future It took more than 60 years, before the "candidates" tournament idea was used again, to produce the World championship challenger. Again the infamous 9-9 wins tie clause was used, but again the conditions were different than those demanded by Fischer. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1892 World Championship: William Steinitz vs. Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin
[PICTURE NEEDED!!!] Background Soon after Steinitz's title defence against Gunsberg, the Saint Petersburg Chess Society and the Havana Chess Club offered to organize the World championship match between Steinitz and Chigorin (perhaps their 1889 match was just a test to see if Chigorin was suitable for the challenger). Steinitz accepted and chose Havana as the venue. Players William Steinitz the reigning World champion. Why did Steinitz play so many matches in such a short time? There are probably two reasons. First is that he was old and knew that time is not on his side, and second (more important one) he was really bad with handeling his money. He spent it all and was always broke. He ended up dying penniless. Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin served as a mayor source of inspiration for the later "Soviet school of chess" which dominated the chess world from the 1930's onwards. Although he lost both matches against Stenitz, his lifetime record against Steinitz was very respectable (24 wins, 27 loses, 8 draws). Match Conditions: Other conditions are very unclear. Most of the sources report that the conditions were same (or very similar) as in the previous Steinitz-Gunsberg match: However the same sources also say that if Chigorin would have won the last 23rd game, he would tie the match to 9 wins each, sending the match into overtime. So based on this, the 9-9 clause couldn't have existed, otherwise the match was basically over when Steinitz won the 22nd game (and leading 9-8 in wins). It's also unclear what this overtime should be. Some claim that in case of 9-9 wins tie, the match format would switch from 'first to 10 wins' to 'first to 12 wins'. If this was the case, then Steinitz didn't have any draw odds. Also it would be interesting to know what would hapen in case of 11-11 wins tie. Extending to 'first to 14 wins'? Some other sources claim that it was 'best from 20 games' match and that when the score was tied at 10-10, both players agreed to continue the match to 10 wins. One source claims that it was a 'first to 8 wins' match and in case of 7-7 wins tie, the match was extended to 'first to 10 wins'. The Match  Download games It was the closest World championship match to that date. The score was always very close and the end of the match saw what was later called a "blunder of the century". In a totally winning position Chigorin could have played just about everything and would still win, but he chose the move that allowed mate in two. So instead of tieing the match to 9-9 in wins, Steinitz won by 10 wins to 8, with 5 draws. Impact on the Future As it later turned out, this was Steintz's last succesful title defence. By the end of this match Steinitz was almost 56 years old, making him the oldest player ever to win a championship match (for comparison: Botvinnik won his last World championship at 50, while Lasker's last succesful title defence was at 42). This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1894 World Championship: William Steinitz vs. Emanuel Lasker
 Background After his succesful title defence Steinitz again spoke about retiring, but changed his mind (probably because of his financial situation) when he received a 5000$ (per side) challenge from a young upcoming player - Emanuel Lasker. When Lasker couldn't put up the money, the stakes were reduced several times to the final figure 2000$ per side. Although this was publicly praised as an act of sportsmanship on Steinitz's part, he probably desperately needed the money. Influential players and journalists didn't think Lasker was a worthy challenger and they belittled the 1894 match both before and after it took place. The main complaint was that Lasker had never played against any of the top players: William Steinitz, Siegbert Tarrasch and Mikhail Chigorin. Players William Steinitz the reigning World champion. Although almost 58 years old (32 years senior to Lasker), he was still considered as the best player on the world and was a favourite against a little known Lasker. Emanuel Lasker had a very good tournament and match record, but he didn't play in any of the top tournaments, and his match wins were against older famous but past their prime players like Blackburne and Bird. When in 1892 Lasker challenged Siegbert Tarrasch for a match, Tarrasch rejected it because he didn't think Lasker was a worthy opponent. Tarrasch publicly told him that he should go and win an international tournament first. Match Conditions:
The Match  Download games The match started evenly but then Lasker won 5 games in a row. Steinitz looked like stagging a comeback with two consecutive wins, but was unable to fully recover. Lasker won with 10 wins to Steinitz's 5, with 5 draws. Some commentators thought Steinitz' habit of playing "experimental" moves in serious competition was a major factor in his downfall. Impact on the Future This was the first time ever that Steinitz lost a match (he played 12 matches between 1862 and 1892 - winning them all). After this, Steinitz started to play in tournaments again (his last tournament was in 1883). This match marks the end of the great Steintz era, and the beginning of a no lesser Lasker era. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1896 World Championship: Emanuel Lasker vs. William Steinitz
 Background As hard as it is to imagine now, at that time the majority feelt that Lasker was an accidental champion, who had only beaten an aging Steinitz, but hadn't really done anything else that might lead him to be considered a World Champion. Siegbert Tarrasch said:
Players Emanuel Lasker the reigning champion. After he became World champion he cought Typhoid fever and almost died from it. Perhaps still feeling affects of this, he finished "only" 3rd in Hastings 1895, behind the surprise winner Harry Nelson Pillsbury. He won the next two top tournaments - St. Petersburg 1895/6 and Nuremberg 1896, slowly silencing his critics of being an accidental champion. William Steinitz's mental health slowly started to deteriorite in this period (at some point he even re-claimed the title by forfeit, because he felt that Lasker is too slow in granting the rematch) and his tournament results started to decline too (he finished the 1896 Nuremberg tournament on 6th place). Match Conditions: The Match  Download games It was of one of the most one-sided World championship matches of all time. Lasker won 10 wins to 2 with 5 draws. I.A. Horowitz later wrote:
Impact on the Future Soon after the match Steinitz was hospitalised in Moscow mental clinic. Later he still played in tournaments, but his results were in decline and he had to be institutionalised from time to time. Steinitz died penniless on August 12th, 1900. Seeing this, Lasker vowed that he wont allow something like that happening to him. By the twist of fate that was completely out of Lasker's hand (World war I, Great depression, Nazi regime, Stalin's purge) he too died as a poor man. 10 years had to pass before the chess world saw another World Championship match. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1907 World Championship: Emanuel Lasker vs. Frank James Marshall
[PICTURE NEEDED!] Background After defeating Steinitz for the second time, Lasker semi-retired and played very infrequently. Between 1897 and 1907 he played in only four tournaments (winning 3) and played two very short exhibition matches. This infrequent playing didn't sit well with the public and other masters. Many challenged Lasker, but couldn't come to an agreement with him (Lasker got a reputation of being an extremly tough negotiator) or other circumstance prevented the event taking place. Marshall first challenged him in 1904, but was unable to raise the necessary $2000. Maroczy and Lasker nearly agreed to a match in 1906, but were unable to agree on a site (after the original venue was unsuitable). A match against Tarrasch was nearly arranged in 1904 also, but also fell through. Eventually, Lasker agreed to play Marshall for a $1000 purse. Players Emanuel Lasker the reigning World champion. He didn't play frequently, but when he did play, he mostly won. In 4 tournaments he participated, he won 3 (London 1899, Paris 1900, Trenton Falls 1906) and finished shared second in Cambridge Springs 1904 (behind Marshall). He won a very short match against Dawid Janowski 1.5-0.5 and narowly lost (2.5-3.5) to Mikhail Chigorin in Rice gambit theme match. Based on this it was generally acknowledged that it was only a question if Lasker can retain his best form to win this match or not. Frank James Marshall was one of the strongest players in the beginning of 20th century. Although Chigorin and specially Tarrasch were considered stronger than Marshall, his win against Lasker in Paris 1900 tournament, and his recent tournament wins (1904 Cambridge Springs, 1905 Scheveningen, 1906 Nuremberg) made him a rightful challenger in public eyes. Match Conditions:
The Match  Download games It was a total whitewash - Lasker winning by 8-0 wins, with 7 draws. The public interest of the match, dropped very quickly even before the end, owing to the fact that every game was either won by the champion or resulted in a draw. Even Marshall in his autobiography mentions this match in only one sentence. Impact on the Future This match (with it's clear result) reinstated Lasker's status as clearly the best chess player in the world. Lasker started playing more frequently after this match. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1908 World Championship: Emanuel Lasker vs. Siegbert Tarrasch
