One of the most successful chess players of his generation, as well as part of the Soviet tournament winning machine that dominated the game after the Second World War, Vasiliy Smyslov was the first player to break Mikhail Botvinnik's then nine-year grip on the World title in 1957. The second would be 23-year-old Latvian prodigy Mikhail Tal in 1960. Both times, Botvinnik prepared well for his return matches, regaining the title in 1958 and 1961 respectively, before being finally overhauled by Armenia's Tigran Petrosian in 1963.
Nevertheless, a record 17 Chess Olympiad and 10 European Team gold medal victories during his nigh-on fifty year playing career made Smyslov one of the best tournament players in the game's modern history. He was still challenging for the World crown as late as 1983, at 62 years of age, when it took eventual champion, 21-year-old Gary Kasparov, to overhaul him in the final candidate's match.
Born in Moscow in 1921, Smyslov first started playing chess at 6 and was later given a copy of then world champion Alexander Alekhine's book My Best Games of Chess. Although Alekhine had defected to France in 1930, the book became a constant source of reference to Smyslov as he continued playing as an amateur, while training as an engineer.
Smyslov won the USSR Junior Championship in 1938 at the age of 17 and, despite the onset of war, his playing career continued through the early 1940's well enough for him to be named a Grandmaster by FIDE, the game's governing body, in 1941, at just 20.
When Alekhine died as reigning world champion in 1946, Smyslov was one of five players chosen to enter the 1948 World Championship and confounded critics when he finished runner-up in the round-robin format to Botvinnik. He had a near miss in 1954 when, as Botvinnik's challenger for the title, he drew 12-12 in their match in Moscow: a challenger needed a clear win and Botvinnik retained the title by default. However, when they met again in the final in Moscow in 1957, Smyslov won 12½-9½.
As the defeated champion, Botvinnik was entitled to an immediate rematch and beat Smyslov the following Spring, again in Moscow, by 12½-10½.
His tournament play continued into the 1960's and 1970's. Tournament chess often produces joint winners, but Smyslov's outright victories in Olympiad events included 1965 in Havana, Monte Carlo in 1969, Amsterdam in 1971, Reykjavik in 1974 and Graz in 1984.
By the last of those victories, Smyslov had come within one match of another world final, beginning with a stroke of sheer luck. He'd drawn his Candidates' quarter-final match with West Germany's Robert Hübner 7-7, only advancing by the spin of a roulette wheel. From there, he found a second wind in beating Hungary's Zoltán Ribli 6½-4½ but then Kasparov beat him in the Candidates' final 8½-4½.
Kasparov's final challenge to incumbent Anatoly Karpov, initially run on a "first to six wins basis" had to be abandoned after five months and forty drawn games with Karpov only 5-3 up. They were rematched under the old best of 24 format in 1985, which ended with Kasparov's iconic 13-11 victory to end Karpov's eventful ten year reign as champion.
Smyslov went on to become the first World Seniors' Champion in 1991. Smyslov had variations of both the Ruy Lopez opening and the Slav Defence named after him... as well as the character from 2001: A Space Odyssey played by Leonard Rossiter!.
Smyslov was also an accomplished singer and only turned to chess professionally after failing an audition for the Bolshoi Opera in 1950.
Vasiliy Vasiliyevich Smyslov, Russian chess grandmaster: born Moscow, 24th March 1921; died, Moscow, 27th March 2010.
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