Alexander Kotov
Encyclopedia
Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov (Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Ко́тов; – 8 January 1981) was a Soviet chess
grandmaster
and author. He was a Soviet champion, a two-time world title Candidate
, and a prolific chess author. Kotov served in high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation and most of his books were written during the period of Cold War
between the US
and the USSR
. Therefore, his works tended to be rather critical of (and occasionally somewhat dismissive toward) American players. Russian players, on the other hand, were presented and described in a particularly favorable light.
Kotov's books also included frequent praise for the Soviet system in general. For example, the 1958 book The Soviet School of Chess (which he co-wrote with Mikhail Yudovich) stated that "The rise of the Soviet school to the summit of world chess is a logical result of socialist cultural development." At the time, statements such as this were sufficiently controversial that Western publishers felt compelled to include disclaimers in versions of his books that were translated for distribution to English-speaking countries. Dover Publications
, Inc.'s 1961 paperback version of The Soviet School of Chess was distributed primarily to Western countries and included an introduction that stated "...literature of this type, though helpful in our ultimate understanding of the game, is very often riddled with distortion. The publishers of this Dover edition are very much concerned that readers be aware of the propaganda techniques employed, even in the history of chess, by the Soviet Union."
Notwithstanding Kotov's forays into the political realm, his books were insightful and informative and were written in a congenial style. He often made his points by citing first-hand stories of incidents involving famous grandmasters, most of whom he knew personally. Such entertaining and enlightening personal accounts helped to ensure that his books would remain popular among chess players of widely varying nationalities and playing strengths.
which was part of the Russian Empire
to a large working class
family. He moved to Moscow
in 1939 to study engineering
, and during this time studied chess a great deal.
, just missing out to Mikhail Botvinnik
in the final round. This result won him the Soviet Grandmaster title, the third Soviet player to hold the title after Botvinnik and Grigory Levenfish
. Kotov was Moscow champion
in 1941. He won the Soviet title jointly with David Bronstein
in 1948, and won at Venice
in 1950, ahead of Vasily Smyslov
.
He was granted the title of International Grandmaster in 1951 by the World Chess Federation. At this time, Kotov also held high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation.
In the first ever Candidates Tournament of 1950 (the tournament to determine who challenges the World Champion, who at the time was Botvinnik) held in Budapest
, he scored 8.5/18. He had qualified for the event by finishing fourth in the 1948 Interzonal
Tournament in Stockholm
, scoring 11.5/19.
Perhaps his best result came at the 1952 Saltsjöbaden
Interzonal
, which he won with a score of 16.5/20, three clear points ahead of Tigran Petrosian
and Mark Taimanov
in second place, and without losing a game. In the following Candidates Tournament in Zürich
, he scored 14/28, and was the only person to win a game against the tournament's winner, Smyslov.
Kotov played for the USSR at the Chess Olympiad
s of 1952 and 1954, contributing to team gold medal victories. He was the second reserve board both times; at Helsinki
1952 he scored 2/3, while at Amsterdam
1954, he made 4/6. After 1960, all the tournaments he took part in were outside the USSR. They included a shared first place with Svetozar Gligorić
at Hastings
in 1962, half a point ahead of Smyslov. He played in very few tournaments in his later years.
, and wrote a comprehensive four-volume biographical series of books on his life and career, which were published between 1953 and 1958. The work significantly contributed to Alekhine's rehabilitation in the Soviet Union.
His trilogy of books Think Like a Grandmaster, Play Like a Grandmaster, and Train Like a Grandmaster, are his best known, with Think Like a Grandmaster, which was translated from the Russian by Bernard Cafferty
, and published by Batsford
in 1971 being particularly famous. The book is not concerned with advising where pieces should be placed on the board, or tactical motifs, but rather with the method of thinking that should be employed during a game. Kotov's advice to identify candidate move
s and methodically examine them to build up an "analysis tree" remains well known today.
Kotov contributed to the Yugoslav series Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (ECO), which began in 1974, and to the associated games book series Chess Informator as an analyst.
The importance and breadth of Kotov's work as a chess author ranks him among the all-time greats in this field.
with White, and was a terror with the Sicilian Defence
as Black.
. The term has been applied to similar non-chess situations, and is the title of a song on the album Appeal to Reason
(7 October 2008) by the Punk Rock
band Rise Against
.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
and author. He was a Soviet champion, a two-time world title Candidate
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
, and a prolific chess author. Kotov served in high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation and most of his books were written during the period of Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
between the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Therefore, his works tended to be rather critical of (and occasionally somewhat dismissive toward) American players. Russian players, on the other hand, were presented and described in a particularly favorable light.