 Background In the early 1890's, after several tournament successes, Siegbert Tarrasch was widely considered the most likely successor to Steinitz. In 1892 Lasker had challenged Tarrasch to a match and been curtly brushed off (Tarrasch told him that he should go and win an international tournament first). Lasker, audaciously challenged the world champion (Steinitz) instead, and successfully arranged a match (the fact that both were in America at the time must have helped). Because of Tarrasch's earlier snub, the two were not on speaking terms for years, which delayed any chance Tarrasch might have of playing for the title. Lasker was angry at Tarrasch over the snub, Tarrasch (a medical doctor who could afford to play chess for free if he wished), was angry about Lasker's large financial demands for every event he played in. Many times the negotiations for Lasker-Tarrasch match took place, but they all ended without agreement. Rival World Championship Frustration over the failure of Siegbert Tarrasch to be granted a shot at the World Championship title held by Emanuel Lasker, led to the creation of a rival World Tournament Championship, awarded at Ostend, 1907. With exception of Lasker and Maroczy (who temporarly retired), all the leading players of that time participated. Tarrasch won, thus becoming the "World tournament champion". For the first time in chess history there were two world champions (most history books say this about the post 1993 era). In 1908 the match between the two champions was finally agreed to be played in Germany. Players Emanuel Lasker the reigning World Champion. Siegbert Tarrasch the newly crowned "World tournament champion". Before the match they played only two games, in 1895 Hastings Tarrasch won, and in 1896 Nuremberg Lasker won. Match Conditions: Preparations There was no love lost between Lasker and Tarrasch and for the first time psychological tricks were used in a World championship match. Lasker demanded to play the match from a different room than Tarrasch (this explains the picture - arbiter submited the moves to the other player in the next room), because he claimed that Tarrasch has hypnotic powers. Tarrasch refused to shake hands and said to Lasker: "To you, Herr Lasker, I have only three words to say: Check and mate!" The Match  Download games Lasker quickly took a very comfortable 4-1 lead and never looked back. Lasker won by 8 wins to 3, with 5 draws. Impact on the Future As a result of this match, the "World Tournament Championship" title was quickly forgotten (most chess sources don't even mention it) and has never been contested again. This was the second time that a person who's claim for the world title was based on tournament results (Zukertort and Tarrasch) was defeated by a person who's claim was based on matches (Steinitz and Lasker). I guess this is the reason why a century later some people disputed Anand's title (which he won in tournament) and still considered Kramnik (winner of the last World Championship match) as the rightful claimant. 2008 World Championship match between them, cleared the matter once and for all. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1910 World Championship: Emanuel Lasker vs. Carl Schlechter
 Background After two one-sided title defences Lasker received a challenge from Carl Schlechter. Originally the match was meant to consist of 30 games, but was later dramatically shortened (to 10 games) when they couldn't meet Lasker's demands for 1000 marks per game. Lasker was considered as a favourite going in this match. The end of the match produced one of the biggest controversies and unsolved mysteries in chess history. Players Emanuel Lasker the reigning World champion. After two succesful title defences, two exhibition matches against Janowski and a win in strong St. Petersburg 1909 tournament, he was about to have an extremly tough match. Carl Schlechter was one of the leading players of that time. He won the Munich 1900, Ostend 1906, Vienna 1908 and Hamburg 1910 tournaments and many times finished 2nd or 3rd (he finished only half a point behind Tarrasch in World tournament championship). Schlechter was known as a model example of a gentleman chess player, offering courteous draws to opponents who felt unwell. If his opponent arrived late for a game, Schlechter would inconspicuously subtract an equal amount of time from his own clock. This characteristic may have have cost him the title (see below). Match Conditions: Controversies There are two controversies: 1. Was it even a title match? 2. Did Schlechter have to win by 2 points margin? Lasker's own words (2 days before game 10) seem to answer both:
Although few sources claim otherwise, the general consensus on the first question is, that this was in fact a World championship match (afterall Lasker-Janowski World championship contract says that the contract is null and void in case Lasker loses the match against Schlechter). On the second question there is no consensus. There are basically two theories: 1) There was a (hidden) 2 points clause
Second point that speaks in favour of this theory is that Lasker had driven an exceedingly hard bargain before he agreed to play a match with Schlechter and it is unlikely that he would risk his title in such a short match without some extra protection. Third point in favour is that negotiations between Lasker and Capablanca broke down one year later when Lasker demanded the 2 point clause.
In my opinion this is plausible because not so long ago prior to the match, the drawn tournament games were being replayed (multiple times). So it makes sence that there could be a "2 decisive games" clause, which wouldn't favour the champion so much, because the challenger could win by 2-1, 3-2, 4-3 etc., but not 1-0 because this would be deemed as only "one lucky punch" win (Lasker later demanded something similar from Capablanca). I am favouring this "2 decisive games" theory or Schlechter's chivalry over the 2 point clause theories, but everyone can pick his own  Only one thing is sure: We will never know for sure. The Match  Download games It was the most even match to that date. Schlechter took the lead in game 5 (after Lasker made a mistake) and held it until the last infamous 10th game where Schlechter missed/refused the draw and drifted from a winning position to the losing one, allowing Lasker to equalise the score to 5-5 and retaining the title. Although this match featured an unheard of (for those times) 8 draws out of 10 games, they were all hard fought games and only resulted as a draw because the opponents were equally strong. Impact on the Future Here we have the infamous 2 point clause again (which is a variation of the 9-9 tie clause). Fischer claimed that all Steinitz's, Lasker's and the Capablanca-Alekhine matches featured the clause where the challenger had to win by two points (very unlikely to be true), and that his 9-9 clause is not unprecedented. While some similar clauses have existed (see 1886 and 1890 championship) there is absolutely no proof that a rule under the demanded conditions was ever been used before. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1910 World Championship: Emanuel Lasker vs. Dawid Markelowicz Janowski
 Background At about same time as Schlechter's challenge, Dawid Janowski also expressed his wish to play the world championship match. Janowski had the fortune to have a wealthy patron (Dutch artist Leo Nardus) on his side that could cover the financial conditions set by Lasker. In May 1909 Lasker and Janowski played a short exhibition match to test Janowski's suitability as a challenger. The match was tied 2-2. There are some speculations if Lasker was really playing at full strength or wasn't this just a setup by Lasker to raise the hopes of Janowski's financial backers, thereby enticing them to finance a longer match. He definatelly suceeded as Nardus put down the money for the world championship match which should be played in October 1909. However in the meantime Lasker has already signed to put his title on the line against Schlechter. Despite of this, Lasker and Janowski played the match in October 1909, but only as an exhibition (this match was for a long time falsely considered as a World championship match). Lasker won the match by 7 wins to 1, with 2 draws. Lasker's clear win didn't avert Nardus to put down more money, this time for the real World championship match. A special clause in the contract said that this contract is null and void in case Lasker loses the match against Schlechter. Lasker managed to fend off Schlechter, and Janowski got his title match. The Players Emanuel Lasker the reigning champion. By the start of this match his reign already lasted 16 years and his record in World championship matches was: 37 wins, 11 loses, 30 draws. Dawid Markelowicz Janowski was definatelly one of the top 5 players on the world. He won tournaments in Monte Carlo 1901, Hannover 1902 and Barmen 1905. Although it may look like he only played Lasker because he had wealthy friends, Janowski's chess skills were well respected by fellow masters. The words: "when in form he [Janowski] is one of the most feared opponents who can exist" coming from no other than Capablanca himself say it all. Match Conditions: The Match  Being of Polish descent Janowski was born in the Russian Empire (today's Belarus). Later he moved to France and became French citizen. Download games It was the most one-sided World championship match ever - Lasker won with 8 wins, 3 draws and no loses. The decisive point of the match was possibly the fifth game. In this Janowski had the opportunity of winning (if he would the score would then be only 2 to 1 in wins, with 2 draws in Lasker's favour), but ended up losing the game. For some reason Janowski made many mistakes throughout the match and was playing below his strength. Impact on the Future This was Lasker's fourth succesful title defence in less than four years. It turned out to be last. First Lasker's negotiations, then first World war, delayed the next World championship match for 11 years. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1921 World Championship - Jose Raul Capablanca vs. Emanuel Lasker
