David Bronstein
Encyclopedia
David Ionovich Bronstein (Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн; February 19, 1924 – December 5, 2006) was a Soviet chess
grandmaster
, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951
. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics. He was also a renowned chess writer.
, Ukraine
, to a Jewish mother and father. Growing up, he learned chess at age six from his grandfather. As a youth in Kiev
, he was trained by the renowned International Master Alexander Konstantinopolsky
. He finished second in the Kiev Championship when he was only 15, and achieved the Soviet Master title at age 16 for his second-place result in the 1940 Ukrainian Chess Championship
, behind Isaac Boleslavsky
, with whom he became close friends both on and off the chessboard. He would later go on to marry Boleslavsky's daughter, Tatiana, in 1984.
After completing high school, his plans to study mathematics at Kiev University
were interrupted by the spread of World War II throughout eastern Europe in the early 1940s. Shortly after the war's conclusion, he began attending Leningrad Polytechnical Institute where he studied for approximately one year.
Judged unfit for military service, Bronstein spent the war performing various jobs; this included doing some reconstruction of war-damaged buildings and other clerical/labor type jobs. Also during the war, his father, Johonon, was unfairly imprisoned for several years in the Gulag
and was detained without substantial evidence for committing any crimes, it was later revealed.
The rumor that Bronstein was related to the disgraced former Soviet Communist leader Leon Trotsky
(whose real family name was Bronstein), was treated as unconfirmed, but doubtful, by Bronstein in his book The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1995). This belief could have explained the imprisonment of Bronstein's father.
at the 1944 USSR Championship
. Bronstein raised his skill dramatically to place third in the 1945 USSR Championship, and he won both his games played on board ten, helping the Soviet team to victory in the famous 1945 USSR vs. USA Radio Chess Match
. He then competed successfully in several team matches, and gradually proved he belonged in the Soviet chess elite.
Interzonal
of 1948, which he won. He earned his Grandmaster title in 1950, when FIDE, the World Chess Federation, formalized the process. His Interzonal win qualified him for the Candidates' Tournament of 1950 in Budapest
. Bronstein became the eventual winner over Boleslavsky in a (Moscow) 1950 playoff, after the two tied in Budapest. The period 1945–50 saw a meteoric rise in Bronstein's development, as he reached the World Chess Championship
challenge match, in 1951.
Bronstein is widely considered to be one of the greatest post-war players not to have won the World Championship (an accolade he shares with the likes of Paul Keres
and Viktor Korchnoi
). He came agonizingly close to his goal when he drew the 1951 challenge match for the title of World Champion by a score of 12–12 with Mikhail Botvinnik, the reigning champion.
In a match where the lead swung back and forth several times, the two titans tested each other in a wide variety of opening formations, and every game (except the 24th) was full-blooded and played hard to a clear finish. Bronstein often avoided lines he had favored in earlier events, and frequently adopted Botvinnik's own preferred variations. This strategy seemed to catch Botvinnik by surprise; the champion had not played competitively for three years since winning the title in 1948. The quality of play was very high by both players, although Botvinnik would later complain of his own weak play. He only grudgingly acknowledged Bronstein's huge talent. Bronstein led by one point with two games to go, but lost the 23rd game and drew
the final (24th) game. Under FIDE rules, the title remained with the holder, and Bronstein was never to come so close again. He later wrote that it was likely better that he didn't win the world title, since his free-spirited, artistic personality would have been at odds with Soviet bureaucracy.
Botvinnik wrote that Bronstein's failure was caused by a tendency to underestimate endgame technique, and a lack of ability in simple positions. But this seems unfair, given Botvinnik's enormous advantage in experience when dealing with adjourned positions, which largely decided the 1951 match, since Botvinnik won four virtually level endgames after the adjournments. Bronstein proved, both before and after that match, that he was a very skilled endgame player, and could handle any chess position as well as practically anyone else.
