Victor Soultanbeieff
Encyclopedia
Victor Ivanovich Soultanbéieff (also spelled Sultanbajew, Sultanbaev, Sultanbeev, Sultanbejeff, Sultanbaieff, etc.) (11 November 1895 – 9 February 1972) was a Belgian chess
master.
(Ukraine
, then Russian Empire), Soultanbéieff learned to play chess rather late, but he improved fast. In 1914 he won the city championship. In World War I, he fought in the Russian army. In 1918 he won the city championship again. After the Bolshevik Revolution, in 1920, he moved to Gallipoli
with the army of Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel
. At the end of 1921 he sought asylum in Belgium. After a short stay in Brussels
he moved to Liege, where he would stay for the rest of his life.
In 1923 he participated for the first time in the Belgian Chess Championship
, a championship which he would win 5 times; in 1932 (jointly with Boruch Israel Dyner
), 1934, 1943, 1957, and 1961. In 1923 he finished 4th, but impressed with his play. He had to combine chess with his work, which resulted in a low number of international tournaments and sometimes bad playing conditions. Nevertheless he participated in some important tournaments like Hastings International Chess Congress
and the Hoogovens tournament
.
Soultanbéieff was made a national master in 1931 and International Arbiter
in 1964.
He left his name to the Soultanbeieff Defence, a line in the Slav Defense
which was introduced in the correspondence game
Macht–Soultanbéieff, 1931–2: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 e6.
), 1934, 1943, 1957*, 1961*), took 3 times 2nd place (1938 (Shared with Arthur Dunkelblum
), 1945*, 1958*) and one time 3rd place (1962). (Tournaments marks with * were FBE-championships.)
Due to his professional activities, international tournaments were rare. Nevertheless he achieved some remarkable results, which are contained in the following table:
Being one of the best Belgian players of is time, he represented Belgium on various occasions, notably on the 1933 Chess Olympiad in Folkestone
. Playing on 1st board, he achieved 4/14, including a victory over Savielly Tartakower
.
During his long career, Soultanbéieff played a few short matches. His most notable results in this category were a drawn match against Arthur Dunkelblum
(1932; +1,-1,=2), a drawn match against Georges Koltanowski (1935; +1,-2,=2) and a lost match against Paul Devos
(1946; +1,-2,=3).
. He played 1st board for Belgium I in the first correspondence chess Olympiad, scoring 3/6. Another notable result was a drawn match against Aleksandras Machtas
, future champion of Lithuania
.
), l'Échiquier Belge and Échec et Mat. He wrote a book on the world championship match between José Raúl Capablanca
and Alexander Alekhine
, which appeared in 1929, published by l'Échiquier editions. He commented the games of the Ostend 1936 tournament for the tournament book and published a collection of his own games under the title Guide pratique du jeu des combinaisons, which was later reprinted as le Maître de l'attaque.
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...
master.
Life
Born in YekaterinoslavDnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
(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...
, then Russian Empire), Soultanbéieff learned to play chess rather late, but he improved fast. In 1914 he won the city championship. In World War I, he fought in the Russian army. In 1918 he won the city championship again. After the Bolshevik Revolution, in 1920, he moved to Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
with the army of Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel
Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel
Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel or Vrangel was an officer in the Imperial Russian army and later commanding general of the anti-Bolshevik White Army in Southern Russia in the later stages of the Russian Civil War.-Life:Wrangel was born in Mukuliai, Kovno Governorate in the Russian Empire...
. At the end of 1921 he sought asylum in Belgium. After a short stay in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
he moved to Liege, where he would stay for the rest of his life.
In 1923 he participated for the first time in the Belgian Chess Championship
Belgian Chess Championship
The Belgian Chess Championship is a championship organised yearly by the Fédération Royale Belge des Echecs . The winner of the championship is awarded the title: Chess Champion of Belgium....
, a championship which he would win 5 times; in 1932 (jointly with Boruch Israel Dyner
Boruch Israel Dyner
Boruch Israël Dyner was a Belgian–Israeli chess master.Born in Poland, he moved to Belgium. Dyner won thrice Belgian Chess Championship in 1932 , 1933 and 1935...