 Background This match was 10 years in the making. A LOT of things happened in this time. Let's start at the beginning. FIRST CHALLENGE After surprisingly winning the 1911 San Sebastian tournament ahead of all leading players of that time (except Lasker), Capablanca issued a challenge to Lasker, proposing a 'first to 10 wins' match in Havana. Lasker immediatelly commented the challenge in his newspaper column: "In the present period of draw-making, such a match might last half a year and longer. I am, of course, deliberating upon my reply, but I do not think that I shall care to play in a semi-tropical climate more than a few games." Some months later, Lasker officially responded to Capablanca's challenge and set his own 17 conditions for the match. The most important were: * - it's clear that Lasker demanded that in case of 1-0, 2-1 or 3-2 the match should be declared drawn, but it's not clear if he demanded the same about the 4-3, 5-4 or 6-5 scores. Capablanca disputed several of Lasker's demands (time limit, the stakes, the 30 games limit, etc.), but especially the condition that he must win by two point margin. In his response to Lasker's letter, Capablanca directly and undiplomatically criticised the 2 point rule as being obviously unfair. Lasker took offense by the tone of Capablanca's reply and broke off negotiations. Capablanca and Lasker remained at odds for next years, not speaking to each other, until they reconciled at the closing ceremony of the 1914 Saint Petersburg tournament. RUBINSTEIN BECOMES THE CHALLENGER After negotiations with Capablanca faltered, Lasker received a challenge from Akiba Rubinstein, whose tournament record for the previous few years had been better than Capablanca's. Lasker agreed to play if Rubinstein can raise enough money. Over the next few years Rubinstein tried to raise neccesary money, but failed to do so. During that time Lasker started to think about retirement and build in a clause that in case he retires before the match, Rubinstein should be the new World champion. ST. PETERSBURG RULES In 1914 at the St. Petersburg tournament (with all leading players of that time) Capablanca proposed a set of rules for the conduct of world championship matches, which were accepted by all leading players including Lasker. These rules included: Since Lasker already had a contract with Rubinstein, Capablanca had to wait, and then play the winner of that match. WORLD WAR I Few months later World war I broke out and suspended international chess activities for next 4 years. NEW NEGOTIATIONS AND RESIGNATION OF THE TITLE After the war ended new negotiations between Lasker and Capablanca begun. By January 1920 terms agreeable by both (like in Rubinstein's contract, Lasker again included the clause that in case he retires, Capablanca is the new World champion) were achieved, but the majority of public still considered them to be too favourable to Lasker. Some sources speculate that the conditions were not sufficiently unpopular to warrant resignation of the title, and that Lasker's real concern was that there was not enough financial backing to justify his devoting 9 months to the match. Whatever the reason Lasker resigned the World champion title on June 27th, 1920 and appointed Capablanca as a new World champion. Lasker's famous words: "From various facts I must infer that the chess world does not like the conditions of our agreement. I cannot play the match, knowing that its rules are widely unpopular. I therefore resign the title of the world's champion in your favor. You have earned the title, not by the formality of a challenge, but by your brilliant mastery. In your further career, I wish you much success." CAPABLANCA WANTS TO PLAY ANYWAY This decision didn't sit well at all. Capablanca wanted to earn the title in a match, and public questioned champions right to appoint a new champion. The general opinion was/is that while the champion certantly has the right to resign the title and retire, he has no right to nominate anybody. Many refused to accept Capablanca as the World champion (arguing that some players, specially Rubinstein, have better tournament record than him) and many formulas how to crown the new champion were proposed. When Lasker resigned the title, he didn't know that chess enthusiasts in Havana raised 20000$ (which is comparable to todays prize fund of Anand vs. Kramnik match) provided that the match is played there. Knowing that with this money Lasker could be persuaded into a match (due to World war I Lasker bassically lost all his money) Capablanca took a trip over the Atlantic to negotiate with Lasker. 20000$ was enough good reason and Lasker accepted, but insisted that his resignation should stand and that he is now the challenger. This was added to the match rules, but virtually no one took it seriously (not back then and not today. On virtually any list you see that Lasker was champion from 1894 to 1921 and Capablanca from 1921 to 1927, instead of 1894-1920 and 1920-1927) In 1921 the much awaited match finally happened. The Players Jose Raul Capablanca the reigning champion!!! He was a child prodigy, defeating the leading Cuban master in a match at the age 13. In 1909 he defeated the former world championship challenger Frank Marshall with a margin that is comparable to Marshall's loss to Lasker two years earlier. Two years later Marshall insisted that Capablanca is allowed to play in the top tournament in San Sebastian. Many players objected to Capablanca's entry since he didn't prove himself yet. Capablanca ended up winning ahead of all leading players (except Lasker). Not having any serious opposition on "his side" of Atlantic, in 1913 Capablanca went to Europe where he played many short matches and simuls. In one of the matches he outclassed his future foe - Alexander Alekhine. In 1914 St. Petersburg super tournament he finished 2nd, half a point behind Lasker. After that Capabanca returned to America where he won every tournament he entered and was unbeaten from 1916 to 1924. Emanuel Lasker the challenger!!! During his reign he won all tournaments he entered except his 3rd place in Hastings 1895 and 2nd place in Cambidge Springs 1906. Having been 53 years old and having thought about retireing for the last 8 years, Lasker probably wouldn't have played the match if he hadn't lost everything due to war. Match Conditions: The Match  Weimar Republic is the same as the flag of modern Germany. Download these games The match started evenly, but then Capablanca proved his superiority. Rather than showing up for game 15 Lasker resigned the match before conclusion pleading ill-health. The match was declared ended that day, with Capablanca either winning or retaining the title, depending on your point of view. Either way, Lasker did ultimately resign the world's title, the only question is when he did it. Despite not playing out the full schedule, he received his full share of the purse. In fact, for all the fireworks of the negotiations, the match itself was virtually dispute-free. Impact on the Future Despite losing the title and his respectable age Lasker remained the major player for many years. He won the 1924 New York super tournament 1.5 points ahead of Capablanca, Alekhine and all the others. A year later in Moskow he finished 2nd behind Bogoljubow but again ahead of Capablanca and Alekhine. After this tournament he retired. Unfortunatelly the fate stroke again. What the great depression left, the Nazi regime took. Being Jewish all his property was confiscated and he had to flee from Germany. Having been invited by Nikolai Krylenko he went to USSR. At the same time he came back from the retirement to earn some money. His 3rd place finish at 1935 Moscow super tournament was proclaimed as a biological miracle (Lasker was 67). He finished only half a point behind young rising stars Mikhail Botvinnik and Salo Flohr, but again ahead of Capablanca and all the others proven and upcoming players. After that he played in two more tournaments but finished only 6th and 7th and again retired. It was in 1936 that Capablanca finished a tournament ahead of Lasker for the very first time!!! No wonder that he had the utmost respect towards Lasker and considered him as the most dangerous opponent in any single game even when Lasker was in late 60's. Capablanca also wrote that, in his opinion, no player surpassed Lasker in the ability to assess a position quickly and accurately, in terms of who had the better prospects of winning and what strategy each side should adopt. Shortly after Lasker's second retirement Stalin started the great purge. Jews didn't fare well there either, so Lasker rather decided to stay in New York where he and his wife were visiting their relatives. In the following year Emanuel Lasker's patron Krylenko was "purged". Having been too old for tournament play he tried to support himself by giving chess and bridge lectures and exhibitions. On January 11, 1941 (aged 72), he died of a kidney infection at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, as a charity patient. The destiny wanted that he died penniless as Steinitz did. Although the future conduct of world championship matches was agreed in St. Petersburg 1914, and new rules accepted in London 1922, it was not until 1927 that the new World championship match was played. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister,  |
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1927 World Championship: Jose Raul Capablanca vs. Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine
 Background After defeating Lasker and clearing all doubts about his claim to the title, Capablanca went to 1922 London tournament where he dominated the field (everyone with a name was there, except Lasker). At this tournament the leading players discussed the rules for the conduct of future world championships. The main goal was to prevent a world champion to evade challenges. Capablanca proposed that the challenger has to raise at least $10000 prize money. The so called 'London rules' (accepted by all leading players of that time) stated:
Soon Capablanca was challenged by Alekhine, Rubinstein and Nimzowitsch, but all had troubles raising the necessary $10000. During the years they negotiated with Capablanca to come to some kind of compromise and play for less money, but Capablanca stood firm - the 'London rules' have to be followed to the letter. It was not until 1927 that Alekhine managed to get the backings from a group of Argentinian businessmen (and with guarantees from the president of Argentina). Since Capablanca considered Nimzowitsch to have a prior challenge, he gave him a deadline to raise the funds. Nimzowitsch failed and the match with Alekhine was agreed. Players Jose Raul Capablanca the reigning champion. After winning against Lasker he won the 1922 London tournament and finished 2nd (behind Lasker) in 1924 New York tournament. His defeat from Reti in that tournament was his first defeat since 1916. After that he finished 3rd (behind Bogoljubow and Lasker) in 1925 Moscow tournament and won at 1926 Lake Hopatcong and 1927 New York tournaments. He was always placed before Alekhine and had an overwhelming record against him: 5 wins, 7 draws and no losses. Capablanca also played a lot of simultaneus exhibitions. In one of them he was defeated by a 14 year old boy. After the game Capablanca supposingly said to him that one day he is going to become a champion. Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine the challenger. Alekhine first major tournament was in St. Petersburg 1914 where he finished 3rd, behind Lasker and Capablanca. In August 1914 while he was leading the Mainheim tournament World war 1 broke out and all players from Russian Empire were interned in Germany. He was later freed and allowed to return home. By playing simuls he helped to raise money for other players that were still interned in Germany. In 1919 he was imprisoned as he was suspected to be a spy of the anti-Bolsheviks. In west there were even rumors that Alekhine was killed by Bolsheviks. In 1920 Alekhine won the All-Russian championship which was retroactively defined as the first USSR championship (making Alekhine the first champion of Soviet Union). In 1921 Alekhine left Russia and never returned. As he was trying to raise the $10000, Alekhine played many tournaments, short matches and exhibitions in the period between 1921 to 1927. He won about 2/3 of tournaments he played in. Match Conditions:
Fischer claimed that in case of 5-5 tie Capablanca would retain the title (meaning that Alekhine would have to win by at least 2 games), but there is no proof for that. The tie clause claims are probably a result of mistranslation. In fact Alekhine said shortly before the match:
The Match  Download games It was one of the longest matches in chess history. After a series of draws (around game 26) Capablanca tried to get Alekhine to annulate the match, but understandably Alekhine refused (he was leading 4-2). After 34 games Alekhine won by 6 wins to 3 (with 25 draws), thus becoming the 4th World champion. 32 games featured the Orthodox defence of the Queen's gambit declined. Impact on the future Imediatelly after the match Alekhine announced that he is prepared to play a rematch under the exactly same terms as this match was played. In 1928 Capablanca did manage to raise $10000 (offer from Bradley Beach, New Jersey), but Alekhine rather took an offer from Bogoljubow instead (for less money). After the market crash in 1929 and the great depression that followed, Capablanca was never been able to raise that kind of money again. Although Alekhine put his title on the line against others for less money, he demanded from Capablanca the same conditions that he had to fulfil for the 1927 match. After Alekhine's rematch refusal he and Capablanca were at odds from then on and were never seen in the same room again. Alekhine used his influence as a World champion to make sure that Capablanca doesn't get invited to tournaments in which he participated. It was not until 1936 Nottingham tournament (after Alekhine temporarly lost the title) that both of them played in the same tournament again. In that game Capablanca had the worse position, but caught Alekhine in such a deep trap, luring him into giving up three pieces for two rooks, that none of the other players could work out where Alekhine had gone wrong. Only one player immediately pointed out the mistake - Emanuel Lasker. Capablanca recounted this episode in one of his books, expressing his admiration for Lasker's insight even in his late sixties. But Capablanca did not mention that his opponent was Alekhine. Their feud was still intense, so they were never seen seated together at the board for more than a few seconds. Each man made his move and then got up and walked around. When Alekhine lost the title to Euwe Capablanca's hopes to fight for the title rose again. In fact Euwe declared that if he wins the re-match with Alekhine, he will first give the oppurtunity to Capablanca. As Euwe lost the rematch, Capablanca's hopes were definately destroyed. Also there was new generation of players (like Botvinnik, Keres, Fine) which slowly took things over. During the 1938 AVRO super tournament Capablanca suffered a small stroke and placed only 7th - his worst career result. Moments before World War 2 started, Capablanca won gold medal (ahead of Alekhine and Keres) in 1939 Buenos Aires Chess Olympiad. This was his last tournament. On 7th of March 1942, Capablanca collapsed from a stroke while he was kibitzing a game at the Manhattan Chess Club in New York. He died next morning in the same hospital as Emanuel Lasker only a year earlier. The 1927 Capablanca vs. Alekhine match was the only match to be played under the 'London rules'. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1929 World Championship: Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine vs. Efim Dmitriyevich Bogoljubow
 Background After some failed attempts (first attempts were made in St. Petersburg 1914) on July 20th, 1924 the World chess federation FIDE was founded in Paris. For first two and a half decades of it's existence FIDE was poorly financed and had little power. Nevertheless at 1925 and 1926 FIDE Congress expressed a desire to become involved in the world championship. FIDE was generally satisfied with the 'London rules', but declared itself unable to provide the funds for world championship matches. The position of FIDE was that the $10000 requirement was impractical and urged Capablanca to come to an agreement with other leading masters. This was also approved by most players and the public who were unhappy with the way how in the past Lasker chose his opponents, and that already five years passed since Capablanca defended his title. At the same time FIDE decided that in addition to the world championship there could be, within FIDE, a general championship. In 1926 the 1st FIDE president Alexander Rueb tried to organise the match between Bogoljubow and Alekhine for the FIDE championship, but the negotiations failed. However in 1928 the match between Bogoljubow and Euwe was adopted as the first match for the title of FIDE champion. Bogoljubow narowly won (3 wins, 5 draws, 2 loses) to become first "Champion of FIDE". (This title should not be confused with the later 'FIDE World champion' title. There are no grounds for describing Bogoljubow as 'FIDE World champion', a term which FIDE did not use.) In 1928 Alekhine attended the FIDE Congress and agreed to place future world championship matches under the auspecies of FIDE under one condition - any match against Capablanca should be under the same conditions as their 1927 match. The General Assembly approved this position and decided to form a commission (under Rueb) to modify the 'London rules'. In this period Alekhine received challenges from Capablanca and Bogoljubow (both challenges came at about same time). Capablanca's offer had the required $10000 backings from Bradley Beach, New Jersey, while Bogoljubow's offer was for far less money. Nevertheless Alekhine chose Bogoljubow instead of Capablanca. Since, for some reason (seems like Rueb's absence through serious illness was the main reason) the FIDE commission that should revise the 'London rules' never met, the World championship match between Alekhine and Bogoljubow was played neither under the auspecies of FIDE nor under the 'London rules'. Players Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine the reigning champion. In the relativly short period between the 1927 and 1929 World championship matches, Alekhine played only in two smaller tournaments and one short exhibition match, winning them all. Efim Dmitriyevich Bogoljubow was (like Alekhine) one of those 11 players from the Russian Empire who participated in the 1914 Mainheim tournament and were interned in Germany at the start of World War 1. While Alekhine and three others were allowed to return home, the rest (Bogoljubow included) had to stay in Germany. The internees played in 8 tournaments during the World War 1 (Bogoljubow won 5 of them). During that time he married a local woman and made Germany as his new home. After the war he won many international tournaments, most notably the 1925 Moscow and 1928 Bad Kissingen tournament. In 1924 Bogoljubow briefly returned to his native country (which was now Soviet Union) and won the Soviet championships in 1924 and 1925. In 1926 he finnaly emigrated to Germany and stayed there for the rest of his life. He won the 1926 Berlin tournament (ahead of Rubinstein) and won both matches against Euwe in 1928 and 1928/29, both by score 5.5-4.5 (one of those matches was for the FIDE championship). Match conditions: * - Meaning that if neither player scored 6 wins within those 30 games, the play continues until one of them reaches 6 wins. It also means that even if one of the players starts with 6-0, he still didn't win and the match continues until he reaches at least 15.5 points. The match can only be won by satisfying both conditions - accumulating more points than your opponent in those 30 games AND winning at least 6 times in the process. The Match  Download games Bogoljubow was one of those semi-sound attacking players of the type who score some impressive tournament victories, but who invariably come out very badly against their fellow elite. Despite his victories at Moscow 1925, and Bad Kissingen 1928, the chess world gave him little chance of success. Alekhine seemed to have felt the same way. His opening play in this match was very experimental and the games are generally below his standards of the time. Despite this, he managed to rack up a record 11 wins in this match, the most ever seen in championship matches. Impact on the future Despite writen rules and attempts to bring the World championship under the auspecies of FIDE, again a rather long period of 5 years had to pass before the next championship match was played. FIDE also dismissed the idea to hold their own paralel championships and the title "Champion of FIDE" was not contested again. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1934 World Championship: Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine vs. Efim Dmitriyevich Bogoljubow
