Events in

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

in 1971;

Top players

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

top 10 by

Elo rating The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor. The Elo system was invented as an improved ch ...

- January 1971 #

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11� ...

2740 #

Boris Spassky Boris Vasilievich Spassky ( rus, Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский, Borís Vasíl'yevich Spásskiy; born January 30, 1937) is a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 ...

2690 #

Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He ...

2660 #

Bent Larsen Jørgen Bent Larsen (4 March 1935 – 9 September 2010) was a Danish chess grandmaster and author. Known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play, he was the second strongest non-Soviet player, behind Bobby Fischer, for much of the 196 ...

2660 #

Tigran Petrosian Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian (, ; 17 June 1929 – 13 August 1984) was a Soviet-Armenian chess grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his almost-impenetrable defensive playing style, ...

2640 #

Lajos Portisch Lajos Portisch (born 4 April 1937) is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik". One of the strongest non-Soviet players from the early 1960s into the late 1980s, he participated ...

2630 #

Mikhail Botvinnik Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, ( – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist and was a pioneer in computer chess. Botvinnik ...

2630 #

Efim Geller Efim Petrovich Geller (russian: Ефим Петрович Геллер, uk, Юхим Петрович Геллер; 8 March 1925 – 17 November 1998) was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Champi ...

2630 #

Lev Polugaevsky Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky ( rus, Лев Абрамович Полугаевский, p=pəlʊɡɐˈjefskʲɪj; 20 November 1934 – 30 August 1995) was a Soviet chess player. He was awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE i ...

2630 #

Mikhail Tal Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal; rus, Михаил Нехемьевич Таль, ''Mikhail Nekhem'yevich Tal' '', ; sometimes transliterated ''Mihails Tals'' or ''Mihail Tal'' (9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player ...

2620

Chess news in brief

sweeps aside all opposition in the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Candidates Matches The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The win ...

. Beginning with a 6-0 quarter-final win against

Mark Taimanov Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (russian: Марк Евгеньевич Тайманов; 7 February 1926 – 28 November 2016) was one of the leading Soviet and Russian chess players, among the world's top 20 players from 1946 to 1971. A prolific ch ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, the American is in rampant form. Unbelievably, the score is repeated against

in the

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

semi-final. Former World Champion

makes a fight of it in the final, held in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and appears to be containing Fischer for the first half of the match, but then loses four games in a row to suffer a demoralising 2½-6½ defeat. Other Candidates' match scores are; ''quarter-final''

Robert Hübner Robert Hübner (born November 6, 1948) is a German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist. He was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s. Chess career At eighteen, he was joint winner of the West German Chess ...

3-4 Petrosian (

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, match resigned by Hübner as a protest over playing conditions); ''quarter-final'' Larsen 5½-3½

Wolfgang Uhlmann Wolfgang Uhlmann (29 March 193524 August 2020) was a German chess grandmaster. He was East Germany's most successful chess player, reaching the 1971 Candidates Tournament. During his career, Uhlmann played many of the top players of the time an ...

(

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spain, Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in th ...

); ''quarter-final''

5½-2½

(Moscow); ''semi-final'' Petrosian 5½-4½ Korchnoi (Moscow). Fischer therefore qualifies to play

in a match for the World Championship in 1972. Commencing with his final seven games at the 1970

Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...

Interzonal Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by the World Chess Federation FIDE from the 1950s to the 1990s. They were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle and were held after the Zonal tournaments, and before the ...

and finishing with his first match game with Petrosian, Fischer's run of twenty consecutive wins is the longest in first class chess since

Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first official World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and che ...

established the record of twenty-five, between 1873 and 1882. *

Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov ( rus, links=no, Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈkarpəf; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Ches ...

and

Leonid Stein Leonid Zakharovich Stein (; November 12, 1934 – July 4, 1973) was a Soviet chess Grandmaster from Ukraine. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s (1963, 1965, and 1966), and was among the world's top ten players during that era. ...

are joint winners of the Moscow Alekhine Memorial Tournament, with 11/17, ahead of

Vasily Smyslov Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov ( rus, Васи́лий Васи́льевич Смысло́в, Vasíliy Vasíl'yevich Smyslóv; 24 March 1921 – 27 March 2010) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, who was World Chess Champion from 1957 to ...

