Alexey Selezniev
Encyclopedia
Alexey Selezniev (Selesniev, Selesniew, Selesnev, Selesnieff; pronounced "selezNYOFF") (1888, Tambov
, Russia
– June 1967, Bordeaux, France) was a Russia
n chess
master.
Selezniev was born into a wealthy merchant Russian family, and was a graduate from Moscow University's law faculty. He played in a number of pre-revolutionary tournaments at the Moscow Chess Club. He tied for 8-10th at Vilna 1912 (7th RUS-ch, B tourn, Karel Hromadka
won). In 1913, he tied for 1st-2nd, tied for 4-5th, and tied for 5-6th in Moscow
.
In July/August 1914, he played in Mannheim
(19th DSB Congress), and tied for 6-10th in interrupted tournament (Hauptturnier A). After the declaration of war against Russia, eleven “Russian players” (Alekhine
, Bogoljubow
, Bogatyrchuk
, Flamberg
, Koppelman
, Maliutin
, Rabinovich
, Romanovsky
, Saburov
, Selezniev, Weinstein) from the Mannheim tournament were interned by Germany
. In September 1914, four of them (Alekhine, Bogatyrchuk, Saburov, and Koppelman) were freed and allowed to return home through Switzerland
. The Russian internees played eight tournaments, the first in Baden-Baden
(1914) and all the others in Triberg im Schwarzwald
(1914–1917). Selesniew tied for 4-5th at Baden-Baden 1914 (Alexander Flamberg
won), and took 5th at Triberg 1914 (Efim Bogoljubow
won). He took 4th, tied for 2nd-3rd, took 2nd, and took 3rd at Triberg 1915 (all tournaments Bogoljubov won). He tied for 2nd-3rd at Triberg 1916 (Ilya Rabinovich
won). He won (jointly with Rabinovich) in the Triberg chess tournament
in 1917.
Selezniev played several matches. In 1916, he drew with Hans Fahrni
in Triberg (+2 –2 =2); in 1917 lost to Bogoljubow in Triberg (+2 –3 =3); in 1920 won against Curt von Bardeleben
in Berlin (+2 –0 =4), in 1921 won against Richard Teichmann
in Berlin (+1 –0 =1).
After World War I
, in 1919, he won in Berlin
(Quadrangular), and took 2nd, behind Bogoljubow. In 1920, he won in Berlin, and took 14th in Göteborg (Richard Reti
won). In 1921, he tied for 3rd-4th (Pentagonal, Alexander Alekhine won) and took 4th (Quadrangular, Akiba Rubinstein
won) in Triberg. In 1922, he tied for 14-15th in Piešťany
(Pistyan) (Bogoljubow won). In 1923, he took 4th in Maehrisch-Ostrau (Ostrava
) (Emanuel Lasker
won). In 1924, he tied for 4-5th in Meran (Ernst Grünfeld
won).
He and Bogoljubov had careers that followed similar paths. Both players were interned in Germany for the duration of World War I, and decided to stay there until 1924. That year, both players were sent invitations to participate in the third USSR Championship
, and somehow Nikolai Krylenko
convinced them to play and stay in the Soviet Union
.
Selezniev participated in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth USSR Championships (1924, 1925, 1927, and 1929), but had only mediocre results each time. He tied for 6-8th at Moscow 1924 (Bogoljubov won), took 14th at Leningrad 1925 (Bogoljubov won), tied for 15-17th at Moscow 1927 (Fedor Bogatyrchuk and Peter Romanovsky
won). Selezniev won, ahead of Vsevolod Rauzer
, at Poltava 1927 (4th UKR-ch, off contest), and tied for 3rd-4th at Odessa 1928 (5th UKR-ch, Yakov Vilner
and Vladimir Kirillov won). He was eliminated in the quarter-final of play at Odessa
1929 (6th USSR-ch). He tied for 4-6th in the semi-final of 7th USSR-ch in 1931. He took 10th at Leningrad
1935 (Vasily Panov
won). After this last event, his active playing career ended. He was living in the Ukrainian
city of Donetsk
when it was overrun by Nazis. Bogoljubov helped him get transferred to Triberg, and he eventually made his way to France
.
After World War II
, he took 4th at Oldenburg
1948 (Povilas Tautvaišas
won).
Tambov
Tambov is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers southeast of Moscow...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
– June 1967, Bordeaux, France) was a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n chess
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...
master.
Selezniev was born into a wealthy merchant Russian family, and was a graduate from Moscow University's law faculty. He played in a number of pre-revolutionary tournaments at the Moscow Chess Club. He tied for 8-10th at Vilna 1912 (7th RUS-ch, B tourn, Karel Hromadka
Karel Hromádka
Karel Hromádka was a Czech chess player, two-time Czech champion, 1913 and 1921 ....
won). In 1913, he tied for 1st-2nd, tied for 4-5th, and tied for 5-6th in 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 July/August 1914, he played in Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
(19th DSB Congress), and tied for 6-10th in interrupted tournament (Hauptturnier A). After the declaration of war against Russia, eleven “Russian players” (Alekhine
Alexander 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...