 Background In the years since the 1929 World Championship match a new generation of strong players had just begun to arrive on the scene: Samuel Reshevsky and Reuben Fine from the USA, Paul Keres of Estonia, Mikhail Botvinnik of the USSR, and Salo Flohr of Czechoslovakia. If we add Jose Raul Capablanca, who was still unsuccessfully trying to arrange a return match for the title, the chess world understandably reacted with something less than jubilation when it was announced that Alekhine's next title defense would be against Efim Bogoljubow again (who was probably already past his peak). The match was regarded as little more than a giant exhibition by all. After the match even Alekhine complained about his opponents play. Players Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine the reigning champion. Since winning the title from Capablanca until 1935 Alekhine won every tournament he entered, except 1933 Hastings where he finished half a point behind Flohr. His most notable wins are 1930 San Remo and 1931 Bled which he won with a large margins and without lossing a single game. In this period Alekhine also played for France at Chess Olympiads, winning the first brilliancy prize in 1930, gold medals for board one in 1931 and 1933, and the silver medal for board one in 1935. Efim Dmitriyevich Bogoljubow the challenger. In the early 30's he was still winning some tournaments, but those were mostly smaller tournaments. In bigger tournaments like 1930 San Remo he finished 4th, while in 1931 Bled he was 2nd (5.5 points behind Alekhine). Match conditions:
The Match  After Adolf Hitler became chancellor in 1933 the black-red-gold flag of the so-called Weimar Republic was swiftly scrapped and the flag of the Nazi Party was established as the national flag of Germany.Download games The match was very similar to the first one (lasting only one game longer). It was the first world championship match where black won more games than white (black won 9 times, while white won 4 times). Impact on the future After the match Alekhine complained over Bogoljubow that he didn't pose any real challenge for him. For example in his book Best games, Alekhine wrote this about Bogoljubow's 29th move in game four:
This game – more than any other – proves how useless from the sporting point of view was the arrangement of this second match, and at the same time explains my indifferent play on a number of occasions. I felt sure that Bogoljubow was no longer able to take advantage of the opportunities my play might present to him, and – very unfortunately for the general artistic value of the present match – the score 7 to 1 in my favour after the 22nd game fully justified my sanguine outlook." One can't help to wonder why Alekhine, rather than complaining about Bogoljubow's weak play, didn't play a stronger opponent (say Capablanca?). Wouldn't that make more sense than complaining? This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1935 World Championship: Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine vs. Machgielis Euwe
 Background In early 1930's Alekhine travelled the world playing many simultaneus exhibitions. On one such occasion, in 1933, Alekhine and Euwe were travelling to Indonesia on the same ship. Alekhine approached Euwe and asked if he would play a World championship match with him. Somewhat in shock (Euwe in later interviews said that at that time Alekhine was some sort of chess god for him and that he never even considered to play with him for the title) Euwe replied that he doesn't think he can raise enough money for the match and that nobody would take a match between them seriously. Nevertheless they continued negotiating and agreed on a $3300 fee for Alekhine. People in The Netherlands quickly became enthusiastic about the match and set up the Euwe Committee to raise the neccesarry money for Alekhine's fee, for organizational expenses, and salary for Euwe's seconds. Before playing with Euwe, Alekhine had to play against Bogoljubow, so they build in a clause that the contract is null and void in case Alekhine is defeated. Just like their first one, the Bogoljubow match was a cat-and-mouse play for Alekhine. Euwe later said that Alekhine probably thought he would have just as easy with him. He also speculated that the only reason why Alekhine wanted to play these matches was that he needed money. Alekhine was known as a big spender. Players Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine the reigning champion. Still unwilling to play Capablanca again, Alekhine needed a new opponent for a title defense, and with Boboljubow no longer being credible challenger in anyone's eyes, he picked what seemed like the next best thing - a man who lost to Bogoljubow on two occasions. If Alekhine picked Euwe as another safe opponent, his plans definatelly went awry. Machgielis Euwe the challenger. Since Euwe wasn't a professional chess player, he could only play competitive chess during the school vacations (he was a math professor). He performed well in the few tournaments and matches for which he could find time from the early 1920's to the early 1930's. Euwe became known as a man who always seems to lose narowly: 4.5-5.5 against Alekhine in 1926, twice 4.5-5.5 against Bogoljubow in 1928 and 1928/9, 4-6 against Capablanca in 1931, 8-8 against Flohr in 1932. His strength steadily increased and by the mid 1930's he was a credible challenger. Euwe finished the 1934 Zuerich tournament behind Alekhine on 2nd place, but won their direct encounter. Nevertheless, he wasn't given much chances against Alekhine before the match. Match conditions:
The Match  Download games Against all expectations and predictions Euwe won the match by the narowest margin (15.5-14.5). In last game Euwe offered a draw in a winning position. Impact on the future Alekhine later blamed his loss to alcohol, but in reality his loss has more to do with Alekhine's over-confidence and the fact that by 1935 Euwe was a much better player than anyone (including Euwe himself) thought. Everybody who later analysed the games agrees that Euwe's play was worthy of a World champion and that he deserved to win. While Alekhine was a heavy drinker, during the match he drank no more than usually. It should also be noted that Alekhine had a really poor eyesight and that he hated to wear glasses. Due to not seeing well, his walk was not steady. So many people thought he was drunk because of the way he walked. Although Alekhine before the match thought he will make quick work with Euwe, he was carefull enough to put a re-match clause into the contract. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1937 World Championship: Machgielis Euwe vs. Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine
 Background After winning the title Euwe proposed that if he wins the rematch, FIDE should manage the nominations for future World championship matches. The 1935 FIDE congress passed the following resolution:
In Lucerne 1936 the General Assembly adopted the principle that the world championship must be decided by a match and not a tournament. While FIDE favoured that a committee should decide the challenger, the players favoured the proposal from Dutch Chess federation that in 1938 there should be a double-round candidates tournament with Botvinnik, Capablanca, Fine, Flohr, Keres, Reshevsky, loser of the Euwe-Alekhine match and possibly one other master (to make an even number). In August 1937 FIDE's General Assembly turned down the Dutch proposal by 8 votes to 4. Before voting for a new challenger the committee recommended Capablanca as their candidate. However after inconclusive 1st round of voting (Flohr 6, Capablanca 4, Fine 1, Botvinnik 1, Keres 1) it was Flohr who got nominated after 2nd round of voting (Flohr 8, Capablanca 5). Imediately after, Euwe declared that (in case he wins the rematch with Alekhine) he is prepared to play with Flohr in 1940, but he reserves a right to arrange a private match in 1938 or 1939 with Capablanca, who has older rights. In case he loses that match, it will be Capablanca who will have to play Flohr in 1940. FIDE's decision to turn down the Dutch 'Candidates tournament' proposal and instead bureaucratically chose the challenger, sparked severe criticism in the chess world. FIDE was accused to being incompetent, politicised and bureaucratic, the FIDE president was called a great dictator - and that they should all be sacked and replaced (reminds you of something? )Just some out-takes:
"The reasons for this crassly stupid decision are hard to find. You can send ten very wise men into a committee room and they may make a very stupid committee. Invoke the curse of Babel and the confusion is intensified." "It is almost superfluous to add that the FIDE, still floundering like an inebriated elephant, managed to reject Capablanca's claims as official challenger in favour of Flohr's." "Get better men! Mr Rueb and his delegates are not gods. If a labourer makes a mess of his job, he is sacked. If an engineer makes a bad blunder, he loses his job. The present FIDE is obviously incompetent. We should sack the lot!" "Mr Rueb is attempting to set himself up as an autocratic dictator in the chess world. Politics instead of a good hard fight have determined the next candidate for the world's championship. Reason and common sense have been cast aside; personal prejudices rule the day. The interests of living chess have been defeated; and the FIDE with Mr Rueb as president is responsible."  While Euwe was willing to go through with FIDE's decision, Alekhine wasn't:
In my opinion, the FIDE has done positive harm to Flohr by its decision, which has only succeeded in provoking a storm in the chess world and, worse still, even in creating enmity towards Flohr on the part of his colleagues and rivals. All this notwithstanding, Flohr is perfectly entitled to such a match and providing he can muster the necessary resources for it, every champion of the world would be delighted to play with him ... I shall not hold myself bound by the decisions of the FIDE and I am under no obligations towards it. I shall act, should I beat Euwe, according to my own judgment, reckoning with the FIDE as a moral factor only insofar as I find their decisions correct and of benefit to chess at large. I am having a visit from Mr Piazzini, the captain of the Argentine team, to discuss the question of a possible future world championship match. Argentina and Uruguay jointly wish to organize a mach for the championship of the world in 1939. It is quite understandable that they should wish Capablanca to play in it, but that is by no means decided yet. In any event, I am prepared to play that match with him or with anybody else in the event of my regaining the title." Never before have there been so many projected matches and things only got more complicated after Euwe lost the title, and the World champion (Alekhine) and his two future "challengers" finished on last three places in 1938 AVRO super tournament. The situation was very similar to the situation surrounding the 2002 Prague agreement unification plan. Like more than 60 years later, the projected matches never happened. In all this mess, Euwe and Alekhine played their rematch. Players Machgielis Euwe the reigning champion. Although he was never dominant as his predecessors were, his result in 1936 Nottingham and 1938 AVRO tournament make him a credible champion. Keep in mind that Euwe was an amateur and only played chess in his spare time, which makes his results even more remarkable. Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine the challenger. During the 1935-1937 period Alekhine played in 10 tournaments with uneven results - from brilliant wins to bellow standard performances. For the 1937 match Alekhine completely gave up alcohol, but started drinking again later. Match conditions:
