Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov ('аси́лий Смысло́в) (born
March 24,
1921) is a
Russian
chess grandmaster. He was World Champion from
1957 to
1958. He is known for his positional style and, in particular, for his precise handling of the
endgame, but many of his games feature spectacular tactical shots as well. He has made enormous contributions to chess
opening theory in many openings, including the
English Opening,
Grünfeld Defence,
Ruy Lopez, and
Sicilian Defense.
Smyslov was a fine
baritone singer, only deciding on a career in chess after a failed audition for the
Bolshoi Theatre in
1950. Later, he sometimes gave recitals during chess tournaments, often accompanied by fellow Grandmaster and
pianist Mark Taimanov.
Smyslov played in the
1948 World Chess Championship tournament to determine who should succeed the late
Alexander Alekhine as champion, finishing second behind
Mikhail Botvinnik. After winning the candidates tournament in
Zurich 1953, he played a match with Botvinnik for the title the following year. It ended in a draw, meaning that Botvinnik retained his title. They played again in
1957 (Smyslov had again won the candidates tournament, in
Amsterdam 1956), and this time Smyslov won by the score 12.5–9.5. The following year, Botvinnik exercised his right to a rematch, and he won the title back with a final scoreline of 12.5–10.5.
Smyslov didn't qualify for another World Championship but continued to play in World Championship qualifying events. In
1983 he went through to the Candidates Final (the match to determine who plays the champion, in that case
Anatoly Karpov), losing 8.5–4.5 to future world champion
Garry Kasparov. He had beaten
Zoltan Ribli 6.5–4.5 in the semifinal, but drew his quarter-final match against
Robert Hübner 7–7, with the advancing player only determined by the spin of a
roulette wheel.
In
1991 Smyslov won the inaugural Senior World Chess Championship. He has played no competitive games since the
2001 Klompendans Veterans versus Ladies tournament in
Amsterdam. His
Elo rating following this event was 2494. Nowadays, his eyesight is very bad.
*Vasily Smyslov (2003)
Smyslov's Best Games, Volume 1: 1935-1957 (Moravian Chess Publishing House)
*Vasily Smyslov (2003)
Smyslov's Best Games, Volume 2: 1958-1995 (Moravian Chess Publishing House)
*Vasily Smyslov (1997)
Endgame Virtuoso (Cadogan)
*Vasily Smyslov (1995)
Smyslov's 125 Selected Games (modern edition published by Everyman Chess)
*
Grigory Levenfish and Vasily Smyslov (1971)
Rook Endings (Batsford Edition)
*
Smyslov's games at muljadi.org*
15 Critical Positions from His Games