It has often been alleged that Bronstein was forced by the Soviet authorities to throw the match to allow Botvinnik to win. Similarly, in the 1953 Candidates' Tournament at Neuhausen
and Zürich
, it has been speculated that there was pressure on the top non-Russian Soviets, Keres and Bronstein, to allow Vasily Smyslov
to win. Even in the wake of glasnost
, however, Bronstein never fully confirmed these rumors in his public statements or writings, admitting only to 'strong psychological pressure' being applied. In his final book, however, published in 2007 after his death, Bronstein wrote that Smyslov was favoured for Zurich 1953 by the Soviet Chess Federation, and that other Soviet representatives were pressured to make this happen.
. This result qualified him directly for the 1955 Gothenburg
Interzonal, which he won with an unbeaten score. From there it was on to another near miss in the 1956 Candidates' tournament in Amsterdam
, where he wound up in a large tie for third through seventh places, behind winner Smyslov and runner-up Keres.
Bronstein had to qualify for the 1958 Interzonal, and did so by placing third at the USSR Championship, Riga
1958. At the 1958 Interzonal in Portorož
, Bronstein, who had been picked as pre-event favorite by Bobby Fischer
, missed moving on to the 1959 Candidates' by half a point, dropping a last-round game to the much weaker Filipino Rodolfo Tan Cardoso
, when the power failed during the game, and he was unable to regain concentration. Bronstein missed qualification at the Soviet Zonal
stage for the 1962 cycle. Then at the Amsterdam 1964 Interzonal, Bronstein scored very well, but only three Soviets could advance, by a FIDE rule, and he finished behind countrymen Smyslov, Mikhail Tal
, and Boris Spassky
, who finished as the joint winners, along with Larsen. His last Interzonal took place at the age of 49 when he finished 6th at Petropolis
1973.
Bronstein took many first prizes in tournaments, among the most notable being the Soviet Chess Championships of 1948 (jointly with Alexander Kotov
) and 1949 (jointly with Smyslov). He also tied for second place at the Soviet Championships of 1957 and 1964–65. He tied first with Mark Taimanov
at the World Students' Championship in 1952 at Liverpool
. Bronstein was also a six times winner of the Moscow Championships
, and represented the USSR at the Olympiads
of 1952
, 1954
, 1956
and 1958
, winning board prizes at each of them, and losing just one of his 49 games in those events. Along the way he won four Olympiad team gold medals. In the 1954 team match against the USA (held in New York), Bronstein scored an almost unheard-of sweep at this level of play, winning all four of his games on second board.
Further major tournament victories were achieved at Hastings
1953–54, Belgrade
1954, Gotha
1957, Moscow 1959, Szombathely
1966, East Berlin
1968, Dnepropetrovsk 1970, Sarajevo
1971, Sandomierz
1976, Iwonicz Zdrój
1976, Budapest
1977, and Jūrmala
1978.
for many years. He was perhaps most highly regarded for his famous authorship of Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953 (English translation 1979). This book was an enormous seller in the USSR, going through many reprints. More recently, he coauthored the autobiographical The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1995), with his friend Tom Fuerstenberg. Both have become landmarks in chess publishing history; Bronstein seeks to amplify the ideas behind the players' moves, rather than burdening the reader with pages of analysis of moves that never made it onto the scoresheet. Bronstein's romantic vision of chess was shown with his very successful adoption of the rarely seen King's Gambit
in top-level competition. His pioneering theoretical and practical work (along with fellow Ukrainians
Boleslavsky and Efim Geller
) in transforming the King's Indian Defence
should be remembered, and is evidenced in his key contribution to the 1999 book, Bronstein on the King's Indian. Bronstein played an exceptionally wide variety of openings during his long career, on a scale comparable with anyone else who ever reached the top level.
Two more variations are named after him. In the Caro-Kann Defence
, the Bronstein–Larsen Variation goes 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ gxf6. In the Scandinavian Defence, the Bronstein Variation goes 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6.