Kotov's books also included frequent praise for the Soviet system in general. For example, the 1958 book The Soviet School of Chess (which he co-wrote with Mikhail Yudovich) stated that "The rise of the Soviet school to the summit of world chess is a logical result of socialist cultural development." At the time, statements such as this were sufficiently controversial that Western publishers felt compelled to include disclaimers in versions of his books that were translated for distribution to English-speaking countries. Dover Publications
Dover Publications
Dover Publications is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward Cirker and his wife, Blanche. It publishes primarily reissues, books no longer published by their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books in the public domain. The original published editions may be...
, Inc.'s 1961 paperback version of The Soviet School of Chess was distributed primarily to Western countries and included an introduction that stated "...literature of this type, though helpful in our ultimate understanding of the game, is very often riddled with distortion. The publishers of this Dover edition are very much concerned that readers be aware of the propaganda techniques employed, even in the history of chess, by the Soviet Union."
Notwithstanding Kotov's forays into the political realm, his books were insightful and informative and were written in a congenial style. He often made his points by citing first-hand stories of incidents involving famous grandmasters, most of whom he knew personally. Such entertaining and enlightening personal accounts helped to ensure that his books would remain popular among chess players of widely varying nationalities and playing strengths.
Early life
Kotov was born in TulaTula, Russia
Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...
which was part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
to a large working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
family. He moved to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1939 to study engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, and during this time studied chess a great deal.
Grandmaster
While best remembered today as an author, Kotov also had a number of good results as a player. One of his best early results was his second place finish in the 1939 USSR ChampionshipUSSR Chess Championship
This is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship. It was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners...
, just missing out to Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
in the final round. This result won him the Soviet Grandmaster title, the third Soviet player to hold the title after Botvinnik and Grigory Levenfish
Grigory Levenfish
Grigory Yakovlevich Levenfish was a leading Jewish Russian chess grandmaster of the 1920s and 1930s. He was twice Soviet champion - in 1934 and 1937. In 1937 he tied a match against future world champion Mikhail Botvinnik...
. Kotov was Moscow champion
Moscow City Chess Championship
-References: ****** from chessbase.com...
in 1941. He won the Soviet title jointly with David Bronstein
David Bronstein
David Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
in 1948, and won at Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in 1950, ahead of Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
.
He was granted the title of International Grandmaster in 1951 by the World Chess Federation. At this time, Kotov also held high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation.
In the first ever Candidates Tournament of 1950 (the tournament to determine who challenges the World Champion, who at the time was Botvinnik) held in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, he scored 8.5/18. He had qualified for the event by finishing fourth in the 1948 Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
Tournament in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, scoring 11.5/19.
Perhaps his best result came at the 1952 Saltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden is a locality situated in Nacka Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 8,937 inhabitants in 2005. It is located on the coast of the Baltic Sea.- History :...
Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
, which he won with a score of 16.5/20, three clear points ahead of Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
and Mark Taimanov
Mark Taimanov
Mark Evgenievich Taimanov is a leading Soviet and Russian chess player and concert pianist.-Chess:He was awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1952 and played in the Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953, where he tied for eighth place. From 1946 to 1956, he was among the world's top...
in second place, and without losing a game. In the following Candidates Tournament in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, he scored 14/28, and was the only person to win a game against the tournament's winner, Smyslov.
Kotov played for the USSR at the Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s of 1952 and 1954, contributing to team gold medal victories. He was the second reserve board both times; at Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
1952 he scored 2/3, while at Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
1954, he made 4/6. After 1960, all the tournaments he took part in were outside the USSR. They included a shared first place with Svetozar Gligorić
Svetozar Gligoric
Svetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
at Hastings
Hastings International Chess Congress
The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
in 1962, half a point ahead of Smyslov. He played in very few tournaments in his later years.
Author
Kotov was a great admirer of World Champion Alexander AlekhineAlexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
, and wrote a comprehensive four-volume biographical series of books on his life and career, which were published between 1953 and 1958. The work significantly contributed to Alekhine's rehabilitation in the Soviet Union.
His trilogy of books Think Like a Grandmaster, Play Like a Grandmaster, and Train Like a Grandmaster, are his best known, with Think Like a Grandmaster, which was translated from the Russian by Bernard Cafferty
Bernard Cafferty
Bernard Cafferty is an English chess master, columnist, writer, magazine editor and translator.-Chess career:...