The Match  Download games This time Alekhine took the match much more seriously and came much better prepared. During the match Fine became ill and had to have an appendix operation, so Euwe lost his second. Flohr volunteered to offer his services to Euwe for free (if you don't know why he did that, then you didn't pay attention before ). It didn't help much and Euwe lost 15.5-9.5Interestingly, Euwe later asserted that in their 1935 match he felt Alekhine was a better player than him, while in 1937 he felt he was better than Alekhine. Impact on the future Even before the match Alekhine expressed his disatisfaction with FIDE's decision and indicated that he won't follow it. As a result all those projected matches never materialised. As it later turned out, this was Alekhine's last World championship match. This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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1948 World Championship Tournament
 Left to right: Euwe, Smyslov, Keres, Botvinnik, Reshevsky Background Late 1930's and second half of 1940's were one of the most turbulent times in world championship history. Let's start where we left. THE 1938 AVRO TOURNAMENT Although the Dutch Chess Federation proposal to hold a Candidates tournament was rejected by FIDE, the tournament was held anyway. The only difference was that both Alekhine and Euwe got invited, and not only the loser of the last World Championship match (as in original idea). Participation of 8 strongest players of that time (Alekhine, Euwe, Capablanca, Botvinnik, Flohr, Keres, Fine and Reshevsky) makes 1938 AVRO tournament the strongest tournament ever held. Some players complained about not being invited to AVRO tournament, claiming that their record is just as good as others, most notably the veteran Emanuel Lasker. In one of the interviews he claimed that his own record in tournament play against the leading world masters (particularly against the three other world champions), since his loss in 1921 to Capablanca was enough to qualify him as a candidate and that he should not be overlooked. The tournament did not have a status of candidates event, but there were many misinformations an speculations. To clear all confusions one of the newspapers reported:
CHALLENGES FROM KERES AND BOTVINNIK Having won the 1938 AVRO tournament Keres began negotiations with Alekhine about the match. However the 3rd placed Botvinnik challenged Alekhine too (in addition there was a chance about a possible Alekhine vs. Capablanca match in Argentina and/or Uruguay). Since Botvinnik's offer was more lucrative ($10.000) Alekhine preffered to play Botvinnik instead of Keres. Practically everything was agreed for a World Championship match between Alekhine and Botvinnik in 1940 (nobody talked about Alekhine-Flohr match anymore) when World War 2 broke out and delayed the match - indefinatelly. WORLD WAR 2 World War 2 begun during the 1939 Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires. Many Europeans players (like Miguel Najdorf) decided to stay in Argentina. But not Alekhine and Keres who both decided to return to Europe. Alekhine returned to Europe in early 1940 and enlisted in the French Army as a sanitation officer. After the fall of France in June 1940, he tried to flee to America but was unsuccesful. To protect his jewish wife and their property Alekhine cooperated with Nazis. Like many other strong masters (most notably Paul Keres) from countries occupied by the Nazis, he played in several tournaments across the Nazi occupied Europe during the World War 2. Also he was forced to sign some Nazi propaganda letters and other material. By late 1943 when the tides of World War 2 began to change Alekhine was living in Spain and Portugal. There he continued to play in tournaments and short matches. ALEKHINE'S LAST YEARS After the World War 2 ended Alekhine (living in Portugal) found himself in very isolated position. Because of the accused Nazi allegation he was excluded from all international tournaments. Originally he was invited to 1946 London tournament but his invitation was withdrawn, after other participants protested. Probably because of this, Alekhine immediatelly accepted Botvinnik's new challenge for the World Championship match. On morning of March 24th 1946, Alekhine was found dead in his hotel room in Estoril, Portugal. There are still some mysteries surrounding Alekhine's death. CHAOS Alekhine's sudden death left the World Champion title vacant for the first time in it's history. The situation was very confused, with many respected players and commentators offering different solutions. FIDE found it very difficult to organize the early discussions on how to resolve the interregnum because problems with money and travel so soon after the end of World War 2 prevented many countries from sending representatives. In addition, due to the shortage of clear information, otherwise responsible magazines published rumors and speculation, which only made the situation more confused. FIDE, that was inactive during WW2, began to reorganize itself in early 1946 (when Alekhine was still alive). Their prime importance was to get the biennial Chess Olympiad going again and they invited USSR to join the new FIDE. They didn't talk much about the World championship but they awaited the result of the Alekhine-Botvinnik match. Later (after Alekhine died) at the Winterthur congress it was decided to fill the vacancy by organizing a tournament with top candidates - the remaining 1938 AVRO participants: Euwe, Botvinnik, Keres, Fine, Reshevsky, Flohr and one of the winners of upcoming tournaments in Groningen and Prague. It should be noted that many representatives (among them representatives of USSR) failed to attend that congress. The World Championship tournament should take place in The Netherlands in June 1947. Euwe's place was set, by a virtue of being a previous title holder. The USA and USSR federations were given time until 1st of September 1946 to nominate other players in case they are not satisfied with FIDE's selection of Fine, Reshevsky, Botvinnik, Keres and Flohr. USSR replaced Flohr with younger Smyslov. It was also decided that the winners of Groningen and Prague tournaments (in case neither is one of the above mentioned six players) shall play a match to determine the last participant of the World Championship. Also the future World championship cycle's were agreed. The time line was as follows:
1946/47: Zonal championships (to be completed by 1 January 1948), open to the countries' national champions. 1948: Interzonal tournament, with 20 participants. The players would be the qualifiers from the previous phase and masters admitted by the Qualification Committee. 1949: Candidates' tournament (two rounds), comprising ten players. The participants would be the five players who had scored best in the 1947 world championship tournament and the five players with the highest scores in the above-mentioned Interzonal tournament. 1950: Match for the world championship between the winner of the title in 1947 and the winner of the Candidates' tournament. 1949/50: New cycle of zonal tournaments. 1951: Interzonal tournament. 1952: Candidates' tournament. (This would comprise the five top players from the 1949 tournament, as well as the 1947 champion if he lost his title in 1950.) 1953: Match for the world championship. Like mentioned above, there were all sorts of different ideas and wild speculations how to chose the World champion. For example many claimed that there are many complications regarding FIDE's selection of candidates. One of the articles said:
Others claimed that Euwe should be the World champion because he is the only living master who held the title before, and that with Alekhine's death the title automatically reverted back to him. Since Euwe's win was 10 years old, a compromise solution was proposed - a match between Euwe and Botvinnik should decide. There were also other countless ideas and proposals but the FIDE's tournament idea had the momentum. However the troubles began immediatelly after FIDE's plan saw the light of day. The US chess federation (USCF) protested that the Prague tournament will be held at the same time as US championship, thus preventing any US player to additionally qualify for the World championship tournament. Also the USCF decided that instead of automatically sending Fine and Reshevsky, they will send first two finishers from the US championship. Things got complicated when it was announced that Fine won't be able to participate. The US championship held in November 1946 was won by Reshevsky, followed by Kashdan. At the same time Miguel Najdorf won the 1946 Prague tournament. Since Botvinnik won the 1946 Groningen tournament, no play-off match between Groningen and Prague winners was neccesary. Najdorf was the next name in the equation. And the ideas still kept coming. Now it was proposed that Euwe, Botvinnik and Reshevsky should play a triangular match for the championship. The options were endless, and FIDE's frustration became manifest after it emerged that the USSR was also expressing dissatisfaction with the solution at Winterthur's Congress. Under the title ˜World championship bust-up', page 63 of the December 1946 CHESS gave this account:
The USSR has not joined the International Chess Federation (FIDE). At the last FIDE Assembly Spain, who had been a founder-member and had paid its dues throughout, was ejected in the hope that the Soviets would join; the sacrifice has deeply wounded Spanish sentiment. The Russians want the tournament in April, Fine not before August. Estimates of the cost of Holland's half of the tournament are now rising to £6,000 and £7,000. Dr Rueb, President of the FIDE, has withdrawn FIDE's claim to organize the tournament, which work lies mainly between Euwe (for the Dutch Federation) and the Russian Chess Federation at the moment."
