1969 in chess
Encyclopedia
Top players
Provisional FIDE top 10 by Elo rating - 1969- Bobby FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
2720 - Boris SpasskyBoris SpasskyBoris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
2690 - Viktor KorchnoiViktor KorchnoiViktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
2680 - Mikhail BotvinnikMikhail BotvinnikMikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
2660 - Tigran PetrosianTigran PetrosianTigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
2650 - Bent LarsenBent LarsenJørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
2630 - Efim GellerEfim GellerEfim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions...
2620 - Lajos PortischLajos PortischLajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...
2620 - Paul KeresPaul KeresPaul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
2610 - Lev PolugaevskyLev PolugaevskyLev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title...
2610
Chess news in brief
- Boris SpasskyBoris SpasskyBoris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
defeats Tigran PetrosianTigran PetrosianTigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
12½-10½ in Moscow, to become the tenth World Chess ChampionWorld Chess ChampionshipThe World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
. In an otherwise close contest, it is generally believed that Spassky's greater ambition and superior tactical awareness give him the edge. In game 19, he demolishes the defending Champion's Sicilian DefenceSicilian DefenceThe Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
in just 24 moves. - The World Junior ChampionshipWorld Junior Chess ChampionshipThe World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
is held in StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and the chess world witnesses the emergence of a future star in young Anatoly KarpovAnatoly KarpovAnatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
. He takes the title by three clear points with 10/11, and enjoys a run of eight straight wins. Andras AdorjanAndras AdorjanAndrás Adorján is a Hungarian author and Grandmaster of chess , born in Budapest. He adopted his mother's surname Adorján in 1968....
leads the following pack and has his own moment of glory at the European Junior ChampionshipEuropean Junior Chess ChampionshipThe first chess youth championship in Europe was the yearly European Junior Championship for under age 20. It was played from 1971–2002. FIDE officially introduced the European Junior Championship in 1970 at their Annual Congress and so the 1971/72 edition was the first official European...
at Groningen, where he is a clear winner. - At LuganoLuganoLugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
in 1968, Professor Arpad EloÁrpád ÉloArpad Emrick Elo is the creator of the Elo rating system for two-player games such as chess. Born in Egyházaskesző, Austro-Hungarian Empire, he moved to the United States with his parents as a child in 1913.Elo was a professor of physics at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was...
(Milwaukee), Folke RogardFolke RogardBror Axel Folke Per Rogard was a Swedish lawyer and chess official.He was born in Stockholm. He was Vice-President of the international chess governing body, FIDE, from 1947 to 1949 and then succeeded Alexander Rueb as President. He held the post until succeeded by Max Euwe in 1970.-External links:...
(FIDE President), Dr. Dorazil (Austria) and GM Svetozar GligorićSvetozar GligoricSvetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
, formed a (FIDE) sub-committee charged with creating an internationally compatible rating system. Such a system could be used to judge the comparative strength of players and provide a fairer basis upon which 'master titles' would be awarded. Upon completion of their task, the newly conceived Elo rating system is used to make sense of the many game results collected from January 1966 to May 1969. The resulting, provisional 'world list' comprises the top 10 players (given above) and further includes … Smyslov, Stein, Tal (all 2610); Olafsson, Kholmov (both 2600); Bronstein, Furman, Gligoric, Hort, Najdorf, Taimanov (all 2590); Gipslis, Krogius (both 2580); Evans, Lein, Reshevsky, Vasiukov (all 2570); Antoshin, LutikovAnatoly LutikovAnatoly Lutikov was a chess Grandmaster. He played from 1949 to 1983.-External links:...
, Matulovic, Savon, Suetin, Unzicker, Zaitsev A. (all 2560) … - Petrosian wins the 37th Soviet ChampionshipUSSR Chess ChampionshipThis is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship. It was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners...
after a (1970) play-off with Lev PolugaevskyLev PolugaevskyLev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title...
, both players having finished with 14/22. The tournament doubles up as a zonal qualifier for the next cycle of the World Championship. Fellow qualifiers are Efim GellerEfim GellerEfim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions...
, Vasily SmyslovVasily SmyslovVasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
and Mark TaimanovMark TaimanovMark Evgenievich Taimanov is a leading Soviet and Russian chess player and concert pianist.-Chess:He was awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1952 and played in the Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953, where he tied for eighth place. From 1946 to 1956, he was among the world's top...
