Lev Aronin

Lev Solomonovich Aronin (Russian: Лев Соломонович Аронин; 20 July 1920, Kuibyshev – 3 October 1983, Moscow) was a Soviet International Master of chess. He was a meteorologist by profession.

Early years

Lev Solomonovich Aronin played in eight USSR Chess Championships, which were the strongest tournaments in the world during his era, and placed as high as a tie for 2nd–4th places in 1950 at Moscow.

He was the youngest of three brothers, with Gregory (1913–2007) being the eldest, and Efim (1915–1989) being the second. Gregory taught him chess at the age of 8, and he could recall that at the age of 14, Lev beat him and Efim simultaneously without looking at the boards while they were making the moves over the chessboards for Lev and themselves. Gregory later told:

Early competitive results

Aronin lost a match quite badly in 1944, to the strong, experienced Master Alexander Konstantinopolsky, by +1−6=5. In an All-USSR First Category tournament at Gorky, 1945, Aronin scored 5/15, for 14th place out of 16 players. However, he then achieved a very fine win in a tournament (likely a USSR Championship quarter-final) at Erevan 1945, scoring an unbeaten 12/15. He then scored 7½/15 in the Soviet Championship semifinal, Moscow 1945, tying for 8th–9th places. In a Candidate Masters' tournament at Kaunas, 1946, Aronin won clear first place with 11/14, losing only one game. This earned him the Soviet Master title, and marked a big improvement in his play in just two years.

Mikhail Tal

Mikhail Tal (Latvian: Mihails Tāls; Russian: Михаил Нехемьевич Таль, Mikhail Nekhem'evich Tal, pronounced [mʲɪxɐˈil nʲɪˈxʲemʲɪvʲɪtɕ ˈtal]; sometimes transliterated Mihails Tals or Mihail Tal; 9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Russian - Latvian chess Grandmaster and the eighth World Chess Champion (from 1960 to 1961).

Widely regarded as a creative genius and the best attacking player of all time, he played in a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability. Every game, he once said, was as inimitable and invaluable as a poem. He was often called "Misha", a diminutive for Mikhail, and "The magician from Riga". Both The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games and Modern Chess Brilliancies include more games by Tal than any other player. In addition, Tal was a highly regarded chess writer. He also holds the records for both the first and second longest unbeaten streaks in competitive chess history.

The Mikhail Tal Memorial has been held in Moscow annually since 2006 to honour Tal's memory.