What is to be done at the present time, when no such organization exists? I would make the following suggestions: 1. Elimination contests (match-tournaments) for determining the candidate for the championship title should be obligatory. The expenses of these contests should be borne by the country in which they are held ... 2. Within a given period, the world's champion should be obliged to play with the winner of the elimination match-tournament. If the player who pretends to the title is able to obtain funds covering the expenses of the match in any particular country, the champion should go there to play unless the native land of the champion guarantees the expenses of the match. In the latter case, the match should be held in the native land of the champion, as was the case with the Alekhine-Euwe revenge match. 3. If the candidate to the championship is unable to find support for such a match in any country, and if the native land of the champion likewise refuses to support the match, then the world championship is to be considered open and the champion loses his title, i.e. the situation will be the same as that which exists at the present time. It is clear that then the new world champion will be determined by a match-tournament participated in by the leading candidates to the title. Under such a system, not only the player who pretends to the title but the champion himself will be interested in having the match held, and it is to be expected that the two of them will quickly come to an agreement. The circumstances which formerly hindered the holding of title matches will now be eliminated. Let us say a few words about the coming contest for the world championship. In September of last year, when the strongest chessplayers of the world were gathered here in Moscow (Keres, Reshevsky, Smyslov, Euwe, Fine and the author of this article) they held a conference (19 September) on the subject of the coming contest for the world championship. After the inevitable arguments, it seemed that a means of agreement was indicated. I do not wish to speak of this in detail, since I hope that by the time this article is published the situation will have become more clear. At any rate, I shall take upon myself the responsibility of saying that the Soviet grandmasters are for a match-tournament which will be participated in by all leading chessplayers, that they are for holding the tournament in the friendliest atmosphere possible, under conditions aiding each participant to reveal his greatest creative possibilities and enabling the strongest player to emerge the victor."
RESOLUTION FIDE Congress which was held from July 30th to August 2nd, 1947 should clear the matters once and for all. However the Soviet delegation have been delayed en route and arrived only on the last day. The Congress (without USSR representatives) decided to proclaim Euwe as the World Champion, but with obligation upon him to play a match against Reshevsky, and the winner playing a match against Botvinnik. However some members regarded this proposal as dangerous in view of the absence of the members of the Soviet delegation, and it was decided to postpone the resolution, pending their arrival. When the Soviet delegation arrived the decision was annulled and the original tournament idea was quickly agreed. The only difference from the original plan was that the 1946 Prague winner Miguel Najdorf was left out and that the tournament will be held in The Hague and Moscow. Who will host the decisive last rounds of the tournament was decided by drawing of lots - USSR won. So after one and a half years on bickering and countless proposals, the (almost) original idea about the World championship tournament was agreed. But the story doesn't end here. REUBEN FINE DECLINES In early 1948 it was announced that Reuben Fine won't participate in World Championship. At that time it was reported that Fine's absence is due to his work on doctoral dissertation and this story remained until 1989 when all of the sudden Fine changed it. Then he gave completely different reasons for his absence: from security reasons (he was afraid to go to the USSR) to "I didn't want to waste three months of my life watching Russians throw games to each other." See here and watch the dates. There is no reasonable explanation why Fine would give false reasons, until shortly before his death. What was he afraid of to not speak out before? Whatever the reason, Fine was not participating, which left the odd number of participants. Last minute proposal that Najdorf should take Fine's place was rejected and the tournament started with the remaining five players. Players Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik first came to the notice of chess world at the age of 14, when he defeated World Champion Jose Raul Capablanca in a simultaneous exhibition. His progress was rapid and in 1931 (aged 20) he won his first (of six) Soviet championships. His first international tournament was the 1934-35 Hastings, where he finished only 5th. However later, he was holding his own against the fellow elite - he was equal first with Flohr at 1935 Moscow, ahead of Emanuel Lasker and Capablanca; and equal first with Capablanca at the great Nottingham 1936 chess tournament, ahead of Euwe and Alekhine, and finished third in 1938 AVRO tournament. After WW2 he won the first major tournament in 1946 Groningen, and the very strong Mikhail Chigorin memorial in Moscow 1947. Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov was the youngest of all participants. He was a replacement for the original 1938 AVRO participant Salo Flohr. At the time of AVRO tournament Smyslov was 17 years old and has won the Soviet Junior championship. Still in his teens he finished 3rd in the 1940 an 1941 Soviet championships. Immediatelly after the war, Smyslov had string of very bad results. Nevertheless he was one of the five Soviets who were sent to the 1946 Groningen tournament. There he finished 3rd, behind Botvinnik and Euwe. After that he had some mediocre results. He finished the Mikhail Chigorin memorial in 1947 on 3rd place. Apart from Moscow championship, in his adult career Smyslov hasn't won any tournaments before playing the 1948 World Championship. Samuel Herman Reshevsky was a chess prodigy and was giving simultaneous exhibitions at the age of 8. However later he didn't become a professional chess player and he even temporarly gave up chess to focus on his study. After graduation he started playing chess again and won the US championship in 1936, 1938, 1940, 1942, 1946 and later in 1969. His international career started in 1935 when he traveled to England. He won the Yarmouth (with 10/11 score) and Margate tournaments. In Margate he defeated former champion Capablanca. In 1936 Nottingham super tournament he finished shared 3rd (behind Botvinnik and Capablanca). After that he won 1937 Kemeri and 1937-38 Hastings before finishing shared fourth in 1938 AVRO tournament. After that he finished 2nd in very strong 1939 Leningrad/Moscow tournament. In 1945 he won the 1st Pan-American Championship. Paul Keres played a lot of correspondence chess during his high school days and quickly became champion of Estonia. His first breakthrough came at the 1935 Chess Olympiad where he played on the first board for Estonia. Keres first major international win came in 1936 Bad nauheim tournament where he tied for first with Alekhine. Keres had an astounding year in 1937. Amongst other he tied 1st at Margate with Reuben Fine (1.5 points ahead of Alekhine) and Ostend with Fine and Henry Grob. Then he won a very strong tournament at Semmering 1937, (ahead of Fine, Capablanca and Reshevsky. He was tied for second at Hastings 1937-38 with half a point behind Reshevsky. In 1938 he won the AVRO tournament - the strongest tournament ever held - which made him a title contender. World war 2 interupted his negotiations with Alekhine. Keres home country Estonia was occupied first by USSR, then by Germans, and again by USSR. During the Nazi occupation, Keres (like Alekhine) played in many tournaments across the Europe. As a consequence he was harrased by KGB after the war was over. He managed to evade the worst but was excluded from the chess tournaments which took place immediatelly after the war. He was also prevented from negotiating with Alekhine about a possible world championship match. He was later allowed to participate in tournaments again but was always somewhat as an outsider within the Soviet team. When later Keres ended up finishing 2nd in four consecutive Candidates tournaments, it was speculated that Keres was just not allowed to win. Keres is generally considered as the strongest player who never became World champion (in fact he never had a chance to play a world championship match). Later in his life when he was asked why he never became World champion Keres said:
Machgielis Euwe the oldest participant. After his 4th place finish in AVRO tournament, he played a match with Keres in late 1939, losing narowly 6.5-7.5. During the World War 2 Euwe didn't play. In 1946 Groningen tournament he somewhat surprisingly finished 2nd behind Botvinnik. At the time of 1948 World Championship tournament Euwe was 47 (at least 10 years older than others) and already past his peak. After his competitive career Euwe became FIDE president (from 1970 to 1978). Those were turbulent times with Fischer and Korchnoi's defection, but it is generally agreed that Euwe mastered the situation. Some even say that Euwe was best president FIDE ever had. Tournament conditions:
The Tournament  Reshevsky and Keres are here ordered by SB score, but this was not the official tie-break criteria. Also note that Reshevsky had better head-to-head against Keres. In the end it was unimportant who was 3rd or 4th.Download games Botvinnik won convincingly to become the 6th World Champion - first under the auspecies of FIDE. As Keres lost his first 4 games against Botvinnik (he won the last one when everything was already decided) it was later speculated if he was forced to deliberatly lose to Botvinnik. Much much later it was revealed (to the rest of the world) that Keres received strong hints from the Soviet officials that he should not hinder Botvinnik's attempt to win the World championship. When Botvinnik found out about this half way through the tournament he vigorously protested against this and angered the Soviet officials. Despite this it is considered that Keres didn't throw any games against Botvinnik or any other player. Impact on the future This brought an end of the 'imperial era' in World Championship, when the title was a personal property of the Champion and when he could decide about when, where and against whom he is going to defend it. From now on the title was in property of FIDE and the Champion had to defend the title in a match every three years against a challenger who qualified through Zonal's, Intezonal's and Candidates tournament. In the first two cycles (1948-51 and 1952-54) a defeated champion had a right to play a triangular match 3 years later with the new champion and the winner of the next Candidates tournament. This never happened, but the Women's World Championship was decided this way in 1956 in a "Triple Threat Match" between the champion Elizabeta Bykova, the new challenger Olga Rubtosva, and the defeated champion from the previous match Ludmilla Rudenko. From the 3rd cycle (1955-57) onwards the "triangular match rule" was replaced with the immediate re-match rule. Botvinnik made a good use of this This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister, |
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Having resolved all the mess by crowning the new World champion, bringing the championship under the aegis of FIDE, and with a qualifying cycle, the chess world entered a more calm era.
