Vladimir Simagin
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Simagin was a Russia
n Grandmaster of chess
. He was three times Moscow champion
(1947, 1956, and 1959), helped to train Vasily Smyslov
to the World Championship
, and made many significant contributions to chess opening
s. He died of a heart attack while playing in the Kislovodsk tournament.
, which stopped most chess competition in the Soviet Union for several years. He became an International Master in 1950, and earned the Grandmaster title in 1962. He also earned the International Master title in Correspondence chess
in 1965, and was Soviet correspondence champion in 1964.
He scored 8.5/17 in the 1945 Moscow Championship, for a tied 7th-8th places, well behind champion Vasily Smyslov
. Simagin's first important high-class result was second place in the 1946 Moscow Championship, with 11/15, behind winner David Bronstein
. In the 1946 Baltic Championship at Vilnius
, he scored 13/19 while playing 'hors concours', and this was good for fourth place, behind the top placed Yuri Averbakh
(also h.c.). In the 1947 Moscow Championship, he tied for top place with Bronstein and Georgy Rivinsky, with 9/14, and then won the playoff match-tournament. Also in 1947, he tied for 1st-2nd with Semyon Furman
in the Championship of the Spartak Club, with 15/19, and also won that playoff match.
It took him some time to qualify for his first Soviet final. He was unsuccessful in the semi-final at Leningrad 1945 (URSchsf-14) with 5.5/15 for a tied 14th-15th place. He improved the next year, also at Leningrad (URSchsf-15) with 9.5/18, but this was not good enough to advance.
In the semi-final at Vilnius
1949 (URSchsf-17), he again failed to move on with a tied 7th-8th place, at 9/17, with the winners being Furman, Vladas Mikėnas
, and Alexey Sokolsky
. He improved at Tula
1950 (URSchsf-18) with 8/15 for a tied 5th-7th place, but still fell short, as the winners were Averbakh and Georgi Boriskenko.
At Pärnu
1947, he struggled with 4/13, far behind winner Paul Keres
. Being Moscow champion helped earn him a place on the Moscow side for the home-and-home match series with Budapest
in 1949. This was one of the very best results of his career, as he scored a powerful 12/16, good for a 2732 performance, according to chessmetrics
.com. Chessmetrics ranks Simagin as #21 in the world from December 1946 to February 1947, and calculates his peak rating at 2650 in October 1949. However, this data seems to be missing several of his tournament results.
In the Moscow Championship of 1949, he made 8.5/15 for 4th place, behind winner Averbakh. In the Moscow Championship of 1950, he scored 8/15 for 5th place, behind winners Averbakh and Alexander Chistiakov.
Simagin, along with Vladimir Makogonov
, trained Vasily Smyslov
for several years, leading to his World Championship title in 1957. His best results were a tied second place at Sarajevo
1963, and a tied first place at Sochi
1967.
and Bent Larsen
. He was a profound originator in the openings. Examples of his contributions include the Accelerated Dragon variation in the Sicilian Defence
, the Grünfeld Defence
, the Simagin variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defence
(1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Nge2 d5 6.a3 Bd6), and Simagin's Defence (1.e4 d6 2.d4 c6 3.Nf3 Bg4).
Simagin was most highly regarded by his peers. Bronstein had some very complimentary words in his acclaimed book The Sorcerer's Apprentice (co-author Tom Furstenberg). Mikhail Botvinnik
, who devoted many pioneering years to computer chess research, relied on Simagin's assistance in 1966 to publish a preview article from his forthcoming book Algorithm of Chess in the Bulletin of the Central Chess Club, of which Simagin was editor. The article's publication had first met with resistance, so Botvinnik was grateful, and the article was a success.
The Russian chess writer and master Lev Khariton wrote a touching tribute to Simagin on his chesscircle.net site. Khariton had met Simagin when he was still a young junior player, and trained in a group setting with him. Khariton quotes Simagin as saying: "In chess, as in life, all the time you have to overcome obstacles. When you play a game, your opponent with each move sets up barriers before you, the barriers you have to overcome. It seems that you have overcome one barrier, but at his next move you encounter another obstacle to overcome. And it goes on all the time."
Khariton wrote that Simagin was "modest and humble, never asking anything for himself in this life, he could stand by another man when the truth was at stake. Now Simagin's name is almost forgotten, and that makes me very sad. But when I see his games, I enjoy chess as an art; I understand that Simagin was a real chess artist whose name is forever engraved in the chess annals."
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Grandmaster of chess
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...
. He was three times Moscow champion
Moscow City Chess Championship
-References: ****** from chessbase.com...
(1947, 1956, and 1959), helped to train 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 the World 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....
, and made many significant contributions to chess opening
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
s. He died of a heart attack while playing in the Kislovodsk tournament.
Biography
Vladimir Pavlovich Simagin was a much-admired Soviet player and teacher. He was a late bloomer by chess standards, although much of this can be put down to the timing of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, which stopped most chess competition in the Soviet Union for several years. He became an International Master in 1950, and earned the Grandmaster title in 1962. He also earned the International Master title in Correspondence chess
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...
in 1965, and was Soviet correspondence champion in 1964.
He scored 8.5/17 in the 1945 Moscow Championship, for a tied 7th-8th places, well behind champion 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...
. Simagin's first important high-class result was second place in the 1946 Moscow Championship, with 11/15, behind winner David Bronstein
David Bronstein
David Ionovich Bronstein 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...
. In the 1946 Baltic Championship at Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, he scored 13/19 while playing 'hors concours', and this was good for fourth place, behind the top placed Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Lvovich Averbakh is a Soviet and Russian chess player and author. He is currently the oldest living chess grandmaster.-Life and career:...