; they all progress to next year's InterzonalInterzonalInterzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
tournament. Mikhail TalMikhail TalMikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
awaits an operation to remove a kidney and understandably struggles to finish 'off the pace', with 10½/22. - The winner of the Raach zonal tournament is Wolfgang UhlmannWolfgang UhlmannWolfgang Uhlmann is a prominent German International Grandmaster of chess. Despite being a dedicated professional chess player, and undoubtedly the GDR's most successful ever, he has also had a career in accountancy.-Chess career:...
with 15½/21, a full two points clear of the field, which includes Ulf AnderssonUlf AnderssonUlf Andersson is a leading Swedish chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1970 and the Grandmaster title in 1972 .-Career:...
, Jan SmejkalJan SmejkalJan Smejkal is a Czech chess player and, since 1972, an International Grandmaster. In the 1970s, he was among the world chess elite...
, Borislav IvkovBorislav IvkovBorislav Ivkov is a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was the first ever World Junior Champion in 1951. He won the Yugoslav Championship in 1958 , 1963 and 1972. He was a World championship candidate in 1965, and played in four more Interzonal tournaments, in 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979...
and Lajos PortischLajos PortischLajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...
(all 13½/21). - Bent LarsenBent LarsenJørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
wins at Palma de MallorcaPalma de MallorcaPalma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...
with 12/17, from Petrosian (11½/17). It's an impressive win for the Danish GM, given that the line-up also contains Viktor KorchnoiViktor KorchnoiViktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
, Vlastimil HortVlastimil HortVlastimil Hort is a chess Grandmaster of Czech nationality. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the world's strongest players and reached the Candidates stage of competition for the world chess championship, but was never able to compete for the actual title.Hort was born in Kladno,...
and Boris Spassky. - Mikhail BotvinnikMikhail BotvinnikMikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
and Geller share victory at Wijk aan ZeeWijk aan ZeeWijk aan Zee is a small town on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk in the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel chess tournament formerly Corus chess tournament and before that called Hoogovens tournament takes place there every year.Due...
with 10½/15, ahead of Portisch and Paul KeresPaul KeresPaul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
(both 10/15). - Korchnoi and Alexei Suetin are joint winners of the CapablancaJosé Raúl CapablancaJosé Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
Memorial in HavanaHavanaHavana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
. Their score of 11/15, narrowly edges out Svetozar GligorićSvetozar GligoricSvetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
on 10½/15. - It's a good year for Portisch, who wins at AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
with 11½/15, at Monte CarloMonte CarloMonte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
(with Smyslov, 8/11) and at HastingsHastings International Chess CongressThe Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
(1969/70 edition), scoring 6/9, ahead of Hort, Gligoric and Uhlmann. - Jonathan PenroseJonathan PenroseJonathan Penrose, OBE is an English chess player, emeritus Grandmaster, and International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster who won the British Chess Championship ten times between 1958 and 1969. He is the son of Lionel Penrose, a world famous professor of genetics, and brother of Roger Penrose...
extends his record number of British ChampionshipBritish Chess ChampionshipThe British Chess Championship is organised by the English Chess Federation. There are separate championships for men and women. Since 1923 there have been sections for juniors, and since 1982 there has been an over-sixty championship. The championship venue usually changes every year and has been...
wins to ten at RhylRhylRhyl is a seaside resort town and community situated on the north east coast of Wales, in the county of Denbighshire , at the mouth of the River Clwyd . To the west is the suburb of Kinmel Bay, with the resort of Towyn further west, Prestatyn to the east and Rhuddlan to the south...
in Wales. The Championships also feature exciting future prospects Michael SteanMichael SteanMichael Francis Stean is an English chess grandmaster and author.-Junior career:He learned to play chess before the age of five, developing a promising talent that led to junior honours, including the London under-14 and British under-16 titles.There was more progress in 1971, when he placed third...