The World Championship cycle had 4 stages: 1) Zonal tournaments
Each zone was alotted a certain number of championship contender spots, and held a zonal tournament to decide who would win them, and be sent to an Interzonal tournament.
As it all happened so fast, there was no time to organize Zonal tournaments (at least not all) for the first cycle so most Interzonal participants were chosen bureaucratically. But this was not the only problem in the first cycle. Interzonal tournament The first Interzonal tournament was held in Saltsjobaden Sweden, from July 15th to August 15th, 1948. Due to many cancellations, the original list of participants was heavily altered. All travel expenses had to be paid by the players themselves or by their national federations, which is why no Americans took part in this tournament.  Download games Originally, the top 5 finishers were to advance, however the rules were heavily modified (see below). Candidates tournament According to regulations the top 5 Interzonal finishers should be joined with four 1948 World Championship participants (Smyslov, Reshevsky, Keres and Euwe) and Reuben Fine who was eligible for the 1948 championship. However Reshevsky and Fine were not allowed by the State Department to travel to Hungary and Euwe could not get a leave from his university. Under the new circumstances, FIDE decided to add in the players who had finished in 6th - 9th places (all had equal score) in the Interzonal. And in order to keep the number of players even, 10th placed Trifunovic got invited to play also. After Bondarevsky unexpectedly withdrew, Trifunovic automatically became "uninvited" again (to keep the numbers even). After all this was sorted out, the tournament was finaly played. The tournament was held in Budapest, Hungary from April 11th to May 18th, 1950.  Download games Now there was another problem - two players shared the first place. In late 1950 Bronstein and Boleslavsky played a playoff match in Moscow. The match was a 'best of 12 games'. If tied after 12 games (which is what happened), the winner of the next decisive game would advance.  Download games After 3 years and many complications, it was David Bronstein who emerged as a winner. 1951 World Championship: Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik vs. David Ionovich Bronstein  Players Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik the reigning champion. He became a World champion quite late (at 37). Only Steinitz (50) became World champions at an older age. It is speculated that Botvinnik reached his peak during the war years, which makes his later achivements even more remarkable. Also he was the first champion who had to play all his challengers. Botvinnik played no competitive chess since the 1948 World Championship. David Ionovich Bronstein the challenger. Bronstein first came to notice when he defeated Botvinnik in 1944 Soviet championship. A year later he proved that it was no fluke, when he finished 3rd in the 1945 Soviet championship. With this result he made it in the team for the 1945 USSR vs. USA radio match, where he won both his games. Afterwards he competed successfully in several other team matches, gradually proving that he belongs in the Soviet chess elite. His first major tournament win is the above mentioned Interzonal tournament in Saltsjobaden. Match conditions:
The Match  Download games With only two games to go, Bronstein was leading by 1 point, but then lost the 23rd game. The last game was a short draw (the only one) so Botvinnik kept the title, by virtue of being the defending champion. Probably because of the last two games, it was later speculated that Bronstein was not allowed to win. Botvinnik's behaviour, his later notes and analysis shows that he certantly didn't know anything about this. Also Bronstein never confirmed this rumours (and he lived well after the collapse of the Soviet Union). All he said is that there was psychological pressure and that it was all up to him whether he will sucumb to it or not. So no death threats or something similar. This is one of only two times in World Championship history in which black won more games than white (black won 6, white won 4). The only other such championship match was the 1934 Alekhine-Bogoljubow match. Impact on the future Top five finishers in the 1950 Candidates tournament (Bronstein, Boleslavsky, Smyslov, Keres and Najdorf) were automatically seeded into the next Candidates tournament. This message has been edited. Last edited by: ebutaljib, |
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The rules remained unchanged and things ran much smother than in the first cycle.
Interzonal tournament Tournament was played from September 15th to October 21st, 1952 in Stockholm, Sweden.  Download games Originally the top 5 players should advance. Things got complicated when four players tied for place 5. Yuri Averbakh would occupy the 5th place under the Sonneborn-Berger tie-break criteria. However at that time it was considered improper of letting such a method to determine such an important question. As a compromise all 4 players with equal score were allowed to play in Candidates tournament, increasing the number of qualifiers to 8. Candidates tournament The eight Interzonal qualifiers were joined by top five from the previous 1950 Candidates (Bronstein, Boleslavsky, Smyslov, Keres, Najdorf) plus Reshevsky and Euwe who had not exercised their right to play in the previous Candidates. Reuben Fine was also eligible but retired from serious chess in the meantime. Had he not, he would be participating based on AVRO tournament from 15 years ago! Tournament was played from August 27th to October 24th, 1953 in Zuerich, Switzerland.  Download games After almost 2 months, Vasily Smyslov was the winner. 1954 World Championship: Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik vs. Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov  Players Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik the regning champion. Botvinnik had a string of bad results in the early 1950's. After strugling to a draw in his World Championship match with Bronstein he finished only 5th in the 1951 Soviet championship and came 3rd in the 1952 Geza Maroczy memorial tournament in Budapest. In addition he also played poorly in Soviet training contests. When he was put "only" on the second board (Keres who had outstanding results in that period was placed on board one) for the 1952 Chess Olympiad he protested and refused to play. After sitting out the Olympiad he quickly came back to form and won the 1952 Soviet championship. Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov the challenger. After finishing 2nd in the 1948 World championship tournament, he won his first Soviet Championship in 1949. In 1950 he finished 3rd in the Candidates and 2nd in Venice tournament. Smyslov was a "backbone" of the 1950's and 1960's Soviet teams in Chess Olympiads, participating in 9 Olympiads and winning an all time record of 17 medals (team+individual). Match conditions:
The Match  Download games Again the match ended in a tie with Botvinnik retaining the title by virtue of being the defending champion. Most of the action happened in the middle of the match where they have been exchanging punches with Botvinnik emerging a two points up after game 16. Smyslov managed to equalise in the remaining games, but it was not enough. Impact on the future The organizational costs for 1953 Candidates tournament were very high (with 15 players and lasting for 2 months), so it was decided to limit the number of participants to 8 players. As a result only the Candidates winner (Smyslov) was seeded into the next Candidates tournament. This message has been edited. Last edited by: ebutaljib, |
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There were some changes in this cycle:
Interzonal tournament Samuel Reshevsky and Larry Evans qualified for Interzonal but decided not to participate, and played the US open instead. The tournament was played from August 14th to September 23rd, 1955 in Gothenburg (Göteborg), Sweden.  Download games Originally the first 7 players should qualify, but things got complicated again when 3 players tied for 7th place. As in the previous cycle the problem was solved by advancing all three of them (9 players in total). Candidates tournament Nine Interzonal qualifiers were joined by Vasily Smyslov in a double-round robin tournament. The tournament was played from March 27th to April 30th, 1956 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  Download games It was again Vasily Smyslov who qualified to play with Botvinnik. 1957 World Championship: Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik vs. Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov [PICTURE NEEDED!!!] Players Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik the reigning Champion. After defending his title in 1954, Botvinnik returned to the Soviet Chess Olympic's team on board one. He won gold medal in 1954, and bronze in 1956 for his individual performances (needless to say that the Soviet team won gold on both occasions). In 1956 he tied for first place (with Smyslov) in Alexander Alekhine memorial in Moscow. Botvinnik asked to be allowed to play in the 1956 Candidates Tournament, as he wanted to use the event as part of his warm-up for the next year's title match, but his request was denied. Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov the challenger. After 1954 World championship Smyslov experienced another narrow miss to the title - in 1955 Soviet championship he tied for first place, but lost the play-off to Efim Geller. Besides playing in 9 Chess Olympiads, Smyslov also participated in 5 European Team Championships where he has a perfect medal score: 5 team gold and 5 individual gold medals. Match conditions:
The Match  Download games Having learned from their previous match, this time Smyslov came on top to become the 7th World Champion. Impact on the future As per new rule, Botvnnik had a right to an immediate rematch. This message has been edited. Last edited by: ebutaljib, |
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