Edward Winter
Mark Taimanov (See C.N. 9325 below.)
Regarding this photograph taken during the 1953 Candidates’ tournament in Neuhausen and Zurich [and shown in C.N.s 3852 and 3956] we are informed by Grzegorz Siwek (Warsaw) that the figure on Kotov’s left is D. Postnikov.
The latest key is thus: Averbakh, N.N., Keres, N.N., Perret, N.N., N.N., Kotov, Postnikov, N.N., Taimanov, Geller and Petrosian.
(6225)
‘Now that the drawing for the Candidates’ Matches has been held, it is a natural thing for everyone to make predictions as to who will end up in the challengers’ [sic] seat next year playing against Boris Spassky of the USSR for the world title.’
So wrote George Koltanowski on page 4 of Chess Digest Magazine, January 1971, although an alternative view is that making public predictions is unnatural, pointless and vulgar. In any case, Koltanowski’s chess judgement resulted in the following declaration on Fischer v Taimanov:
‘I believe it will be a very close match, with Fischer winning it 5½-4½.’
Fischer won 6-0.
(3561)
A detail from the photograph of Fischer and Taimanov on the front cover of the July 1971 Chess Life & Review:
Mark Taimanov (Moscow) informs us that he plans to dispose of his chess library and is seeking a buyer.
The collection consists of over 500 books plus 120 complete volumes of periodicals. To mention only some of the categories, there are nearly 80 books on the openings, almost 60 on the middle-game and 14 on endings. Other categories include tournament and match books, biographical games collections, endgame studies, year books and memoirs. Most of the works are in Russian, but there are also volumes in English, French, German, Spanish, Hungarian, Czech, Serbian, Finnish and Estonian. A number of books are inscribed by their authors.
Any readers interested in acquiring this unique collection are invited to let us know as soon as possible, and we shall forward their contact details to Mr Taimanov.
Below, from our archives, is a photograph taken during the 1953 Candidates’ tournament in Neuhausen and Zurich:
Mark Taimanov and Salo Flohr
(7355)
Page 89 of the September-October 1943 American Chess Bulletin had an interview with Botvinnik published in ‘a recent issue of the “Information Bulletin” of the USSR Embassy at Washington’. The future world champion’s remarks included the following:
‘The War has caused many losses among Soviet chessplayers. The talented young masters Sergei Belavenets, Joseph Rudakovsky and Lev Kaiyev have perished in battle for their country. Mark Stolberg, 18-year-old [sic] Rostov master, is missing in action. A German bomb killed Alexander Ilyin-Zhenevsky, one of the old Russian masters, who at a tournament in Moscow in 1935 [sic – 1925] won a sensational game from Capablanca, then world champion. I was personally indebted to Ilyin-Zhenevsky for organizing my match with Grossmeister Salo Flohr in 1933. Ilyin-Zhenevsky was at that time working in the Soviet diplomatic mission in Prague. Also among the missing are the masters Ilya Rabinovich, participant in many international chess tournaments, and Nikolai Ryumin, whose name swept the entire chess world in 1935 when he won a victory over Capablanca in the first round of the Second Moscow International Tournament.
Other gifted players are taking the places of those who have gone. In the city championship tournament in Tashkent, 16-year-old Mark Makov [sic – Taimanov] shared the first and second prizes with Grossmeister Salo Flohr, who has become a Soviet citizen and is now residing in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. Considerable improvement is noticeable in the playing of Vasili Smyslov and Isaac Bogoslavsky [sic – Boleslavsky].’
Regarding Rudakovsky, Jeremy Gaige’s Chess Personalia states that he died in 1947, in Chernovtsy.
(7680)
C.N. 7680 quoted an early reference to Taimanov (though as ‘16-year-old Mark Makov’) on page 89 of the September-October 1943 American Chess Bulletin. The full page:
Taimanov was also mentioned in an article on page 379 of the December 1943 Chess Review:
(10232)
Vitaliy Yurchenko (Uhta, Komi, Russian Federation) sends this photograph showing Mark Taimanov (seated on the right) from page 256 of the June 1938 issue of Шахматы в СССР:
(10242)
‘As far as Garik [Kasparov] was concerned, I immediately came to blows with him. For he first made a move and only then thought about it. While the proper order is, as you know, exactly the other way around. “Watch out”, I used to say to him, “if you go on like this you’ll become a Taimanov or a Larsen, Garik.” These two were the same, even when they were grandmasters – first move, then think.’
Christian Sánchez (Rosario, Argentina) quotes the above remark by Botvinnik from page 40 of the 0/1984 issue of New in Chess (in a feature, ‘Botvinnik speaks out’, on pages 36-43).
(8192)
Olimpiu G. Urcan (Singapore) provides the photograph below (Mark Taimanov in play against Friðrik Ólafsson, Hastings, 28 December 1955), from page 31 of the Illustrated London News, 7 January 1956:
(8975)
A comment by Bobby Fischer in the article ‘“This little thing between me and Spassky” – Bobby Fischer talks to James Burke’ on pages 51-52 of The Listener, 13 July 1972, further to a BBC-2 television programme broadcast at the beginning of the month:
(On his prospects against Spassky.) ‘It’s not 100 per cent, but it wasn’t 100 per cent that I was going to beat Taimanov or Larsen or Petrosian. I think I am definitely the heavy favourite according to all past results.’
(9268)
From Swiss sources in our collection:
Mark Taimanov
(9325)
Ewen McLaughlin (Betws, Wales) enquires about the position after 57 Ka6 in the fourth match-game between Fischer and Taimanov, Vancouver, 25 May 1971:
Most sources, old and new, have Taimanov’s move as 57...Ng8, but occasionally (e.g. in the 1976 and 1986 editions of Christiaan M. Bijl’s anthology of Fischer’s games) 57...Nc8 is given.
Can the discrepancy be resolved beyond all reasonable doubt?
(9959)
Evidence in support of Taimanov’s move being 57...Nc8, as opposed to 57...Ng8, has not been found. Dan Scoones (Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada) notes that, for instance, the June 1971 issue of Northwest Chess gave 57...Ng8 (see page 9).
However, the magazine then had 58...Ne7, 59...Kc6 and 60...Kc7. As Ewen McLaughlin (Betws, Wales) points out, that sequence is on page 369 of Profile of a Prodigy by Frank Brady (New York, 1973) but the other books consulted put 58...Ne7, 59...Nc6 and 60...Ne7.
(9991)
Mark Taimanov’s memoirs Вспоминая самых-самых ... (St Petersburg, 2003) have yet to be translated into English, but in 2010 a new Russian edition appeared which is one of the most beautiful autobiographical chess works:
Inside covers
Back cover
(10231)
From Olimpiu G. Urcan:
‘The Swiss Federal Archives have some rare chess footage, including an 84-second segment on the last round and prize ceremony of the Candidates’ tournament in Switzerland on 23 October 1953. It features, among others, Bronstein, Keres, Reshevsky, Smyslov and Taimanov.’
Mark Taimanov and Samuel Reshevsky
(10905)
From Chess and Music:
A Genius of Chess and Music’ by M.D. Broun on pages 57-59 of Chess World, April 1953 discussed Mark Taimanov.
From Chess: Mistaken Identity:
Page 42 of the Times, 30 November 2016 consisted of an obituary of Mark Taimanov which was illustrated with a large photograph of Leonid Stein:
To the Archives
for other feature articles.
Copyright Edward Winter. All rights reserved.