Botvinnik Mikhail Moiseevich (17.08.1911 – 05.05.1995)

Russian grandmaster (1950), 6th World Champion, Honored Sport Master.

Mikhail learned chess rather late, at the age of 12. Between 1923 and 1927  he got the necessary knowledge to improve his technique of play. During that period,  Botvinnik learned to analyze and comment chess games, studied chess history, studies and theory development. In 1925 in Leningrad, the young Botvinnik took his first major success by beating the World Champion Raoul Capablanca at a simultaneous game. Graduated from Leningrad Polytechnic Institute he works as an editor  for the magazine Shakhmatny Listok and involved himself in books publishing: Match Alekhine-Capablanca, Match Alekhine – Bogoljubow and Collection of games of seven USSR Championships. In 1931 he won his first USSR Championship in Moscow, two years later the Leningrad Championship. These victories in top Soviet tournaments made him one of the strongest chess players in the country. In 1936 at Nottingham tournament he shared the first place with Capablanca ahead of Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe and Emmanuel Lasker. After this success Botvinnik became a potential challenger to play the World Champion. In 1938 just after AVRO tournament where he finished only at the third place, he started to negotiate with Alekhine regarding a possible encounter but without success as World War II broke a few months later. During the war Botvinnik worked mostly as an engineer but managed to play chess and win the USSR championship in 1941 as well as Sverdlovsk and Moscow in 1943.

In 1944 and1945 Botvinnik took part with success in two USSR Championships. At the first international tournament after the War in Groningen he took the first place. The following year he won Chigorin Memorial tournament.

When in 1946 Alekhine died, the chess world had no world champion.

When Alekhine died in 1946, the chess world was left with no World Champion.

It took two years for FIDE  to agree on a new format and to appoint a new champion through a match tournament with the five strongest players of the world: Mikhail Botvinnik, Paul Keres, Vassily Smyslov, Samuel Reshevsky and Max Euwe. The tournament was held in 1948 in The Hague and Moscow. Clearly superior to all competitors Botvinnik won the event and his first world title. In 1949 the FIDE Congress decided that the World Champion would have to confirm his title once every three years. The first championship match was held in 1951 with David Bronstein as the challenger. After a big fight the final result ended with a draw. Botvinnik as the title holder remained the World Champion.

The next match finished again with 12-12, this time the opponent was Smyslov. Three years later Smyslov made his second attempt and this time won the title.

In 1958 Botvinnik won the revenge-match with the advantage in two points and got the title back. In 1960 Botvinnik had to challenge the Latvian rising star Mikhail Tal. The World Champion lost the contest and for the second time he was deprived of the highest title. Using his right for a revenge match in 1962. Botvinnik won this time with a great advantage. In 1963 after losing  another World Championship match to Tigran Petrosian, he decided not to take part in championships anymore. He played a couple of more tournaments but retired from his chess activity as a player in 1970.

Botvinnik’s achievements as a chess player have been no less singular. Even in the early stage of his career his style and method differ from all other players.

This is evident, first of all, in his scientific approach to chess, in the study of even the little details of the chess theory, in the scrupulous attention he gave to the examination of the achievements of the masters of the older generation. Botvinnik began the study of the theory of openings in direct association with middle and end-play, and taught other Soviet masters to do likewise. But while studying the existing theory, Botvinnik discovered much that was new and interesting, he established numerous systems of development, which eventually became firmly established in world tournament practice.

Botvinnik was amazingly resourceful, his plans abound in energy and daring.

It was these outstanding chess qualities which gave Botvinnik his unrivalled triumphs in more than forty years.

Brought up on the principles of great Chigorin, Russia’s great chess player, Mikhail Botvinnik had realized his ambition of transferring the chess “crown” to Russia.

As all the great personalities in chess history, Botvinnik had created his personal style. In some sense his style reminds many of Capablanca. However, Botvinnik’s tendency not to avoid complicated tactical and strategic problems differentiates him from the popular Cuban Capablanca strives for the strategically clear and tactically simple positions. Botvinnik does not avoid new complicated problems. His contribution to the opening theory is immense and you can meet his ideas in almost all modern openings, the queen gambit system bears Botvinnik’s name competently. The entire generation of the best Soviet chess masters learnt by the training system for preparations for the tournaments and matches. His games still serve as examples of the chess strategy.

Namely all these advantages for 15 years, during which Botvinnik had been the World Champion (with a short one-year pause) have created a real era in the history of modern chess. It is accepted to reproach Botvinnik that he did not participate in the too many big tournaments very often. The chess world would greet it more sincere if he would have participated in the important international tournaments at least once or twice-a-year. On the other hand, it is necessary to take into consideration that namely in the last 15 years the World Championship Matches for the World Champion title were so often and so difficult as never before in the entire previous chess history. Besides, after Euwe Botvinnik is the only World Champion, who, except for the chess, led another importance for his work.

The first Soviet World Champion proves the priority of the Soviet chess school. Botvinnik was the first to create a program of individual preparation of chess players for tournaments. As a chess researcher he has made a great contribution to the field of many openings, and to the theory of endgame. For many years Botvinnik headed the chess school.

The great chess activity of the VI World Champion combined with serious scientific activity. Botvinnik was a doctor of technical sciences, professor, author of some inventions, the creator of algorithm for computer chess program.

Main chess results:

1948-1957, 1958-1960, 1961-1963- World Champion. Winner of the USSR Championship in 1931, 1933, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1945 and 1952, was 3rd in 1955, the 5th in 1927 (when he was only 16),1940, 1951. His victory results: 1930, 1931-32 Leningrad- 1st; 1930, 1932-33, 1934 Leningrad’s Chess Masters Championship – 1st;1934/35 Hastings- 5th; 1935 Moscow- 1st; 1936 Moscow- 2nd; 1936 Nottingham- 1st; 1938 Avro- 3rd;  . 1943 Sverdlovsk- 1st, 1943/44 Moscow Championship – 1st; 1946 Groningen- 1st; 1947 Moscow- 1st;1952 Budapest – 3rd;1956 Moscow- 1st, 1958 Vageningen – 1st; 1961/62, 1966/67 Hastings – 1st, 1st; 1962 Stockholm – 1st; 1963, 1966 Amsterdam – 1st; 1965 Nordweig – 1st; 1967 Palma – 2nd; 1968 Monte Carlo – 2nd; 1969 Beverwjik -1st; 1970 Leiden – 3rd. 1933 drew a match with Flohr.1951 drew the title match with Bronstein. 1954 drew the title match with Smyslov. Lost to Smyslov in 1957 and win back in 1958. Lost a title match to Tal in 1960 but get it back beating Tal in 1961. Lost the title match to Petrosian in 1963.

In 1947 published the book ” Championship Chess”. In 1949 ” Izbranye partii (Selected Games) 1926-1946″, 1978- published ” Polveka v Shakhmatakh” & ” K Dostizheniyu tseli. 1984-1987 -“Analiticheskie i kriticheskie raboty”.