Kings of Chess: Chess Championships of the Twentieth Century by William Winter
samsloan
by William Winter
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ISBN=4871878287
http://www.amazon.com/dp/4871878287
This is one of the great classics of chess literature. British
Champion William Winter deeply annotates 50 games that were played in
matches for the World Chess Championship, starting with the 1907 match
between Lasker and Marshall and ending with the 1951 match between
Botvinnk and Bronstein.
Winter writes with authority about these famous games, because he was
personally present when many of them were played. Winter met all but
one of the players he writes about in this book (he never met
Schlechter because Schlechter died at an early age) and Winter played
tournament games against most of the grandmasters discussed in this
book.
Winter was just strong enough to beat the best players in the world
occasionally, but he was never strong enough to be one of them. Winter
often played in top level grandmaster tournaments, but usually
finished near the bottom, although he generally managed to take a
scalp.
Winter reaches some surprising conclusions in his book. He states that
the best played match for the World Chess Championship was the 1910
Match between Lasker and Schlechter. This is not the match that would
first come to mind. The most famous game of that match was the last
game, when Schlechter only had to achieve a draw to win the match to
become World Chess Champion. Schlechter had a way to force a draw.
Instead, he tried a risky and daring plan to win and he lost as a
result.
This game between Lasker and Schlechter continues to be debated and
analyzed to this day.
William Winter was born September 11, 1898 and died December 18, 1955.
He should not be confused with the reclusive and possibly non-existent
chess historian Edward Winter, who lives in Switzerland.
One odd in curious fact about the great Indian Player, Sultan Khan, is
that although Sultan Khan was ranked as the 6th or 7th strongest chess
player in the world and he even defeated Capablanca when Capablanca
was regarded as unbeatable, is that Sultan Khan always lost to Winter
even though Winter always finished near the bottom and Sultan Khan
finished near the top of every tournament in which they both played.
Winter was himself involved in one of the most controversial chess
games ever played. Nottingham 1936 was the first tournament where the
Soviet Union under Stalin allowed one of their players to play outside
the country. The Soviet Union sent Botvinnik to play in Nottingham
1936.
In the last round with Botvinnik in contention for first prize, he was
pared against Winter, who was in dead last position.
The game went as follows:
[Event "Nottingham"]
[Date "1936"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mikhail Botvinnik"]
[Black "William Winter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A15"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 g6 5.d4 Bg7 6.Qb3 O-O 7.Bd2 b6 8.cxd5
cxd5 9.Ne5 Bb7 10.Bb5 a6 11.Be2 Nbd7 12.Nxd7 Nxd7 13.f4 e6 14.O-O f5
15.Bf3 Rb8 16.Rac1 b5 17.Ne2 Re8 18.Qa3 Bf8 19.Bb4 Bxb4 20.Qxb4 Qb6
21.Rc2 Kf7 22.Nc1 Rbc8 23.Rff2 Rc4 24.Qe1 Rec8 25.Bd1 Rxc2 26.Bxc2 a5
27.Nd3 Ba6 28.b4 axb4 29.Nxb4 Qa5 30.Bb3 Nf6 31.Rf1 Ne4 32.Nxa6 Qxa6
33.Qb4 Rc3 34.Re1 Qc6 35.h3 Rc1 36.Kh2 Qc3 37.Qxc3 Rxc3 38.Re2 1/2-1/2
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
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1+-+-+-+-!
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Now in this position it is plainly obvious that White, Botvinnik, is
lost. White simply has no moves. Black can win easily by bringing his
king around starting with Ke7 and then slowly marching over to the
queen side.
Winter was a strong enough player and he must have seen this. Winter
must have seen that he was winning easily. Instead, here Winter
offered Botvinnik a draw.
Winter was a Communist who spent time in prison for his political
activities. It is widely believed that Winter offered Botvinnik a draw
to advance the cause of World Communism. Winter himself suggested this
possibility in his notes to this game. Also, Alekhine wrote about the
above position:
“Black agreed to call the game a draw; but it was a very premature
decision, to say the least. A simple plan was to bring his king over
to b4 threatening to sacrifice the exchange. To prevent this white
would be obliged to create new weaknesses in his position; e.g., after
38...Ke7 39 Bc2 followed by Bxe4 the rook ending would be quite
hopeless for White. It is a pity a game of such importance should have
remained practically a torso.”