Bronstein refused to sign a group letter denouncing the 1976 defection of Viktor Korchnoi
, and he paid a personal price for this independence, as his state-paid Master's stipend was suspended, and he was also barred from major tournaments for more than a year.
Bronstein was a chess visionary. He was an early advocate of speeding up competitive chess, and introduced a digital chess clock
which adds a small time increment for each move made, a variant of which has become very popular in recent years. He challenged computer programs at every opportunity, usually achieving good results.
In later years, Bronstein continued to stay active in tournament play, often in Western Europe after the breakup of the USSR. He maintained a very good standard (jointly winning the Hastings
Swiss of 1994–95 at the age of 70), wrote several important chess books, and inspired young and old alike with endless simultaneous displays, a warm, gracious attitude, and glorious tales of his own, rich chess heritage. Bronstein died on December 5, 2006 in Minsk
, Belarus
of complications from high blood pressure.
His final book was nearly complete when he died; it was published in 2007: Secret Notes, by David Bronstein and Sergei Voronkov, Zürich 2007, Edition Olms, ISBN 9783283004644. In the introduction to the book, Garry Kasparov
, a fervent admirer of Bronstein's chess contributions, offers his opinion that Bronstein, based on his play, should have won the 1951 match against Botvinnik.
in a game that ended with a tactic he would later describe as "one of the best combinations in my life, if not the best."
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Be7 10.Bc2 0-0 11.Qe2 f5 12.exf6 Bxf6 13.Nbd2 Bf5 14.Nxe4 Bxe4 15.Bxe4 dxe4 16.Qxe4 Qd7 17.Bf4 Rae8 18.Qc2 Bh4 19.Bg3 Bxg3 20.hxg3 Ne5 21.Nxe5 Rxe5 22.Rfe1 Rd5 23.Rad1 c5 24.a4 Rd8 25.Rxd5 Qxd5 26.axb5 axb5 27.Qe2 b4 28.cxb4 cxb4 29.Qg4 b3 30.Kh2 Qf7 31.Qg5 Rd7 32.f3 h6 33.Qe3 Rd8 34.g4 Kh8 35.Qb6 Rd2 36.Qb8+ Kh7 37.Re8 Qxf3 38.Rh8+ Kg6 39.Rxh6+ (see diagram) Bronstein: "Kortchnoi remained unruffled. He wrote down my move on his scoresheet and began carefully studying the position. I think it seemed incredible to him that White could sacrifice his last rook (I myself could not believe my eyes!). And only when he had convinced himself, did he stop the clocks. These are the variations: A) 39... Kf7 40.Qc7+ Kg8 41.Qc8+ Kf7 42.Qe6+ Kf8 43.Rh8 mate; B) 39... Kg5 40.Qe5+ Kxg4 41.Rg6+ Kh4 42.Qg5 mate; C) 39... gxh6 40.Qg8+ Kf6 41.Qf8+; D) 39... Kxh6 40.Qh8+ Kg6 41.Qh5+ Kf6 42.g5+!" 1–0
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951
World Chess Championship 1951
The 1951 World Chess Championship was played between Mikhail Botvinnik and David Bronstein in Moscow from March 15 to May 11, 1951. Botvinnik retained his title.-Results:The match was played as best of 24 games...
. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics. He was also a renowned chess writer.
Early life
David Bronstein was born in Bila TserkvaBila Tserkva
Bila Tserkva is a city located on the Ros' River in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine, approximately south of the capital, Kiev. Population 203,300 Area 34 km².-Administrative status:...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, to a Jewish mother and father. Growing up, he learned chess at age six from his grandfather. As a youth in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, he was trained by the renowned International Master Alexander Konstantinopolsky
Alexander Konstantinopolsky
Alexander Markovich Konstantinopolsky was a Soviet International Master of chess, chess coach and trainer, and a chess author. He was a five-time Kiev champion, and trained the world title challenger David Bronstein from a young age...