(10½/17),

Vladimir Tukmakov Vladimir Borisovich Tukmakov (, born March 5, 1946 in Odessa) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He gained the Grandmaster title in 1972. Career His career first blossomed when he helped and then led the USSR to consecutive wins of the World St ...

and Petrosian (both 10/17). Spassky and

finish on 9½/17. *Korchnoi wins at

Wijk aan Zee Wijk aan Zee ( literally ''Neighborhood at Sea'') is a village on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk, the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament (formerly called the Coru ...

with 10/15. In joint second place are

Svetozar Gligorić Svetozar Gligorić (Serbian Cyrillic: Светозар Глигорић, 2 February 1923 – 14 August 2012) was a Serbian and Yugoslav chess grandmaster and musician. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is consider ...

, Petrosian,

Borislav Ivkov Borislav Ivkov (12 November 1933 – 14 February 2022) was a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was a World championship candidate in 1965, and played in four more Interzonal tournaments, in 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979. Ivkov was a three-time Yugos ...

and Fridrik Olafsson (all 9½/15). *

Paul Keres Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...

and Mikhail Tal share a win at

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

with 11½/15, ahead of

David Bronstein David Ionovich Bronstein (russian: Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн; February 19, 1924 – December 5, 2006) was a Soviet and Ukrainian chess player. Awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, he narr ...

on 11/15. *Korchnoi and Karpov are joint winners at the

Hastings International Chess Congress The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess tournament 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 t ...

(1971/72 edition) with 11/15, ahead of

Henrique Mecking Henrique Costa Mecking (born 23 January 1952), also known as Mequinho, is a Brazilian chess grandmaster who reached his zenith in the 1970s and is still one of the strongest players in Brazil. He was a chess prodigy, drawing comparisons to Bobby ...

and Robert Byrne (both 9½/15). *The winner of the 39th Soviet Championship is

Vladimir Savon Vladimir Andreyevich Savon ( ua, Володи́мир Андрійович Саво́н; 26 September 1940 – 1 June 2005) was a Ukrainian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1973. Savon shared the Ukrainian C ...

with 15/21. In finishing ahead of such colossi as Smyslov, Tal, Karpov, Bronstein, Taimanov, Polugaevsky, Vaganian, Stein, Balashov and others, the little-known Ukrainian delivers a surprising result, described by commentators as the least plausible for decades. The contest coincides with the final stages of Fischer's match with Petrosian, and there is speculation that this unsettling distraction in the Soviet camp has affected their play. *

Vlastimil Hort Vlastimil Hort (born 12 January 1944) is a German chess Grandmaster. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the world's strongest players and reached the 1977–78 Candidates Tournament for the World Chess Championship, but never qualified f ...

wins at

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Capablanca Memorial The Capablanca Memorial is a chess tournament that has been held annually in Cuba since 1962 in honor of José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera. At the time, it was the best paid tournament in the world. Since 1974 B and C tournaments have been held ...

Tournament, with 10½/15. Following close behind are

and

Georgi Tringov Georgi Petrov Tringov ( bg, Георги Пеев Трингов) (7 March 1937 – 2 July 2000) was a Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster of chess from Bulgaria. He won the Bulgarian Chess Championship, Bulgarian national chess championship in 1963, ...