Every book of the history of chess during this period mentions the
great achievement of Botvinnik in tying for first with the Great
Capablanca in Nottingham 1936 and how this great achievement by
Botvinnik led the Soviet authorities to allow other Soviet players to
travel outside of the Soviet Union to participate in other grandmaster
chess tournaments.
The books that write about this great achievement of Botvinnik
invariably fail to mention that this achievement was made possible
because Winter, being an avowed Communist, sacrificed his own career
by offering Botvinnik a draw in a position where Botvinnik was clearly
lost.
Think about how chess history would been different if Winter had won
this game: Winter would have become known in chess history as the Man
Who Beat Botvinnik. Instead, Winter is known as the man who always
finished last. Botvinnik became known as “The Invincible”.
This is not to suggest that Winter had been ordered by Moscow to give
a draw to Botvinnik. In 1936, it was not yet thought that Moscow would
do things like that. Also, if Moscow had been giving such orders, it
would have ordered Winter to lose to Botvinnik, which would have given
Botvinnik undisputed first place at Nottingham 1936, instead of a mere
tie for first.
The game where many thought and some still think that a player
actually had been ordered to lose a game is in Winter's book. This
incident became so notorious that it is the subject of the opening
scene in the James Bond book and movie “From Russia with Love” where
the protagonist, “Kronstein”, an obvious play on the name of David
Bronstein, receives an order from the Kremlin to resign a game. The
actual game where this is said to have occurred was Botvinnik vs.
Bronstein, World Championship 1951, where the following position was
reached:
[Event "match"]
[Site "Ch World , Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1951.01.24"]
[Round "23"]
[White "Mikhail Botvinnik"]
[Black "David Bronstein"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E60"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Nh3 Bxh3
8.Bxh3 Nc6 9.Bg2 e6 10.e3 O-O 11.Bd2 Rc8 12.O-O Nd7 13.Ne2 Qb6 14.Bc3
Rfd8 15.Nf4 Nf6 16.Qb3 Ne4 17.Qxb6 axb6 18.Be1 Na5 19.Nd3 Bf8 20.f3
Nd6 21.Bf2 Bh6 22.Rac1 Nac4 23.Rfe1 Na5 24.Kf1 Bg7 25.g4 Nc6 26.b3 Nb5
27.Ke2 Bf8 28.a4 Nc7 29.Bg3 Na6 30.Bf1 f6 31.Red1 Na5 32.Rxc8 Rxc8
33.Rc1 Rxc1 34.Nxc1 Ba3 35.Kd1 Bxc1 36.Kxc1 Nxb3+ 37.Kc2 Na5 38.Kc3
Kf7 39.e4 f5 40.gxf5 gxf5 41.Bd3 Kg6 42.Bd6 Nc6 43.Bb1 Kf6 44.Bg3 fxe4
45.fxe4 h6 46.Bf4 h5 47.exd5 exd5 48.h4 Nab8 49.Bg5+ Kf7 50.Bf5 Na7
51.Bf4 Nbc6 52.Bd3 Nc8 53.Be2 Kg6 54.Bd3+ Kf6 55.Be2 Kg6 56.Bf3 N6e7
57.Bg5 1-0
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In this position, which is also in the last game in Winter's book,
Black, in spite of being a pawn ahead, resigned the game and thereby
the World Chess Championship.
This is the stuff of which legends are made. Ever since, it has been
wondered whether Bronstein had been ordered by the Kremlin or by his
KGB Handler to resign.
I am now going to suggest a theory which has never previously been
advanced by anybody as to why Bronstein resigned in this position.
Hold your breath while I tell you what NOBODY, Nobody at all, has ever
suggested was the real reason for Black's strange resignation in this
position.
The reason is that Bronstein simply did not see that he has a defense.
Bronstein is in a Zugzwang. None of his pieces can move. His pawns
cannot move. He definitely cannot move his king because then he drops
his vital h-pawn. So, one of his knights must move, but which ever
knight moves Black drops material.
