Mikhail Botvinnik

Mikhail Moiseevich Botvinnik (??????? ?????????? ??????????) (August 17, 1911 - May 5,1995) was a Jewish Russian International Grandmaster and long-time World Champion of chess.

Late career

After losing the world title to Tigran Petrosian for the final time in Moscow in 1963, Botvinnik remained involved with competitive chess, appearing in several highly-rated tournaments and continuing to produce memorable games, though without ever looking likely to challenge for top honours. He retired from competitive play in 1970 aged 59, preferring instead to occupy himself with the development of computer chess programs and to assist with the training of younger Soviet players, earning him the nickname of 'Patriarch of the Soviet Chess School'; the famous three K's (Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, and Vladimir Kramnik) were just three of the many future grandmasters to have studied under Botvinnik. The young Kasparov in particular seems to have formed a close relationship with Botvinnik; his 2004 book On My Great Predecessors II dedicates several pages to Kasparov's own personal fond memories of his former tutor and friend. Kasparov's account, in which Botvinnik appears almost as a kind of father figure, goes some way towards providing a warm and human side to balance the previous public perception of Botvinnik's dour personality.

Related Topics:
Tigran Petrosian - Computer chess - Anatoly Karpov - Garry Kasparov - Vladimir Kramnik

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Botvinnik's autobiography, K Dostizheniyu Tseli, was published in Russian in 1978, and in English translation as Achieving the Aim (ISBN 0-08-024120-4) in 1981. A staunch Communist, he was noticeably shaken by the collapse of the Soviet Union and lost some of his standing in Russian chess during the Boris Yeltsin era. Botvinnik died of natural causes in 1995.

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