NICK BARNETT CHESS

‘I have been asked many, many times if I was obliged to lose the 23rd game and if there was a conspiracy against me to stop me from taking Botvinnik’s title. A lot of nonsense has been written about this. The only thing that I am prepared to say about all this controversy is that I was subjected to strong psychological pressure from various origins and it was entirely up to me to yield to that pressure or not.’ This is a quote from David Bronstein’s book, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. He was commenting about the 1951 World Championship where he challenged the world champion Mikhail Botvinnik, another Soviet player, who had won the title in 1948. In the same book he said ‘I had reasons not to become the World Champion, as in those times such a title meant that you were entering an official world of chess bureaucracy with many formal obligations. Such a position is not compatible with my character.’ There was another reason Bronstein was not acceptable to the Soviet government. His father was arrested in 1937 on charges of being an ‘enemy of the people’ and imprisoned in Soviet labor camps until 1944. David Bronstein was also Jewish in a state that was openly anti-Semitic. Then there was Bronstein’s style of play. Botvinnik had a scientific approach refined by a study of his opponents’ psychology. The Soviet authorities held up Botvinnik’s playing as a model, saying his success had come from following institutional principles, not individual inspiration. Bronstein’s style was the opposite. An intuitive player, he often sought complications and played wild, imaginative games. He wrote, ‘I always try to vary my openings as much as possible, to invent new plans in attack and defense, to make experimental moves which are dangerous and exciting for both players and also for the audience.’ So the 24-game match was fraught with all sorts of tensions over and above those pertaining to the match itself. It was a seesaw affair between two men who disliked each other and played with contrasting styles. It ended in a 12-12 tie, allowing Botvinnik to retain the title, according to the rules of the match. Most chess enthusiasts would agree that David Bronstein was one of the strongest players in history to not win the title was a remarkable creative genius and a master of scintillating tactics that enthralled the chess world for many decades. He died on in Minsk in 2006 at the age of 82, in the arms of his wife Tatiana. For comment or news write to thechessnik@gmail.com