It looks hopeless and therefore I believe that Bronstein simply did
not see that he has a defense and that after 57. …. Nf6 58. Bxd5 Nd6
Black has a playable, although of course very difficult, game.
Obviously, Bronstein was never going to admit that he simply missed
the best move, and therefore the legend grew that he was ordered by
the KGB to lose. They even made an action movie thriller movie based
on this, where the Bronstein / Kronstein character is sent on a
mission to do battle with James Bond, as punishment for disobeying the
order to lose the game.
Sam Sloan
New York
December 25, 2009
Taylor Kingston
>
> One odd in curious fact about the great Indian Player, Sultan Khan, is
> that although Sultan Khan was ranked as the 6th or 7th strongest chess
> player in the world and he even defeated Capablanca when Capablanca
> was regarded as unbeatable, is that Sultan Khan always lost to Winter
Not true. Winter did beat Sultan Khan twice, at Scarborough 1930
and Hastings 1930-31, but Sultan Khan won at London 1932:
[Event "London"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "1932.??.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Winter, William"]
[Black "Sultan Khan, Mir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B38"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "1932.02.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.e4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.f3 O-O
8.Nb3 Nh5 9.Nc3 e5 10.Nb5 b6 11.Qd2 Ba6 12.Rd1 Nf4 13.g3 Ne6 14.Qxd7
Bxb5 15.cxb5 Nb4 16.Qxd8 Rfxd8 17.Rxd8+ Rxd8 18.a3 Nc2+ 19.Kf2 Nxe3
20.Kxe3 Bh6+ 21.Kf2 Rd1 22.Bg2 Rd3 23.Nc1 Rd2+ 24.Ne2 Nd4 25.Re1 Rxb2
26.Kf1 Nc2 0-1
> Now in this position it is plainly obvious that White, Botvinnik, is
> lost. White simply has no moves. Black can win easily by bringing his
> king around starting with Ke7 and then slowly marching over to the
> queen side.
>
> Winter was a strong enough player and he must have seen this. Winter
> must have seen that he was winning easily. Instead, here Winter
> offered Botvinnik a draw.
Ah, so /this/ is what you and Innes are talking about. When Innes
talked about a thrown game, I thought he must have meant Winter lost.
> Winter was a Communist who spent time in prison for his political
> activities. It is widely believed that Winter offered Botvinnik a draw
> to advance the cause of World Communism. Winter himself suggested this
> possibility in his notes to this game.
I'd be interested in seeing that. Can you post the relevant passage?
> The books that write about this great achievement of Botvinnik
> invariably fail to mention that this achievement was made possible
> because Winter, being an avowed Communist, sacrificed his own career
> by offering Botvinnik a draw in a position where Botvinnik was clearly
> lost.
Eh, maybe. Alternate explanations do present themselves. Last round,
everyone's tired, they want to get the damn thing over with. Winter's
anxious to get himself a drink or three. He offers and draw from a
position of advantage so he can get to the bar ASAP.
> This is not to suggest that Winter had been ordered by Moscow to give
> a draw to Botvinnik. In 1936, it was not yet thought that Moscow would
> do things like that. Also, if Moscow had been giving such orders, it
> would have ordered Winter to lose to Botvinnik, which would have given
> Botvinnik undisputed first place at Nottingham 1936, instead of a mere
> tie for first.
If Winter was throwing games, one must wonder if it was actually the
Cubans rather than the Russians who were giving orders. Winter had
Capablanca utterly busted, yet he went into total meltdown and lost:
[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "Nottingham"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Winter, William"]
[Black "Capablanca, Jose Raul"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A30"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "1936.08.10"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 b6 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2 c5 5.O-O cxd4 6.Nxd4 Bxg2 7.Kxg2 g6
8.b3 Bg7 9.Bb2 O-O 10.c4 d5 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.e4 Nb4 13.Qd2 N8a6 14.Rd1
Rc8 15.Na3 Rc7 16.Nab5 Rd7 17.Qe2 Nc5 18.a3 Nbd3 19.Nc6 Qa8 20.Bxg7
Qxc6 21.Nd4 Qb7 22.Bxf8 Rxd4 23.Bh6 Rxe4 24.Qf3 f6 25.Kg1 Ne5 26.Qg2
g5 27.Rd8+ Kf7 28.f4 Ne6 29.Rb8 Qd5 30.Rf1 Qd4+ 31.Kh1 Ng4 32.Qh3 Nxh6
33.Qxh6 Re2 34.Qxh7+?!
