David Bronstein

1951 World Championship match against Botvinnik

Bronstein tied the 1951 World Championship match 12–12 with reigning champion Mikhail Botvinnik, each winning five games with fourteen draws. The lead changed hands several times, and almost every game was played hard to a clear finish. Bronstein often avoided his own favoured lines and adopted Botvinnik's preferred variations, which seemed to surprise the champion, who had not played competitively in three years. Bronstein won four of his five games by deep combinational play before adjournment.

He led by one point with two games left, but lost the 23rd game and drew the 24th; under FIDE rules the title remained with Botvinnik. Botvinnik attributed Bronstein's failure to a tendency to underestimate endgame technique and a lack of ability in simple positions. Four of Botvinnik's five wins came in adjourned endgames where he had only a minimal advantage at move 40. Bronstein's father was sometimes secretly in the audience during the match, at a time when he was not officially permitted in Moscow.

Career after 1953

Bronstein's 1953 Candidates result qualified him for the 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal, which he won unbeaten. At the 1956 Candidates in Amsterdam he tied for third through seventh places, behind Smyslov and Keres. He qualified for the 1958 Interzonal by placing third at the USSR Championship in Riga. At the 1958 Interzonal in Portorož, Bronstein missed advancing to the 1959 Candidates by half a point after losing a last-round game to Rodolfo Tan Cardoso when a thunderstorm caused a power failure and he lost concentration.

He missed qualification for the 1962 cycle at the Soviet Zonal stage. His last Interzonal was at age 49, finishing sixth at Petropolis 1973. Bronstein won many tournaments, including the Soviet Championships of 1948 (jointly) and 1949 (jointly), and tied for second in 1957 and 1964–65. He tied first with Mark Taimanov at the 1952 World Students' Championship.

He was a six-time Moscow Champion and represented the USSR at four Olympiads, winning board prizes each time and losing only one of 49 games. In the 1954 team match against the US he swept all four games on second board. Other victories included Hastings 1953–54, Belgrade 1954, and many others through 1978.

Legacy and later years

Bronstein wrote many chess books and articles, including a regular column in Izvestia. His book Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953 is regarded among the very best chess books ever written. In 1995 he co-authored The Sorcerer's Apprentice with Tom Fürstenberg. Bronstein successfully adopted the King's Gambit in top-level competition and, along with Boleslavsky and Efim Geller, transformed the King's Indian Defence into a major system.

Two variations are named after him: the Bronstein–Larsen Variation in the Caro–Kann Defence and the Bronstein Variation in the Scandinavian Defence. He refused to sign a group letter denouncing Viktor Korchnoi's 1976 defection, resulting in suspension of his state stipend and a ban from major tournaments for over a year.

He was virtually banned from high-class events in the mid-1980s. Bronstein advocated speeding up competitive chess and in 1973 introduced the idea of adding a small time increment per move, a variant of which is now common on digital clocks. He often challenged computer programs, usually with good results.

Notable games

Sergei Belavenets vs. Bronstein, USSR Championship semifinal, Rostov-on-Don 1941, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E67), 0–1. The 17-year-old Bronstein meets the Chairman of the USSR Classification Committee, who had just awarded him the title of Master. Ludek Pachman vs. Bronstein, tt Prague 1946, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E67), 0–1. A stunning original tactical onslaught which attracted worldwide acclaim.

Bronstein vs. Isaac Boleslavsky, Candidates' Playoff Match, Moscow 1950, game 1, Grunfeld Defence (D89), 1–0. Bronstein offers a far-seeing exchange sacrifice, which ties Black up, leading to a beautiful strategical win. Mikhail Botvinnik vs. Bronstein, World Championship Match, Moscow 1951, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Rubinstein Variation (E47), 0–1. One of Bronstein's wins with the black pieces from their 1951 match.

Bronstein vs. Mikhail Botvinnik, World Championship Match, Moscow 1951, game 22, Dutch Defence, Stonewall Variation (A91), 1–0. A very deep combination exploits Black's back-rank weakness, giving Bronstein a one-game lead with two to play. Samuel Reshevsky vs. Bronstein, Zurich Candidates' 1953, King's Indian, Fianchetto Variation (E68), 0–1. Bronstein was ordered by Soviet chess authorities to win this crucial game to stop Reshevsky's chances.

Bronstein vs. Paul Keres, Goteborg Interzonal 1955, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Rubinstein Variation (E41), 1–0. A dramatic game between two attacking geniuses. Itzak Aloni vs. Bronstein, Moscow Olympiad 1956, King's Indian Defence, Saemisch Variation (E85), 0–1. Bronstein sacrifices three pawns to open queenside lines into Aloni's king position.

Bronstein vs. M-20(Computer), Moscow Mathematics Institute 1963, King's Gambit: Accepted, Schallop Defense (C34), 1–0. The oldest-known game between a grandmaster and a computer. Stefan Brzozka vs. Bronstein, USSR 1963, Dutch Defence, Leningrad Variation (A88), 0–1. A surprising and deep positional breakthrough.

Did You Know?

• Bronstein learned chess at age six from his grandfather.
• He was trained by International Master Alexander Konstantinopolsky as a youth in Kiev.
• His first wife was Olga Ignatieva, one of the strongest female chess players of the 1950s.