, winner of the Under-16 event and Jonathan Speelman, the winner at Under-14 level. - In America, Samuel ReshevskySamuel ReshevskySamuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
is also making history. His U.S. ChampionshipU.S. Chess ChampionshipThe U.S. Chess Championship is an invitational tournament held to determine the national chess champion of the United States. Since 1936, it has been held under the auspices of the U.S. Chess Federation. Until 1999, the event consisted of a round-robin tournament of varying size...
win echoes all the way back to 1936 when he won the first ever (tournament style) national championship. With this, his eighth win, he equals Bobby FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
's previous record achievement. - The Women's Chess OlympiadChess OlympiadThe Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
, held in LublinLublinLublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
, is thoroughly dominated by the USSR team with a near perfect 26/28, ahead of Hungary (20½/28) and Czechoslovakia (19/28). - Ulf Andersson, at just eighteen years, wins his first Swedish ChampionshipSwedish Chess ChampionshipThe first Swedish Champion was Gustaf Nyholm who won two matches against winners of national tournaments: Berndtsson in Göteborg and Löwenborg in Stockholm in 1917. Until 1931 Swedish Chess Championships decided by match play. In the 1930s, Gideon Ståhlberg held the title in spite of results of the...
. - Ludek PachmanLudek PachmanLuděk Pachman was a Czechoslovak-German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and political activist. In 1972, after being imprisoned and tortured almost to death by the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, he was allowed to emigrate to West Germany...
, Czechoslovak chess player, writer and political activist is imprisoned for a considerable time on unspecified charges, following his constant campaigning against the Communist occupation of his homeland. At one point he goes on hunger strike and is dangerously close to death. Much later, he is allowed to immigrate to West Germany. - Publishers Simon and Schuster (New York) and Faber and FaberFaber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
(London) release Bobby Fischer's My 60 Memorable GamesMy 60 Memorable GamesMy 60 Memorable Games is a chess book by Bobby Fischer, first published in 1969. It is a collection of his games dating from the 1957 New Jersey Open to the 1967 Sousse Interzonal. Unlike many players' anthologies, which are often titled My Best Games and include only victories, My 60 Memorable...
. Reviewers hail it as one of the most important chess books in modern times. It is particularly praised for the candour of the commentary and the expert quality of the analysis. - The first ever national championshipJapanese Chess ChampionshipThe women's championship has been largely dominated by Naoko Takemoto -Winners:-References:* Results from the Japanese Chess Federation * Short biography on Akira Wanatabe * Chess in Japan...
is contested in Japan. - U.S. magazines Chess LifeChess LifeChess Life is a monthly chess magazine published in the United States. The official publication of the United States Chess Federation , it reaches more than a quarter of a million readers every month. A subscription to Chess Life is one of the benefits of Full Adult, Youth, or Life membership in...
and Chess ReviewChess ReviewChess Review is a U.S. chess magazine that was published from January 1933 until October 1969 . Until April 1941 it was called The Chess Review. Published in New York, it began on a schedule of at least ten issues a year but later became a monthly...
merge to form Chess Life & Review. It remains in this format from 1969 until 1980, when it reverts back to Chess Life. - The veteran Fritz Samisch, a much respected player in his day, participates at the BusumBüsumBüsum is a fishing and tourist town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the North Sea coast, approx. 18 km southwest of Heide....
tournament and loses all fifteen of his games on time.
Births
- Viswanathan AnandViswanathan AnandV. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
, Indian GM, twice the World Champion in 2000 and 2007 - December 11 - Vassily Ivanchuk, Ukrainian GM and former European Champion and World Blitz Champion - March 18
- Susan PolgarSusan PolgarSusan Polgar is a Hungarian-American chess Grandmaster...
, U.S./Hungarian GM and former Women's World Champion - April 19 - Alexei Dreev, Russian GM, twice the World Youth Champion at Cadet/Under 16 level - January 30
- Jeroen PiketJeroen PiketJeroen Piket is a retired Dutch chess player who earned the Grandmaster title in 1989. He won the Dutch Chess Championship in 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1994. Other notable results include a second place at the Hoogovens tournament 1997...
, Dutch GM (retired) and a four-time winner of the national championship - January 27 - Gregory SerperGregory SerperGregory Serper is an International Grandmaster of chess.He was born in Tashkent, in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union . At age 6, he learned to play chess from his grandfather...
, U.S./Soviet GM and former winner of the World Open - September 14 - Thomas LutherThomas LutherThomas Luther is a German chess player and International Grandmaster of Chess. In 2000 he was a member of the German team that won the silver medal in the 34th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul....