. He finished second in the Kiev Championship when he was only 15, and achieved the Soviet Master title at age 16 for his second-place result in the 1940 Ukrainian Chess Championship
Ukrainian Chess Championship
This is a list of all the winners of the Ukrainian Chess Championship, including those held when Ukraine was a Soviet republic and those held after Ukraine became independent. Players' names listed in parentheses indicate that the player won the tournament but did not receive the title since he...
, behind Isaac Boleslavsky
Isaac Boleslavsky
Isaac Yefremovich Boleslavsky was a Soviet–Jewish chess Grandmaster.-Early career:Boleslavsky taught himself chess at age 9...
, with whom he became close friends both on and off the chessboard. He would later go on to marry Boleslavsky's daughter, Tatiana, in 1984.
After completing high school, his plans to study mathematics at Kiev University
Kiev University
Taras Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv , colloquially known in Ukrainian as KNU is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is the third oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and Kharkiv University. Currently, its structure...
were interrupted by the spread of World War II throughout eastern Europe in the early 1940s. Shortly after the war's conclusion, he began attending Leningrad Polytechnical Institute where he studied for approximately one year.
Judged unfit for military service, Bronstein spent the war performing various jobs; this included doing some reconstruction of war-damaged buildings and other clerical/labor type jobs. Also during the war, his father, Johonon, was unfairly imprisoned for several years in the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
and was detained without substantial evidence for committing any crimes, it was later revealed.
The rumor that Bronstein was related to the disgraced former Soviet Communist leader Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
(whose real family name was Bronstein), was treated as unconfirmed, but doubtful, by Bronstein in his book The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1995). This belief could have explained the imprisonment of Bronstein's father.
Towards Grandmastership
With the tide turning towards an eventual Soviet war victory over the Nazi invaders, Bronstein was able to once again play some competitive chess, and he defeated Soviet champion Mikhail BotvinnikMikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail 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...
at the 1944 USSR Championship
USSR Chess Championship
This 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...
. Bronstein raised his skill dramatically to place third in the 1945 USSR Championship, and he won both his games played on board ten, helping the Soviet team to victory in the famous 1945 USSR vs. USA Radio Chess Match
USA vs. USSR radio chess match 1945
The USA vs. USSR radio chess match 1945 was a chess match between the USA and the USSR that was conducted over the radio from September 1 to September 4, 1945. The ten leading masters of the United States played the ten leading masters of the Soviet Union for chess supremacy. The match was played...
. He then competed successfully in several team matches, and gradually proved he belonged in the Soviet chess elite.
World Title Challenger (1948–51)
Bronstein's first major international tournament success occurred at the SaltsjöbadenSaltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden is a locality situated in Nacka Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 8,937 inhabitants in 2005. It is located on the coast of the Baltic Sea.- History :...
Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
of 1948, which he won. He earned his Grandmaster title in 1950, when FIDE, the World Chess Federation, formalized the process. His Interzonal win qualified him for the Candidates' Tournament of 1950 in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. Bronstein became the eventual winner over Boleslavsky in a (Moscow) 1950 playoff, after the two tied in Budapest. The period 1945–50 saw a meteoric rise in Bronstein's development, as he reached the World Chess Championship
World Chess Championship
The 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....
challenge match, in 1951.
Bronstein is widely considered to be one of the greatest post-war players not to have won the World Championship (an accolade he shares with the likes of Paul Keres
Paul Keres
Paul 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....
and Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor 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...
). He came agonizingly close to his goal when he drew the 1951 challenge match for the title of World Champion by a score of 12–12 with Mikhail Botvinnik, the reigning champion.