), 1934, 1943, 1957, and 1961. In 1923 he finished 4th, but impressed with his play. He had to combine chess with his work, which resulted in a low number of international tournaments and sometimes bad playing conditions. Nevertheless he participated in some important tournaments like Hastings International Chess Congress
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...
and the Hoogovens tournament
Corus chess tournament
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament formerly called the Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands...
.
Soultanbéieff was made a national master in 1931 and International Arbiter
International Arbiter
In chess, International Arbiter is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed capable of acting as arbiter in important chess matches . The title was established in 1951....
in 1964.
Playing style
Soultanbéieff was known for his aggressive playing style, which sometimes resulted in short, brilliant games, but which sometimes led to unnecessary defeat. Some of his games are still famous like his games against Liubarski, 1928 or Borodin, 1943. Unlike many other players, Soultanbéieff stayed true to his attacking style when he grew old.He left his name to the Soultanbeieff Defence, a line in the Slav Defense
Slav Defense
The Slav Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Slav is one of the primary defenses to the Queen's Gambit. Although it was analyzed as early as 1590, it was not until the 1920s that it started to be explored extensively...
which was introduced in the correspondence game
Correspondence chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon...
Macht–Soultanbéieff, 1931–2: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 e6.
Tournament record
Although he had won a few tournaments in Russia, his chess career only took off when he came to Belgium. He participated in a total of 22 Belgian championships between 1923 and 1969. He won it 5 times (1932 (shared with Boruch Israel DynerBoruch Israel Dyner
Boruch Israël Dyner was a Belgian–Israeli chess master.Born in Poland, he moved to Belgium. Dyner won thrice Belgian Chess Championship in 1932 , 1933 and 1935...
), 1934, 1943, 1957*, 1961*), took 3 times 2nd place (1938 (Shared with Arthur Dunkelblum
Arthur Dunkelblum
Arthur Dunkelblum was a Belgian chess master.Arthur Dunkelblum was born in Cracow , Austria-Hungary...
), 1945*, 1958*) and one time 3rd place (1962). (Tournaments marks with * were FBE-championships.)
Due to his professional activities, international tournaments were rare. Nevertheless he achieved some remarkable results, which are contained in the following table:
| Year, place (Event) | Winner | Soultanbéieff's result |
|---|---|---|
| 1924, Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... |
Edgard Colle Edgard Colle Edgard Colle was a Belgian chess master. He scored excellent results in major international tournaments, including first at Amsterdam 1926, ahead of Savielly Tartakower and future world champion Max Euwe; first at Meran 1926, ahead of Esteban Canal; and first at Scarborough 1930, ahead of Maróczy... |
5th |
| 1926, Spa, Belgium Spa, Belgium Spa is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liège. It is situated in a valley in the Ardennes mountain chain, some southeast of Liège, and southwest of Aachen. As of 1 January 2006, Spa had a total population of 10,543... (International) |
Friedrich Sämisch Friedrich Sämisch Friedrich Sämisch was a German chess grandmaster .-Main results:* 2nd at Berlin 1920... & George Alan Thomas George Alan Thomas Sir George Alan Thomas, Bart. was a British badminton, tennis and chess player. He was twice British Chess Champion and a 21-time All-England Badminton champion. He also played in the semi-finals of the men's tennis doubles at Wimbledon in 1911... 8½/11 |
5th, shared with Arthur Dunkelblum Arthur Dunkelblum Arthur Dunkelblum was a Belgian chess master.Arthur Dunkelblum was born in Cracow , Austria-Hungary... and Massimiliano Romih Max Romih Massimiliano Romi né Max Romih was an Italian chess master.Max Romih was of Slavonic origin , and a citizen of Austria-Hungary Empire, but after World War I the region of Julian March became part of Italy... , 6/11 |
| 1926/27, Hastings Hastings Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900.... (Hastings International Chess Congress 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... , challengers) |
Georges Koltanowski, 7/9 | 2nd, 6½/9 |
| 1929, Maastricht Maastricht Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border... (Quadrangular tournament) |
Marcel Engelmann Marcel Engelmann Marcel Engelmann was a Belgian chess master.He won at Maastricht 1929 and took 3rd at Ghent 1929 , both quadrangular tournaments... |
2nd |
| 1929 Ramsgate Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main... |
José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca José 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... , 5½/7 |