, German GM and three times the national champion - November 4 - Wu ShaobinWu ShaobinWu Shaobin is a Singaporean Grandmaster chess player. He won the national Singaporean Chess Championship in 2003 and 2005. He is married to former Women's World Chess Champion Xie Jun....
, Chinese GM and winner of the championship of Singapore in 2003 and 2005 - February 4 - Svetlana MatveevaSvetlana MatveevaSvetlana Matveeva is a chess player from Russia. She is a Woman Grandmaster and an International master.In 1984, she tied for first with Anna Akhsharumova in the Women's Soviet Chess Championship...
, Russian WGM and IM. Many times the USSR and Russian Women's Champion - July 4 - Aaron SummerscaleAaron SummerscaleAaron Summerscale is an English chess player who holds the title Grandmaster.Summerscale was joint British Rapidplay Chess Champion in 2000. His current FIDE rating is 2449.-External links:...
, English GM and British Rapidplay Champion in 2000 - August 26 - Ildikó MádlIldiko MadlIldikó Mádl is a Hungarian chess player.Madl learned to play chess from her father. In 1978 she became a pupil of the chess school Mereszjev that helped to promote talented Hungarian children and teenagers....
, Hungarian WGM and IM. Former World and European Junior Girls' Champion - November 5 - Anjelina BelakovskaiaAnjelina BelakovskaiaAnjelina Belakovskaia is a United States chess player who has achieved the FIDE Woman Grandmaster and International Master titles.She is a three-time U.S...
, U.S./Ukrainian WGM and IM. Three times the U.S. Women's Champion - May 17 - Olav SeppOlav SeppOlav Sepp is an Estonian International Master of chess and six-time champion of Estonia . Sepp also has several other top three finishes in the Estonian championship: 2nd in 1997, 3rd in 1998, 2nd in 1999 and 2000, 3rd in 2001, 3rd in 2005 , and 2nd in 2006...
, Estonian IM and six times the winner of the national championship - ? - Stuart RachelsStuart RachelsStuart Rachels is an International Master of chess and the son of the philosopher James Rachels . He tied for first place in the 1989-90 U.S. Chess Championship. Although no longer an active player, his FIDE rating is 2485, and his USCF rating is 2605.Rachels grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. He...
, U.S. International Master and a former national champion - September 26
Deaths
- Alexander TolushAlexander TolushAlexander Kazimirovich Tolush was a Soviet Russian chess grandmaster. He was one of Boris Spassky's mentors. Tolush was born and died in Saint Petersburg...
, Soviet-Russian GM, renowned journalist and trainer of Spassky and Keres - March 3 - Alexey SokolskyAlexey SokolskyAlexey Pavlovich Sokolsky was a Ukrainian-Belarusian chess player of International Master strength in over-the board chess, a noted correspondence chess player, and an opening theoretician....
, Soviet theoretician, former Correspondence Champion of the USSR - December 27 - Kurt RichterKurt RichterKurt Paul Otto Joseph Richter was a German chess International Master and chess writer.- Chess achievements :...
, German IM, theoretician, writer and former Champion of Berlin - December 29 - Joao de Souza MendesJoão de Souza MendesJoão de Souza Mendes was a seven-time Brazilian chess champion.Born in Portugal, Souza Mendes played in the Brazilian Chess Championship 29 times, winning in 1925 , 1928, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1954, and 1958...
, seven times the national champion of Brazil - July 10 - Walter HennebergerWalter HennebergerWalter Henneberger was a Swiss chess master.He was Swiss Champion in 1904, 1906 , 1911 , and 1912.He took 16th at The Hague 1928 ....
, Swiss Master and four times the national champion - January 15 - Leonids DreibergsLeonids DreibergsLeonids Dreibergs was a Latvian–American chess master.He took 6th at Riga 1930 , took 9th at Kemeri 1939 , and took 5th at Riga 1941 .At the end of World War II, joining the westward exodus in 1944/45, he — along with many other Baltic players, e.g...
, Latvian-American Master, twice the winner of the Michigan Championship - April 6 - Otto LöwenborgOtto LöwenborgOtto von Löwenborg was a Swedish chess master.In January 1912, he won a simultaneous exhibition game against Frank James Marshall in Stockholm...
, leading Swedish Master of the early 20th Century - December ?