In a match where the lead swung back and forth several times, the two titans tested each other in a wide variety of opening formations, and every game (except the 24th) was full-blooded and played hard to a clear finish. Bronstein often avoided lines he had favored in earlier events, and frequently adopted Botvinnik's own preferred variations. This strategy seemed to catch Botvinnik by surprise; the champion had not played competitively for three years since winning the title in 1948. The quality of play was very high by both players, although Botvinnik would later complain of his own weak play. He only grudgingly acknowledged Bronstein's huge talent. Bronstein led by one point with two games to go, but lost the 23rd game and drew
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
the final (24th) game. Under FIDE rules, the title remained with the holder, and Bronstein was never to come so close again. He later wrote that it was likely better that he didn't win the world title, since his free-spirited, artistic personality would have been at odds with Soviet bureaucracy.
Botvinnik wrote that Bronstein's failure was caused by a tendency to underestimate endgame technique, and a lack of ability in simple positions. But this seems unfair, given Botvinnik's enormous advantage in experience when dealing with adjourned positions, which largely decided the 1951 match, since Botvinnik won four virtually level endgames after the adjournments. Bronstein proved, both before and after that match, that he was a very skilled endgame player, and could handle any chess position as well as practically anyone else.
It has often been alleged that Bronstein was forced by the Soviet authorities to throw the match to allow Botvinnik to win. Similarly, in the 1953 Candidates' Tournament at Neuhausen
Neuhausen
Neuhausen may refer to:*Neuhausen am Rheinfall, a town in the canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland*Neuhausen auf den Fildern, a municipality in Baden-Württemberg, Germany*Neuhausen , a municipality in Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
and Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, it has been speculated that there was pressure on the top non-Russian Soviets, Keres and Bronstein, to allow Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily 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...
to win. Even in the wake of glasnost
Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
, however, Bronstein never fully confirmed these rumors in his public statements or writings, admitting only to 'strong psychological pressure' being applied. In his final book, however, published in 2007 after his death, Bronstein wrote that Smyslov was favoured for Zurich 1953 by the Soviet Chess Federation, and that other Soviet representatives were pressured to make this happen.
Career after 1951
Bronstein challenged throughout in Switzerland, and finished tied for second through fourth places, together with Keres and Samuel ReshevskySamuel Reshevsky
Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
. This result qualified him directly for the 1955 Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
Interzonal, which he won with an unbeaten score. From there it was on to another near miss in the 1956 Candidates' tournament in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam 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...
, where he wound up in a large tie for third through seventh places, behind winner Smyslov and runner-up Keres.
Bronstein had to qualify for the 1958 Interzonal, and did so by placing third at the USSR Championship, Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
1958. At the 1958 Interzonal in Portorož
Portorož
- External links :**...
, Bronstein, who had been picked as pre-event favorite by Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert 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...
, missed moving on to the 1959 Candidates' by half a point, dropping a last-round game to the much weaker Filipino Rodolfo Tan Cardoso
Rodolfo Tan Cardoso
Rodolfo Tan Cardoso is a Philippine chess International Master.In 1956, he won Philippine Junior Championship. In 1957, he took 5th in Toronto ; William Lombardy won)...
, when the power failed during the game, and he was unable to regain concentration. Bronstein missed qualification at the Soviet Zonal
Zonal
Zonal can refer to:* Zonal and meridional, directions on a globe* Zonal and poloidal, directions in a toroidal magnetically confined plasma* Zonal polynomial, a symmetric multivariate polynomial...
stage for the 1962 cycle. Then at the Amsterdam 1964 Interzonal, Bronstein scored very well, but only three Soviets could advance, by a FIDE rule, and he finished behind countrymen Smyslov, Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail 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....
, and Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
, who finished as the joint winners, along with Larsen. His last Interzonal took place at the age of 49 when he finished 6th at Petropolis
Petrópolis
Petrópolis , also known as The Imperial City of Brazil, is a town in the state of Rio de Janeiro, about 65 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro....
1973.
Bronstein took many first prizes in tournaments, among the most notable being the Soviet Chess Championships of 1948 (jointly with Alexander Kotov
Alexander Kotov
Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov was a Soviet chess grandmaster and author. He was a Soviet champion, a two-time world title Candidate, and a prolific chess author. Kotov served in high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation and most of his books were written during the period of Cold War between the...