6th, 4/7 |
| 1930 Liege (International tournament) | Savielly Tartakower Savielly Tartakower Ksawery Tartakower was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. He was also a leading chess journalist of the 1920s and 30s... , 8½/11 |
11th, 4/11 |
| 1930 Liege (Quadrangular tournament) | Soultanbéieff, 2½/3 | 1st, 2½/3 before Isaias Pleci Isaias Pleci Isaías Pléci was an Argentine chess master.-Chess tournaments:Pléci was the Argentine Champion in 1929 to 1930. He won at Buenos Aires 1928 and lost a match for the title to Roberto Grau . later, he won in 1929 and won a match against Grau in 1930... |
| 1930/31 Hastings Hastings Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900.... (Hastings International Chess Congress 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... Major A) |
Soultanbéieff, 7½/9 | 1st, 7½/9 before Emmanuel Sapira Emmanuel Sapira Emmanuel Sapira was a Belgian chess master.Born in Romania, he moved to Belgium. He shared 2nd, behind George Koltanowski, at Ghent 1923 , took 2nd at Brussels 1923 , finished 1st at Antwerp 1924 , took 10th at Brussels 1924 , took 2nd at Brussels 1925 , took 3rd at Spa 1926 Emmanuel Sapira... |
| 1936, Ostend Ostend Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast.... |
Erik Lundin Erik Lundin Erik Lundin a Swedish chess master.In 1928, he won in Oslo, took 5th in Helsingborg, tied for 2nd-3rd in Stockholm . In 1929, he took 2nd in Göteborg , and took 3rd in Västerås... , 7½/9 |
Shared 7th with George Alan Thomas George Alan Thomas Sir George Alan Thomas, Bart. was a British badminton, tennis and chess player. He was twice British Chess Champion and a 21-time All-England Badminton champion. He also played in the semi-finals of the men's tennis doubles at Wimbledon in 1911... , 4/9 |
| 1946 Maastricht Maastricht Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border... |
Max Euwe Max Euwe Machgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam... , 7½/9 |
7th, 4½/9 |
| 1946 Zaandam Zaandam Zaandam is a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received city rights in 1811... |
Max Euwe Max Euwe Machgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam... , 9½/11 |
9th, 4/11 |
| 1947 Baarn Baarn Baarn is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.-The municipality Baarn :The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge, Lage Vuursche.- The town Baarn :... (A2-group) |
Savielly Tartakower Savielly Tartakower Ksawery Tartakower was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. He was also a leading chess journalist of the 1920s and 30s... , 6½/7 |
Shared 5th, with 3 Dutch players, 2½/7 |
| 1947 Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... (6 masters tournament) |
Albéric O'Kelly de Galway Albéric O'Kelly de Galway Albéric O'Kelly de Galway was a Belgian chess Grandmaster , and an International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster , most famous for being the third ICCF World Champion in correspondence chess between 1959 and 1962. He was also a chess writer... , 4/5 |
Shared 2nd with Frits Van Seters, 3/5 |
| 1950 Beverwijk Beverwijk Beverwijk is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The town is located about northwest of Amsterdam in the Randstad metropolitan area, north of the North Sea Canal very close to the North Sea coast... (Hoogovens chess tournament) |
Jan Hein Donner Jan Hein Donner Johannes Hendrikus Donner was a Dutch chess grandmaster and writer. Donner was born in The Hague and won the Dutch Championship in 1954, 1957, and 1958. FIDE, the World Chess Federation, awarded him the GM title in 1959. He played 11 times for the Netherlands in the Chess Olympiads... , 7/9 |
9th, 2½/9 |
| 1954 Dublin (An Tóstal tournament) | Albéric O'Kelly de Galway Albéric O'Kelly de Galway Albéric O'Kelly de Galway was a Belgian chess Grandmaster , and an International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster , most famous for being the third ICCF World Champion in correspondence chess between 1959 and 1962. He was also a chess writer... , 4½/5 |
Shared 3rd with Leonard Barden Leonard Barden Leonard William Barden is an English chess master, columnist, author, and promoter. The son of a dustman, he was educated at Whitgift School, South Croydon, and Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Modern History. He learned to play chess at age 13 while in a school shelter during a German air... , 3/5 |
Being one of the best Belgian players of is time, he represented Belgium on various occasions, notably on the 1933 Chess Olympiad in Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
. Playing on 1st board, he achieved 4/14, including a victory over Savielly Tartakower
Savielly Tartakower
Ksawery Tartakower was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. He was also a leading chess journalist of the 1920s and 30s...
