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Pawn star: How the 'David Beckham of chess' became a national hero

Edit CNN 01 Feb 2016
Aronian isn't an actor, activist, or astronaut. He's a chess player -- the fourth best in the world, to be precise ... Armenia's chess king ... A photo posted by Mikhail Schv (@23000ml) on Mar 11, 2013 at 5.39am PDT ... The moment Petrosian beat Soviet Mikhail Botvinnik to become 1963 World Chess Champion (a title he held until 1969), has been likened JFK's assassination in America -- everyone in Armenia remembers where they were at the time ... ....

David Howell evokes memories of Paul Keres at Talinn memorial tournament

Edit The Guardian 15 Jan 2016
Howell scored 8.5/11, half a point behind Igor Kovalenko of Latvia and level with Israel’s Boris Gelfand and India’s Surya Ganguly ... Keres is a national hero for Estonians, who believe with some justification that Soviet officials had coerced him into playing badly against the Russian Mikhail Botvinnik at the 1948 world championship ... Alekhine preferred to play Botvinnik, but negotiations for that ceased abruptly in September 1939 ... ....

Forgotten champion

Edit Yahoo Daily News 29 Nov 2015
Largely unheard of beyond the chess circles, Sapre lived in chess' quaintest era ... That, Sapre was invited by Russia in 1954 to witness the Vasily Smyslov - Mikhail Botvinnik World Championship match owing to his canny analysis in letters written to Russian magazines, naturally, stumped all of them ... Kunte reckons Sapre was influenced by Russian Mikhail Botvinnik, that scholarly master who helped build a chess empire out of Russia ... ....

Vlad Kramnik attracts plaudits with strong display at European Club Cup

Edit The Guardian 30 Oct 2015
A brilliant individual result took the honours at the European Club Cup in Skopje, where Russia’s Siberia narrowly outpointed Azerbaijan’s SOCAR in the gold medal match between elite squads financed by oil money ... Fide, the global chess body, has yet to announce any firm offers ... Long ago, at the 1958 Munich Olympiad, Mikhail Botvinnik (who later taught Kramnik) had such a lamp, while Bobby Fischer often made demands about the light ... ....

Movie review: 'Pawn Sacrifice' ably follows Bobby Fischer's unraveling, move by move

Edit Lexington Herald-Leader 16 Sep 2015
"Pawn Sacrifice" is a solid and entertaining addition to the Fischer film canon ... A major obstruction was not only the skill of individual USSR players such as Spassky and Mikhail Botvinnik but also the superior gamesmanship of the Soviet team, strategies that lone wolf Fischer denounced as "unfair, unjust, immoral" after he is denied victory in 1962's World Team Olympics at Varna, Bulgaria ... government ... Kenneth Turan ... 'PAWN SACRIFICE'....

New names top Russia’s championship as a seven-time winner flops

Edit The Guardian 22 Aug 2015
During the USSR’s golden decades of chess supremacy the annual Soviet championship was a major event keenly followed by players worldwide. Its winners included the legends Mikhail Botvinnik, Boris Spassky, Mikhail Tal, Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov. It often lasted a month and up to 20 rounds and it was played before packed audiences in Moscow, Leningrad or Kiev ... This week’s 2015 Russian championship provided a low-key contrast....

New names top Russia’s championship as a seven-time winner fails to impress

Edit The Guardian 21 Aug 2015
During the USSR’s golden decades of chess supremacy the annual Soviet championship was a major event keenly followed by players worldwide. Its winners included the legends Mikhail Botvinnik, Boris Spassky, Mikhail Tal, Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov. It often lasted a month and up to 20 rounds and it was played before packed audiences in Moscow, Leningrad or Kiev ... This week’s 2015 Russian championship provided a low-key contrast ... ....

Wesley So fights back strongly after controversial St Louis default

Edit The Guardian 25 Apr 2015
Last week Wesley So was the psychologically bruised victim of a questionable refereeing decision. This week he is competing for a high prize with the world champion in the strongest tournament of 2015 ... It was a bizarre red card when yellow, a time penalty, would have been appropriate ... That adds up to an impressive display of mental resilience ... Carlsen is also in fine form ... The patriarch Mikhail Botvinnik must be spinning in his grave ... ....

Wesley So fight backs strongly after controversial St Louis default

Edit The Guardian 24 Apr 2015
3387. The white king is missing. What is the only square on which it can be placed to give a legal position? By Raymond Smullyan (Guardian 1957). Leonard Barden. Friday 24 April 2015 19.22 BST. Last week Wesley So was the psychologically bruised victim of a questionable refereeing decision ... It was a bizarre red card when yellow, a time penalty, would have been appropriate ... The patriarch Mikhail Botvinnik must be spinning in his grave ... ....

Bobby Fischer out-sovieted the Soviets

Edit The Charlotte Observer 03 Apr 2015
But there was unexpected compensation ... The new approach had been fully embodied in the dynamic ideas and play of Mikhail Chigorin (1850-1908). His legacy was then more fully developed in the play of post-war Soviet grandmasters, especially Mikhail Botvinnik ... ....

Hastings maintains widespread appeal in face of strong global competition

Edit The Guardian 26 Dec 2014
3390. Magnus Carlsen v Alex Morozevich, Biel 2006. How did the then 15-year-old future world champion induce resignation in just three moves? Photograph. Graphic. Leonard Barden. Friday 26 December 2014 14.59 GMT ... Some Englishmen have been inspired by the Hastings occasion. Sir George Thomas, who was world No1 at badminton before switching to chess, beat the legends Mikhail Botvinnik and José Capablanca in successive rounds ... Topics ... ....

Magnus Carlsen and a Parade of Chess Champions

Edit Huffington Post 01 Dec 2014
The world chess champion Magnus Carlsen turned 24 last Sunday and had many reasons to celebrate. it was the most fruitful year of his young chess career ... The final score was 6.5-4.5 ... It was Mikhail Tal's birthday ... Sochi 2014 ... In the sixth game of the 1951 world championship match, David Bronstein made an unfortunate king move (57.Kc2) and Mikhail Botvinnik punished him. Bronstein - Botvinnik ... Botvinnik played 57...Kg3! and white resigned ... A....

Magnus Carlsen’s poor form continues in Vishy Anand world title rematch

Edit The Guardian 21 Nov 2014
3385 M Botvinnik v V Smyslov, world title match 1958. Black (to play) went Rde8 and lost. How could he have won? Photograph ... Jose Capablanca’s active social life and his bridge sessions during the match handicapped his 1927 title defence, while Mikhail Botvinnik’s decision to give his scientific work priority over chess following his 1948 victory led to his uneven play against David Bronstein in 1951 when he was lucky to keep his crown....
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