) and 1949 (jointly with Smyslov). He also tied for second place at the Soviet Championships of 1957 and 1964–65. He tied first with Mark Taimanov
Mark Taimanov
Mark 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...
at the World Students' Championship in 1952 at Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Bronstein was also a six times winner of the Moscow Championships
Moscow City Chess Championship
-References: ****** from chessbase.com...
, and represented the USSR at the Olympiads
Chess Olympiad
The 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...
of 1952
10th Chess Olympiad
The 10th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between August 9 and August 31, 1952, in Helsinki, Finland.-References:* OlimpBase...
, 1954
11th Chess Olympiad
The 11th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between September 4 and September 25, 1954, in Amsterdam, Netherlands...
, 1956
12th Chess Olympiad
The 12th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between August 31 and September 25, 1956, in Moscow, Soviet Union.-References:...
and 1958
13th Chess Olympiad
The 13th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between September 30 and October 23, 1958, in Munich, West Germany.-References:...
, winning board prizes at each of them, and losing just one of his 49 games in those events. Along the way he won four Olympiad team gold medals. In the 1954 team match against the USA (held in New York), Bronstein scored an almost unheard-of sweep at this level of play, winning all four of his games on second board.
Further major tournament victories were achieved at Hastings
Hastings International Chess Congress
The 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...
1953–54, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
1954, Gotha
Gotha (town)
Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...
1957, Moscow 1959, Szombathely
Szombathely
Szombathely is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas county in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria...
1966, East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
1968, Dnepropetrovsk 1970, Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
1971, Sandomierz
Sandomierz
Sandomierz is a city in south-eastern Poland with 25,714 inhabitants . Situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship , previously in Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship . It is the capital of Sandomierz County . Sandomierz is known for its Old Town, a major tourist attraction...
1976, Iwonicz Zdrój
Iwonicz Zdrój
Iwonicz-Zdrój . It is located in the heartland of the Doły , and its average altitude is 410 metres above sea level, although there are some hills located within the confines of the city....
1976, Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
1977, and Jūrmala
Jurmala
Jūrmala is a city in Latvia, about 25 kilometers west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River...
1978.
Legacy and later years
David Bronstein also wrote many chess books and articles, and had a regular chess column in the Soviet newspaper IzvestiaIzvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
for many years. He was perhaps most highly regarded for his famous authorship of Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953 (English translation 1979). This book was an enormous seller in the USSR, going through many reprints. More recently, he coauthored the autobiographical The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1995), with his friend Tom Fuerstenberg. Both have become landmarks in chess publishing history; Bronstein seeks to amplify the ideas behind the players' moves, rather than burdening the reader with pages of analysis of moves that never made it onto the scoresheet. Bronstein's romantic vision of chess was shown with his very successful adoption of the rarely seen King's Gambit
King's Gambit
The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:White offers a pawn to divert the Black e-pawn so as to build a strong centre with d2–d4...
in top-level competition. His pioneering theoretical and practical work (along with fellow Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
Boleslavsky and Efim Geller
Efim Geller
Efim 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...
) in transforming the King's Indian Defence
King's Indian Defence
The King's Indian Defence is a common chess opening. It arises after the moves:Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6.The Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead, and is considered a separate opening...
should be remembered, and is evidenced in his key contribution to the 1999 book, Bronstein on the King's Indian. Bronstein played an exceptionally wide variety of openings during his long career, on a scale comparable with anyone else who ever reached the top level.
Two more variations are named after him. In the Caro-Kann Defence
Caro-Kann Defence
The Caro-Kann Defence is a chess opening —a common defense against the King's Pawn Opening characterised by the moves:The usual continuation isfollowed by 3.Nc3 , 3.Nd2 , 3.exd5 , or 3.e5 . The classical variation has gained much popularity...
, the Bronstein–Larsen Variation goes 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ gxf6. In the Scandinavian Defence, the Bronstein Variation goes 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6.