, and published by Batsford
Anova Books
Anova Books is a UK-based publishing company founded in 2005, with the acquisition of the Chrysalis Books Group from the Chrysalis Group. Since its inception, the firm has acquired or created several other imprints...
in 1971 being particularly famous. The book is not concerned with advising where pieces should be placed on the board, or tactical motifs, but rather with the method of thinking that should be employed during a game. Kotov's advice to identify candidate move
Candidate move
In abstract strategy board games, candidate moves are moves which, upon initial observation of the position, seem to warrant further analysis. Although in theory the idea of candidate moves can be applied to games such as Checkers, Go, and Xiangqi, it is most often used in the context of chess.-...
s and methodically examine them to build up an "analysis tree" remains well known today.
Kotov contributed to the Yugoslav series Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (ECO), which began in 1974, and to the associated games book series Chess Informator as an analyst.
The importance and breadth of Kotov's work as a chess author ranks him among the all-time greats in this field.
Playing style
Kotov developed a sharp style, was definitely not afraid of complications on the chessboard, and willingly entered into them against even the greatest of opponents. He favoured the closed openingsClosed Game
A Closed Game, also called a Double Queen Pawn Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The move 1.d4 offers the same benefits to development and center control as does 1.e4, but unlike with the King Pawn openings where the e4 pawn is undefended after the first move, the d4 pawn is...
with White, and was a terror with the Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
as Black.
Kotov syndrome
In Kotov's 1971 book Think Like a Grandmaster, he described a situation when a player thinks very hard for a long time in a complicated position but does not find a clear path, then running low on time quickly makes a poor move, often a blunderBlunder (chess)
In chess, a blunder is a very bad move. It is usually caused by some tactical oversight, whether from time trouble, overconfidence or carelessness. While a blunder may seem like a stroke of luck for the opposing player, some chess players give their opponent plenty of opportunities to blunder.What...
. The term has been applied to similar non-chess situations, and is the title of a song on the album Appeal to Reason
Appeal to Reason
The Appeal to Reason was a weekly political newspaper published in the American Midwest from 1895 until 1922. The paper was known for its radical politics, lending support over the years to the Farmers' Alliance and Populist movement before becoming a mainstay of the Socialist Party of America...
(7 October 2008) by the Punk Rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Rise Against
Rise Against
Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim McIlrath , Zach Blair , Joe Principe and Brandon Barnes .Rise Against spent its first five years signed to the independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, on which it...
.
Notable chess games
- Alexander Kotov vs Alexander Tolush, Leningrad Championship 1938, Neo-Grunfeld Defence (D76), 1-0 Tolush was a dangerous attacker, but he is the one subdued here.
- Alexander Kotov vs Tigran Petrosian, USSR Championship, Moscow 1949, Queen's Gambit, Exchange Variation (D36), 1-0 Petrosian, later World Champion, loses a game he would never forget, falling into an opening trap and resigning in only 13 moves.
- Alexander Kotov vs Paul Keres, Budapest Candidates Tournament 1950, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Saemisch Variation (E24), 1-0 Kotov was near the peak of his form, and dealt Keres a costly loss.
- Yuri Averbakh vs Alexander Kotov, Zurich Candidates Tournament 1953, Old Indian Defence (A55), 0-1 Kotov's most famous game is one of the all-time greats of sacrificial chess, as Black gives up his Queen for long-term pressure which eventually leads to a mating finish.
Writings
- Alexander Alekhine by Alexander Kotov, four volumes, Moscow, 1953-1958.
- The Art of the Middle Game, by Paul Keres and Alexander Kotov (translated from the Russian by Harry Golombek), London, Dover 1962, ISBN 0486261549
- Think Like a Grandmaster, by Alexander Kotov (translated from the Russian by Bernard Cafferty), London, Batsford 1971, (Algebraic Edition 2003) ISBN 0713478853
- Play Like a Grandmaster, by Alexander Kotov (translated from the Russian by Bernard Cafferty), London, Batsford 1973, {Algebraic Edition 2003} ISBN 0713418079
- World Championship Interzonals: Leningrad—Petropolis 1973, by R.G. Wade, L.S. Blackstock, and Alexander Kotov, New York, RHM Chess Publishing 1974, ISBN 0213428512
- Train Like a Grandmaster, by Alexander Kotov (translated from the Russian by Bernard Cafferty), London, Batsford 1981, ISBN 0713436099
- Chess Tactics, by Alexander Kotov (translated from the Russian and edited by John Littlewood), London, Batsford 1983, ISBN 0713425628
- Grandmaster at Work, by Alexander Kotov (first English edition), Macon, American Chess Promotions 1990, ISBN 0939298864
- The Soviet School of Chess, by Alexander Kotov and Mikhail Yudovich, Los Angeles, University Press of the Pacific 2001, ISBN 0898754151
Sources
- Bernard Cafferty, "Alexander Kotov" (article in the British Chess MagazineBritish Chess MagazineBritish Chess Magazine is the world's oldest chess magazine in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as BCM....
, September 1994)