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Chess Chats 08 Jun 1952, Sun The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, California) Newspapers.com
The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, California, Sunday, June 08, 1952
World Championship Match
The match held at Moscow last year was the outstanding event for 1951 with official challenger David Bronstein putting up a sturdy fight against the title-holder, Mikhail Botvinnik. The 24-game match ended in a tie after each had won 5 games, the other 14 having been drawn. The match had special historic importance as it marked the first time that the event had come under the control of the world chess governing body, FIDE, which also instituted the system of preliminary play-downs held in various parts of the world during the previous 4 years to find the most worthy challenger.
There are still flaws in the system which give some countries an advantage in securing an overbalanced representation at various stages, but experience should enable the FIDE to arrive at an equitable arrangement. In any case the system is a vast improvement over the situation which obtained with the champion as the autocrat of the chess-table, making his own rules and regulations and picking his own challengers.
World Championship Scroll Ruy Lopez (Spain) 1570-1575 Leonardo (Italy) 1575-1587 Greco (Italy) 1622-1634 Philidor (France) 1747-1795 Deschappelles (France) 1815-1820 LaBourdonnais (France) 1820-1840 St. Amant (France) 1840-1843 Staunton (England) 1843-1851 Anderssen (Germany) 1851-1858 Morphy (U.S.A.) 1858-1861 Anderssen (Germany) 1862-1866 Steinitz (Austria) 1866-1895 Emanuel Lasker, (Germany) 1894-1921 Capablanca (Cuba) 1921-1927 Alekhine, Dr. (France) 1937-1946 Euwe, Dr. (Holland) 1935-1937 Alekhine, Dr. (France) 1937-1946 Vacant 1946-1948 Botvinnik (USSR) 1948-?
And here a game from the recent Russian Championship
Tigran V Petrosian vs Nikolai Kopilov
USSR Championship (1951), Moscow URS, rd 1, Nov-11
Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (E43) 0-1
(a) H. Golombek in the British Chess Magazine says, “If ever a position merited the description ‘critical’ this one does. The text allows Black to instil fresh vigor into his attack. With the simple, if restrained, 17. PxP! he destroys all chances of any attack by Black. For if then (a) 17. … BxQP; 18. BxPch KxB; 19. QxB N-B3; 20. RxB R-KB1; 21. Q-K4ch and wins. Or (b) 17. … B-Q3; 18. R-K4, winning the N; or (c) 17. … NxBP; 18. KxN B-R5ch; 19. K-N2 Q-N5ch; 20. K-R1 BxR; 21. Q-K2, followed by RxB.