Bronstein refused to sign a group letter denouncing the 1976 defection of Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor 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...
, and he paid a personal price for this independence, as his state-paid Master's stipend was suspended, and he was also barred from major tournaments for more than a year.
Bronstein was a chess visionary. He was an early advocate of speeding up competitive chess, and introduced a digital chess clock
Game clock
A game clock consists of two adjacent clocks and buttons to stop one clock while starting the other, such that the two component clocks never run simultaneously. Game clocks are used in two-player games where the players move in turn...
which adds a small time increment for each move made, a variant of which has become very popular in recent years. He challenged computer programs at every opportunity, usually achieving good results.
In later years, Bronstein continued to stay active in tournament play, often in Western Europe after the breakup of the USSR. He maintained a very good standard (jointly winning the Hastings
Hastings International Chess Congress
The 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...
Swiss of 1994–95 at the age of 70), wrote several important chess books, and inspired young and old alike with endless simultaneous displays, a warm, gracious attitude, and glorious tales of his own, rich chess heritage. Bronstein died on December 5, 2006 in Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
of complications from high blood pressure.
His final book was nearly complete when he died; it was published in 2007: Secret Notes, by David Bronstein and Sergei Voronkov, Zürich 2007, Edition Olms, ISBN 9783283004644. In the introduction to the book, Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
, a fervent admirer of Bronstein's chess contributions, offers his opinion that Bronstein, based on his play, should have won the 1951 match against Botvinnik.
Notable chess games
- Sergei Belavenets vs David Bronstein, USSR Championship semifinal, Rostov-on-Don 1941, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E67), 0–1 The 17-year-old Bronstein meets the Chairman of the USSR Classification Committee, who had just awarded him the title of Master; the youth shows that it was the right decision!
- Ludek Pachman vs David Bronstein, tt Prague 1946, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E67), 0–1 A stunning original tactical onslaught which attracted worldwide acclaim.
- David Bronstein vs Isaac Boleslavsky, Candidates' Playoff Match, Moscow 1950, game 1, Grunfeld Defence (D89), 1–0 Bronstein offers a far-seeing exchange sacrifice, which ties Black up, leading to a beautiful strategical win.
- Mikhail Botvinnik vs David Bronstein, World Championship Match, Moscow 1951, Nimzo–Indian Defence, Rubinstein Variation (E47), 0–1 Although Bronstein had a slight minus record against Botvinnik, he beat Botvinnik several times with the Black pieces. Here's one of his wins from their 1951 World Championship match.
- David Bronstein vs Mikhail Botvinnik, World Championship Match, Moscow 1951, game 22, Dutch Defence, Stonewall Variation (A91), 1–0 A very deep combination exploits Black's back-rank weakness, giving Bronstein a one-game lead with two to play.
- Samuel Reshevsky vs David Bronstein, Zurich Candidates' 1953, King's Indian, Fianchetto Variation (E68), 0–1 Beforehand, Bronstein was ordered by Soviet chess authorities to win this crucial game, in order to stop Reshevsky's chances of winning the tournament. He gives it everything he has, and triumphs over stout defense. This game was chosen by grandmaster 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:...
as his favourite game by another player and he analyses it in the book Learn from the Grandmasters. - David Bronstein vs Paul Keres, Goteborg Interzonal 1955, Nimzo–Indian Defence, Rubinstein Variation (E41), 1–0 A dramatic game between two attacking geniuses.
- Itzak Aloni vs David Bronstein, Moscow Olympiad 1956, King's Indian Defence, Saemisch Variation (E85), 0–1 This virtuoso game sees Bronstein sacrifice three pawns to open queenside lines into Aloni's King position.
- David Bronstein vs M-20(Computer), Moscu Mathematics Institute 1963, King's Gambit: Accepted, Schallop Defense (C34), 1–0 The oldest known Grandmaster vs Computer match.