, Bogoljubow
Efim Bogoljubow
Efim Dmitriyevich Bogolyubov was a Russo-German chess grandmaster who won numerous events and played two matches with Alexander Alekhine for the world championship.-Early career:...
, Bogatyrchuk
Fedor Bogatyrchuk
Fedir Parfenovych Bohatyrchuk was a Ukrainian-Canadian International Master of chess, and an...
, Flamberg
Alexander Flamberg
Alexander Flamberg was a Polish chess master.-Biography:Alexander Davidovich Flamberg born in Warsaw , spent his early years in England, where he learnt to play chess. After return to Warsaw, he became one of the strongest Polish chess players. In 1900, he took 2nd, behind Salomon Langleben, in...
, Koppelman
N. Koppelman (chess player)
N. Kopelman was a Russian chess player.He participated in Mannheim 1914 chess tournament. After the declaration of war against Russia, eleven "Russian" players were interned in Rastatt, Germany...
, Maliutin
Boris Maliutin
Boris Evgenievich Maliutin was a Russian chess master.He played many tournaments in Saint Petersburg...
, Rabinovich
Ilya Rabinovich
Ilya Rabinovich was a Russian chess master.-Biography:In 1911 Ilya Leontievich Rabinovich tied for 1st with Platz in Saint Petersburg...
, Romanovsky
Peter Romanovsky
Peter Arsenievich Romanovsky was a Russian chess International Master, International Arbiter, and author.-Biography:At the beginning of his career in Sankt Petersburg, he shared fourth place in 1908 , tied for 10-11th in 1909 , took second place behind Smorodsky in 1913, and shared first with...
, Saburov
Peter Petrovich Saburov
Peter Petrovich Saburov was a Russian chess master and organizer.He was a son of Peter Alexandrovich Saburov, a diplomat and chess organizer. The November 1911 American Chess Bulletin wrote: "Peter Petrovich Saburov, President of the far-famed St Petersburg Chess Club was born in St Petersburg on...
, Selezniev, Weinstein) from the Mannheim tournament were interned by Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In September 1914, four of them (Alekhine, Bogatyrchuk, Saburov, and Koppelman) were freed and allowed to return home through Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. The Russian internees played eight tournaments, the first in Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe...
(1914) and all the others in Triberg im Schwarzwald
Triberg im Schwarzwald
Triberg im Schwarzwald is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in the Black Forest. As of 2004 it has a population of 5,377. Triberg lies in the middle of the Black Forest between 500 and 1038 metres above sea level....
(1914–1917). Selesniew tied for 4-5th at Baden-Baden 1914 (Alexander Flamberg
Alexander Flamberg
Alexander Flamberg was a Polish chess master.-Biography:Alexander Davidovich Flamberg born in Warsaw , spent his early years in England, where he learnt to play chess. After return to Warsaw, he became one of the strongest Polish chess players. In 1900, he took 2nd, behind Salomon Langleben, in...
won), and took 5th at Triberg 1914 (Efim Bogoljubow
Efim Bogoljubow
Efim Dmitriyevich Bogolyubov was a Russo-German chess grandmaster who won numerous events and played two matches with Alexander Alekhine for the world championship.-Early career:...
won). He took 4th, tied for 2nd-3rd, took 2nd, and took 3rd at Triberg 1915 (all tournaments Bogoljubov won). He tied for 2nd-3rd at Triberg 1916 (Ilya Rabinovich
Ilya Rabinovich
Ilya Rabinovich was a Russian chess master.-Biography:In 1911 Ilya Leontievich Rabinovich tied for 1st with Platz in Saint Petersburg...
won). He won (jointly with Rabinovich) in the Triberg chess tournament
Triberg chess tournament
The Triberg chess tournament constitutes a series of chess tournaments, held in Triberg im Schwarzwald during World War I.Eleven players from the Russian Empire, who participated in the interrupted Mannheim 1914 chess tournament, were interned in Rastatt, Germany, after the declaration of war...
in 1917.
Selezniev played several matches. In 1916, he drew with Hans Fahrni
Hans Fahrni
Hans Fahrni was a Swiss chess master.In 1892 he was joint Swiss chess champion ....
in Triberg (+2 –2 =2); in 1917 lost to Bogoljubow in Triberg (+2 –3 =3); in 1920 won against Curt von Bardeleben
Curt von Bardeleben
Curt von Bardeleben was a Count and a German chess master who committed suicide by jumping out of a window in 1924. His life and death were the basis for that of the main character in the novel The Defense by Vladimir Nabokov, which was made into the movie The Luzhin Defence...
in Berlin (+2 –0 =4), in 1921 won against Richard Teichmann
Richard Teichmann
Richard Teichmann was a German chess master.He was known as "Richard the Fifth" because he often finished in fifth place in tournaments. But in Karlsbad 1911, he scored a convincing win, crushing Akiba Rubinstein and Carl Schlechter with the same line of the Ruy Lopez...
in Berlin (+1 –0 =1).