Instead, 34.Qh5+ Kg7 35.Qxe2 and Black can resign.
34...Ng7 35.Qg8+ Kg6 36.f5+ Kh5 37.Qh7+??
The final blunder. After 37.Qc4 White would still be winning.
37...Kg4 0-1
Black mates in at most seven moves.
> The game where many thought and some still think that a player
> actually had been ordered to lose a game is in Winter's book. This
> incident became so notorious that it is the subject of the opening
> scene in the James Bond book and movie “From Russia with Love” where
> the protagonist, “Kronstein”, an obvious play on the name of David
> Bronstein, receives an order from the Kremlin to resign a game. The
> actual game where this is said to have occurred was Botvinnik vs.
> Bronstein, World Championship 1951, where the following position was
> reached:
No, the game in the movie was based on Spassky-Bronstein, USSR Ch,
Leningrad 1960. And Kronsteen (not "Kronstein," and he was Czech, not
Russian) was not ordered to lose; he merely got a message summoning
him to a SPECTRE meeting, whereupon he quickly won the game and went,
as can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZWDxnXJI-s
Perhaps things were different in the book; I have not read it.
57...Nf6 is not possible in that position. I would guess you mean
57...Nf5 58.Bxd5 Ncd6, right? Without going into details, I'll just
note that both Fritz8 and Rybka 3.1 rate the resulting position at
about +2.25, i.e. winning for White. I'm not sure if Black can attain
a theoretical draw, but I'd guess that in practical play White would
win 8 times out of 10.
> Obviously, Bronstein was never going to admit that he simply missed
> the best move, and therefore the legend grew that he was ordered by
> the KGB to lose. They even made an action movie thriller movie based
> on this, where the Bronstein / Kronstein character is sent on a
> mission to do battle with James Bond, as punishment for disobeying the
> order to lose the game.
Kronsteen was sent on the mission because he had skills necessary
for it, and he was killed for reasons unrelated to the game. Jeez,
Sam, I must ask again: do you ever actually read the books or watch
the films you talk about?
samsloan
wrote:
Thank you for pointing out this terrible typo on my part.
I meant 57. ... Nc6, not Nf6.
Now, for example 58. Bxd5 Nd6 59. Bf3 Kf5 60. Bxh5 Ne4+ 61. K any Nxg5
62. hxg5 Kxg5 and Black, Bronstein, has some drawing chances.
The question is not whether Botvinnik would be able to win but rather
why Bronstein would resign in a position like this where he was
leading the match up to this point and needed only a draw in a pawn up
position to become the World Chess Champion.
Sam Sloan
Offramp
> Sultan Khan always lost to Winter
Are you a Communist? It was 3-1 to Winter. Khan had been ordered by
the British to lose to Winter.
> Now in this position it is plainly obvious that White, Botvinnik, is
> lost. White simply has no moves. Black can win easily by bringing his
> king around starting with Ke7 and then slowly marching over to the
> queen side.
But as soon as the king tries to cross the c-file white plays Rc2 and
the rooks come off. Draw.
> The game where many thought and some still think that a player
> actually had been ordered to lose a game is in Winter's book. This
> incident became so notorious that it is the subject of the opening
> scene in the James Bond book and movie “From Russia with Love” where
> the protagonist, “Kronstein”, an obvious play on the name of David
> Bronstein, receives an order from the Kremlin to resign a game.
Smyslov showed that the 23rd game is lost for black. Bronstein should
really have played on though.
raylopez99
> Smyslov showed that the 23rd game is lost for black. Bronstein should
> really have played on though.
No. Think like a chess player. If Bronstein--who in his prime was
equal to Smyslov--wanted to embarass the Soviets, he knew he was lost
but to the average person it looked like he (Bronstein) still had
game. So he resigns, in order to look like he is deliberately
forfeiting the game--thus maximizing the hurt on the Soviets.
Think like a grandmaster.
RL