- Stefan Brzozka vs David Bronstein, USSR 1963, Dutch Defence, Leningrad Variation (A88), 0–1 A surprising and deep positional breakthrough. The most interesting part of the game starts with White's 42nd move, trying to sacrifice an exchange in order to achieve a seemingly sterile blocked position.
- Lev Polugaevsky vs David Bronstein, USSR 1971, English Opening, Symmetrical Variation (A34), 0–1 Bronstein offers an original, problematic pawn sacrifice, which Polugaevsky accepts, leaving him tied up for the rest of the game; Bronstein converts his positional advantage with deep tactics.
- David Bronstein vs Ljubomir Ljubojevic, Petropolis Interzonal 1973, Alekhine's Defence, Four Pawns' Attack (B03), 1–0 A long-range rook sacrifice eventually brings home the point in scintillating style to win the First Brilliancy Prize.
- David Bronstein vs Viktor Kupreichik, USSR Championship semifinal, Minsk 1983, King's Indian Defence (E90), 1–0 Kupreichik goes toe-to-toe with Bronstein in the King's Indian, and the old master shows the young one a trick or two!
- David Bronstein vs Ivan Sokolov, Pancevo 1987, Grunfeld Defence, Russian Variation (D98), 1–0 Another young master experiences Bronstein's aging but potent chess powers.–
- Stuart Conquest vs David Bronstein, London 1989, CaroKann Defence (B10), 0–1 A dazzling tactical display leaves White helpless in only 26 moves.
- David Bronstein vs Walter Browne, Reykjavik 1990, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation (B99), 1–0 In a very deep theoretical variation, Bronstein comes up with some new ideas, and even Najdorf guru Browne, a six-time U.S. champion, can't find his way.
Sample game
During the 1962 Moscow v. Leningrad Match Bronstein played the top board for the Moscow team. With the white pieces he defeated Viktor KorchnoiViktor Korchnoi
Viktor 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...
in a game that ended with a tactic he would later describe as "one of the best combinations in my life, if not the best."
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Be7 10.Bc2 0-0 11.Qe2 f5 12.exf6 Bxf6 13.Nbd2 Bf5 14.Nxe4 Bxe4 15.Bxe4 dxe4 16.Qxe4 Qd7 17.Bf4 Rae8 18.Qc2 Bh4 19.Bg3 Bxg3 20.hxg3 Ne5 21.Nxe5 Rxe5 22.Rfe1 Rd5 23.Rad1 c5 24.a4 Rd8 25.Rxd5 Qxd5 26.axb5 axb5 27.Qe2 b4 28.cxb4 cxb4 29.Qg4 b3 30.Kh2 Qf7 31.Qg5 Rd7 32.f3 h6 33.Qe3 Rd8 34.g4 Kh8 35.Qb6 Rd2 36.Qb8+ Kh7 37.Re8 Qxf3 38.Rh8+ Kg6 39.Rxh6+ (see diagram) Bronstein: "Kortchnoi remained unruffled. He wrote down my move on his scoresheet and began carefully studying the position. I think it seemed incredible to him that White could sacrifice his last rook (I myself could not believe my eyes!). And only when he had convinced himself, did he stop the clocks. These are the variations: A) 39... Kf7 40.Qc7+ Kg8 41.Qc8+ Kf7 42.Qe6+ Kf8 43.Rh8 mate; B) 39... Kg5 40.Qe5+ Kxg4 41.Rg6+ Kh4 42.Qg5 mate; C) 39... gxh6 40.Qg8+ Kf6 41.Qf8+; D) 39... Kxh6 40.Qh8+ Kg6 41.Qh5+ Kf6 42.g5+!" 1–0
External links
- Obituary by Leonard Barden at Guardian UnlimitedThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Obituary by Frederic Friedel at ChessbaseChessBaseChessBase GmbH is a German company that markets chess software, maintains a chess news site, and operates a server for online chess. Set up in 1998, it maintains and sells massive databases, containing most historic games, that permit analysis that had not been possible prior to computing...
- Download all games of David Bronstein