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in 1919, he won in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(Quadrangular), and took 2nd, behind Bogoljubow. In 1920, he won in Berlin, and took 14th in Göteborg (Richard Reti
Richard Réti
Réti composed one of the most famous chess studies, shown in this diagram. It was published in Ostrauer Morgenzeitung 4 December 1921. It seems impossible for the white king to catch the advanced black pawn, while the white pawn can be easily stopped by the black king...
won). In 1921, he tied for 3rd-4th (Pentagonal, Alexander Alekhine won) and took 4th (Quadrangular, Akiba Rubinstein
Akiba Rubinstein
Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein was a famous Polish chess Grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th century. He was scheduled to play a match with Emanuel Lasker for the world championship in 1914, but it was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War I...
won) in Triberg. In 1922, he tied for 14-15th in Piešťany
Pieštany
Piešťany is a town in Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the country within the Trnava Region and is the seat of its own district. It is the biggest and best known spa town in Slovakia and has around 30,000 inhabitants.-History:...
(Pistyan) (Bogoljubow won). In 1923, he took 4th in Maehrisch-Ostrau (Ostrava
Ostrava
Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the second largest urban agglomeration after Prague. Located close to the Polish border, it is also the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region and of the Municipality with Extended Competence. Ostrava was candidate for the...
) (Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...
won). In 1924, he tied for 4-5th in Meran (Ernst Grünfeld
Ernst Grünfeld
----Ernst Franz Grünfeld , an Austrian grandmaster and writer specializing in opening theory, was for a brief period after the First World War one of the strongest chess players in the world....
won).
He and Bogoljubov had careers that followed similar paths. Both players were interned in Germany for the duration of World War I, and decided to stay there until 1924. That year, both players were sent invitations to participate in the third USSR Championship
USSR 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...
, and somehow Nikolai Krylenko
Nikolai Krylenko
Nikolai Vasilyevich Krylenko was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician. Krylenko served in a variety of posts in the Soviet legal system, rising to become People's Commissar for Justice and Prosecutor General of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic.Krylenko was an...
convinced them to play and stay in the Soviet Union
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....
.
Selezniev participated in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth USSR Championships (1924, 1925, 1927, and 1929), but had only mediocre results each time. He tied for 6-8th at Moscow 1924 (Bogoljubov won), took 14th at Leningrad 1925 (Bogoljubov won), tied for 15-17th at Moscow 1927 (Fedor Bogatyrchuk and Peter Romanovsky
Peter Romanovsky
Peter Arsenievich Romanovsky was a Russian chess International Master, International Arbiter, and author.-Biography:At the beginning of his career in Sankt Petersburg, he shared fourth place in 1908 , tied for 10-11th in 1909 , took second place behind Smorodsky in 1913, and shared first with...
won). Selezniev won, ahead of Vsevolod Rauzer
Vsevolod Rauzer
Vsevolod Rauzer is probably best known for his extensive chess opening theory. The Richter–Rauzer Variation of the Sicilian Defence , was named in honor of him and the German master Kurt Richter....
, at Poltava 1927 (4th UKR-ch, off contest), and tied for 3rd-4th at Odessa 1928 (5th UKR-ch, Yakov Vilner
Yakov Vilner
Yakov Vilner was a Ukrainian chess master.-Biography:Vilner won the Odessa chess championships four times . He won the Ukrainian championships three times; at Kiev 1924 , at Kharkov 1925 , and at Odessa 1928...
and Vladimir Kirillov won). He was eliminated in the quarter-final of play at Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
1929 (6th USSR-ch). He tied for 4-6th in the semi-final of 7th USSR-ch in 1931. He took 10th at Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
1935 (Vasily Panov
Vasily Panov
Vasily Nikolayevich Panov was a Soviet chess player, author, and journalist. Winner of the Moscow City Championship in 1929, he also played in five USSR Chess Championships from 1935 to 1948. His greatest tournament victory was Kiev, 1938...
won). After this last event, his active playing career ended. He was living in the Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
city of Donetsk
Donetsk
Donetsk , is a large city in eastern Ukraine on the Kalmius river. Administratively, it is a center of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the economic and cultural Donets Basin region...
when it was overrun by Nazis. Bogoljubov helped him get transferred to Triberg, and he eventually made his way to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he took 4th at Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
1948 (Povilas Tautvaišas
Povilas Tautvaišas
Povilas Tautvaišas was a Lithuanian-American chess master.-Biography:He played twice for the Lithuanian team in the Chess Olympiads, at eighth board at Munich 1936 , and at fourth board in the 8th Olympiad at Buenos Aires 1939, during which World War II broke out...
won).