.
During his long career, Soultanbéieff played a few short matches. His most notable results in this category were a drawn match against Arthur Dunkelblum
Arthur Dunkelblum
Arthur Dunkelblum was a Belgian chess master.Arthur Dunkelblum was born in Cracow , Austria-Hungary...
(1932; +1,-1,=2), a drawn match against Georges Koltanowski (1935; +1,-2,=2) and a lost match against Paul Devos
Paul Devos
Paul Devos was a Belgian chess master.Devos was seven times Belgian Champion . He took 2nd, behind Boruch Israel Dyner, at Brussels 1933 but won the title as a player of the Belgian nationality. In 1936 he won international BEL-ch, and took 3rd in national BEL-ch, both in Brussels...
(1946; +1,-2,=3).
Correspondence chess
Soultanbéieff was a gifted correspondence player too, although again, his professional activities left not much time for this. He started playing correspondence chess tournaments when he was still in Russia. He became first a member, later an honorary member of the EB/BSICCF Belgium
Belongs to the ICCF national member federationsThe national federation history-Early beginnings:The first Correspondence Chess games in Belgium were those played by Antwerp amateurs. They played between 1827 and 1829 two games against amateurs from Amsterdam. The names of the players are not known...
. He played 1st board for Belgium I in the first correspondence chess Olympiad, scoring 3/6. Another notable result was a drawn match against Aleksandras Machtas
Aleksandras Machtas
Aleksandras Machtas was a Lithuanian chess master.He twice played for Lithuania in Chess Olympiads:* In 1930, at first board in the 3rd Chess Olympiad in Hamburg ;...
, future champion of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
.
Writing
Like many chess players, Soultanbéieff also wrote about chess. He wrote a chess column for various local newspapers and collaborated with many outstanding chess periodicals like Shakmati Listock (later Shakhmaty v SSSRShakhmaty v SSSR
Shakhmaty v SSSR was a Russian chess magazine published 1931-91. It was edited by Viacheslav Ragozin for several years. Yuri Averbakh was also an editor. From 1921 or 1925 through 1930 it was titled Shakhmatny Listok and edited by Alexander Ilyin-Genevsky. The circulation was 55,000....
), l'Échiquier Belge and Échec et Mat. He wrote a book on the world championship match between José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca
José 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...
and Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
, which appeared in 1929, published by l'Échiquier editions. He commented the games of the Ostend 1936 tournament for the tournament book and published a collection of his own games under the title Guide pratique du jeu des combinaisons, which was later reprinted as le Maître de l'attaque.
Further reading
Reprint of the guide pratique.- Ajedrez, 1972, p. 310–311
- British Chess MagazineBritish Chess MagazineBritish Chess Magazine is the world's oldest chess magazine in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as BCM....
, 1972, p. 216 - Deutsche SchachzeitungDeutsche SchachzeitungDeutsche Schachzeitung was the first German chess magazine.Founded in 1846 by Ludwig Bledow under the title Schachzeitung der Berliner Schachgesellschaft, it took the name Deutsche Schachzeitung in 1872...
, 1972, p. 138