(also h.c.). In the 1947 Moscow Championship, he tied for top place with Bronstein and Georgy Rivinsky, with 9/14, and then won the playoff match-tournament. Also in 1947, he tied for 1st-2nd with Semyon Furman
Semyon Furman
Semyon Abramovich Furman was a Soviet chess International Grandmaster and trainer. He is best known for developing Anatoly Karpov into a World Chess Champion, but was a formidable player himself, as well as a successful coach for several other world-class players...
in the Championship of the Spartak Club, with 15/19, and also won that playoff match.
It took him some time to qualify for his first Soviet final. He was unsuccessful in the semi-final at Leningrad 1945 (URSchsf-14) with 5.5/15 for a tied 14th-15th place. He improved the next year, also at Leningrad (URSchsf-15) with 9.5/18, but this was not good enough to advance.
In the semi-final at Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
1949 (URSchsf-17), he again failed to move on with a tied 7th-8th place, at 9/17, with the winners being Furman, Vladas Mikėnas
Vladas Mikenas
Vladas Mikėnas was a Lithuanian International Master of chess, an Honorary Grandmaster, and a journalist.- Early life :Vladas Mikėnas played for Lithuania at first board in five official and one unofficial Chess Olympiads....
, and Alexey Sokolsky
Alexey Sokolsky
Alexey 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....
. He improved at Tula
Tula, Russia
Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...
1950 (URSchsf-18) with 8/15 for a tied 5th-7th place, but still fell short, as the winners were Averbakh and Georgi Boriskenko.
At Pärnu
Pärnu
Pärnu is a city in southwestern Estonia on the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It is a popular summer vacation resort with many hotels, restaurants, and large beaches. The Pärnu River flows through the city and drains into the Gulf of Riga...
1947, he struggled with 4/13, far behind winner 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....
. Being Moscow champion helped earn him a place on the Moscow side for the home-and-home match series with 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...
in 1949. This was one of the very best results of his career, as he scored a powerful 12/16, good for a 2732 performance, according to chessmetrics
Chessmetrics
Chessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. It is intended as an improvement over the Elo rating system.-Implementation:...
.com. Chessmetrics ranks Simagin as #21 in the world from December 1946 to February 1947, and calculates his peak rating at 2650 in October 1949. However, this data seems to be missing several of his tournament results.
In the Moscow Championship of 1949, he made 8.5/15 for 4th place, behind winner Averbakh. In the Moscow Championship of 1950, he scored 8/15 for 5th place, behind winners Averbakh and Alexander Chistiakov.
Simagin, along with Vladimir Makogonov
Vladimir Makogonov
Vladimir Andreevich Makogonov was a chess player from Azerbaijan. He was born in Nakhchivan but lived in Baku for most of his life. He became an International Master in 1950 and was awarded an honorary Grandmaster title in 1987. Makogonov never became well known outside the Soviet Union, but was...
, trained 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...
for several years, leading to his World Championship title in 1957. His best results were a tied second place at Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
1963, and a tied first place at Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
1967.
Playing style and contributions to chess theory
Simagin had a bold and imaginitive playing style, and he was an expert tactician. His style has been compared to both Richard RetiRichard Réti
Réti composed one of the most famous chess studies, shown in this diagram. It was published in Ostrauer Morgenzeitung 4 December 1921. It seems impossible for the white king to catch the advanced black pawn, while the white pawn can be easily stopped by the black king...
and Bent Larsen
Bent Larsen
Jørgen 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...
. He was a profound originator in the openings. Examples of his contributions include the Accelerated Dragon variation in the Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
The 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...
, the Grünfeld Defence
Grünfeld Defence
The Grünfeld Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The first instance of this opening is in an 1855 game by Moheschunder Bannerjee, an Indian player who had transitioned from Indian chess rules, playing black against John Cochrane in Calcutta, in May 1855: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4...
, the Simagin variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defence
Nimzo-Indian Defence
The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:This hypermodern opening was developed by Grandmaster Aron Nimzowitsch who introduced it to master-level chess in the early 20th century. Unlike most Indian openings the Nimzo-Indian does not involve an immediate fianchetto,...
(1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Nge2 d5 6.a3 Bd6), and Simagin's Defence (1.e4 d6 2.d4 c6 3.Nf3 Bg4).
Simagin was most highly regarded by his peers. Bronstein had some very complimentary words in his acclaimed book The Sorcerer's Apprentice (co-author Tom Furstenberg). Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail 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...
, who devoted many pioneering years to computer chess research, relied on Simagin's assistance in 1966 to publish a preview article from his forthcoming book Algorithm of Chess in the Bulletin of the Central Chess Club, of which Simagin was editor. The article's publication had first met with resistance, so Botvinnik was grateful, and the article was a success.
The Russian chess writer and master Lev Khariton wrote a touching tribute to Simagin on his chesscircle.net site. Khariton had met Simagin when he was still a young junior player, and trained in a group setting with him. Khariton quotes Simagin as saying: "In chess, as in life, all the time you have to overcome obstacles. When you play a game, your opponent with each move sets up barriers before you, the barriers you have to overcome. It seems that you have overcome one barrier, but at his next move you encounter another obstacle to overcome. And it goes on all the time."
Khariton wrote that Simagin was "modest and humble, never asking anything for himself in this life, he could stand by another man when the truth was at stake. Now Simagin's name is almost forgotten, and that makes me very sad. But when I see his games, I enjoy chess as an art; I understand that Simagin was a real chess artist whose name is forever engraved in the chess annals."
Further reading
- Vladimir Simagin, by Sergey Voronkov, MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Fiscultura I Sport, 1981 (Russian). - Vladimir Simagin, by Aidan Woodger, NottinghamNottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, The Chess Player, May 2000, ISBN 1-901034-26-4.