MARK RUBERY CHESS
The chess world lost one of its most tireless calculators when Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky passed away in 1995. Unlike many of his grandmaster colleagues, his development in chess came slowly, and he did not receive even the Soviet master title until he was an adult. His progress then accelerated rapidly, however, and by the late 1960s he was one of the world’s strongest players. He contributed much to opening theory particularly in the Najdorf variation of the Sicilian with his ultra-sharp Polugayevsky variation (1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cd4 4 Nd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Bg5 e6 7 f4 b5!?). Besides being a worldclass grandmaster Polugaevsky was also an accomplished writer; his 1981 book ‘Grandmaster Preparation’ is a classic and reveals the depth and exhaustive lengths a person can go in pursuit of his art. His observation on chess books in general is more pertinent than ever today: “90% of all chess books you can open at page one and then immediately close again forever. Sometimes you see books that have been written in one month. I don’t like that. You should take at least two years for a book, or not do it at all.”
Polugayevsky was buried in the famous Montparnasse cemetery in Paris not far from Alekhine’s grave.
The GM from the Philippines, Eugenio Torre, seemed to bring the best out of him
Polugaevsky Lev - Torre E [D19]
London, 1984
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0-0 0-0 9.Qe2 Nbd7 10.e4 Bg6 11.Bd3 Bh5 12.Bf4 Re8 13.e5 Nd5 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.h3 Be7 16.Rfc1 a6 17.Rc3 Bxf3 18.Qxf3 Nb8 19.Bxh7+! (A ‘Greek Gift’ with a twist’)... Kxh7 20.Qh5+ Kg8 21.Rg3 g6 (21…Bf8 22 Bg5 Re7 23 Bf6 Nd7 24 Qh6! offers little solace) 22.Rxg6+ fxg6 23.Qxg6+ Kh8 24.Qh6+ Kg8 25.Qxe6+ Kh8 26.Qh6+ Kg8 27.Qg6+ Kh8 28.Qh5+ Kg8 29.Bh6 Bf8 30.Qg6+ Kh8 31.Bxf8 Rxf8 32.Qh6+ Kg8 33.Ra3! (An exquisite and decisive entry of the rook to the attack) 1-0
‘Analysis is a glittering opportunity for training: it is just here that capacity for work, perseverance and stamina are cultivated, and these qualities are, in truth, as necessary to a chess player as a marathon runner.’ -Polugayevsky
‘First and foremost it is essential to understand the essence, the overall idea of any fashionable variation, and only then include it in one’s repertoire. Otherwise the tactical trees will conceal from the player the strategic picture of the wood, in which his orientation will most likely be lost.’ - Polugayevsky