. *Twenty-year-old Yugoslav

Ljubomir Ljubojević Ljubomir Ljubojević (; born November 2, 1950) is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the Yugoslav Chess Championship in 1977 (tied) and 1982. Life and career Ljubojević was born on 2 November 1950 in Titovo Užice, Yugoslavia (now Užice, Se ...

continues to make an impression, sharing first place with

Oscar Panno Oscar Roberto Panno (born 17 March 1935 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine chess Grandmaster. Panno was the first top world chess player born in South America. Panno won the 2nd World Junior Chess Championship in 1953, ahead of such future stron ...

at Palma de Mallorca with 11/15. Following are

Samuel Reshevsky Samuel Herman Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski; November 26, 1911 – April 4, 1992) was a Polish chess prodigy and later a leading American chess grandmaster. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960 ...

and

(both 10/15). *

Ulf Andersson Ulf Andersson (born 27 June 1951) is a leading Swedish chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1970 and the Grandmaster title in 1972. Career At his peak, Andersson reached number four on the FIDE rating list. Tournamen ...

shares victory with Vlastimil Hort on 8½/11 at

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, ahead of Spassky (8/11). *Hort wins the Czech Open Championship in Luhacovice with 11½/15, ahead of László Szabó on 10½/15 and

Vladimir Liberzon Vladimir Mikhailovich Liberzon ( he, ולדימיר מיכאילוביץ' ליברזון; russian: Влади́мир Миха́йлович Либерзо́н; 23 March 1937, in Moscow – 4 August 1996) was a Russian-born Israeli chess grandma ...

on 10/15. *

Evgeny Vasiukov Evgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov (russian: Евгений Андреевич Васюко́в, March 5, 1933 – May 10, 2018) was a Russian chess player, one of the strongest in the world during his peak. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by F ...

is the winner at

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

with 11/15, ahead of

Florin Gheorghiu Florin Gheorghiu (born 6 April 1944) is a Romanian chess player and has been a university lecturer in foreign languages. Born in Ploiești, on 6 April 1944, while the American bombers attacked the country's capital, his prodigious talent for the ...

(10½/15) and

Jan Smejkal Jan Smejkal (born March 22, 1946) is a Czech chess player and, since 1972, an International Grandmaster. In the 1970s, he was among the world chess elite. He was champion of Czechoslovakia in 1973, 1979 and 1986 and won many international tourname ...

(10/15). Smejkal makes a final norm towards qualification for the Grandmaster title. *

Walter Browne Walter Shawn Browne (10 January 1949 – 24 June 2015) was an Australian-born American chess and poker player. Awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1970, he won the U.S. Chess Championship six times. Early years Browne was born to an Am ...

and Larry Evans are co-winners of the U.S. Open in Ventura. Over four hundred players participate. *Larry Evans is the winner of the Statham Masters. The first edition of a series of tournaments, it is officially named after chess benefactor Louis D. Statham (1908–1983), who is primarily an engineer and inventor of medical instruments. Later, the event becomes more commonly known as the

Lone Pine International Lone Pine International was a series of chess tournaments held annually in March or April from 1971 through 1981 in Lone Pine, California. The tournaments were formally known as the Louis D. Statham Masters, named after sponsor Louis D. Statham (19 ...

, in association with its Californian venue. *Gligoric wins the West German Open Championship, held in Berlin. *

Raymond Keene Raymond Dennis Keene (born 29 January 1948) is an English chess grandmaster, a FIDE International Arbiter, a chess organiser, and a journalist and author. He won the British Chess Championship in 1971, and was the first player from England t ...

, one of several young English players chasing the country's first grandmaster title, wins the

British Chess Championship The British Chess Championships are organised by the English Chess Federation. The main tournament incorporates the British Championship, the English Chess Championships and the British Women's Chess Championship so it is possible, although it has ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. CHESS magazine - Vol 37, October 1971, pp 16-30 *The 1971/72 edition of the Niemeyer junior tournament, held every year since 1962/63 in

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

, is formally adopted by

as the 1st

European Junior Chess Championship The first chess youth championship in Europe was the yearly European Junior Championship for under age 20. It was played from 1971–2002. FIDE officially introduced the European Junior Championship in 1970 at their Annual Congress and so the 19 ...

. The winner is the young Hungarian

Gyula Sax Gyula Sax (18 June 1951 – 25 January 2014) was a Hungarian chess grandmaster and International Arbiter (1995). In 1972 he won the European Junior Chess Championship in Groningen. Sax was awarded the IM title in 1972 and the GM title i ...

, who follows in the footsteps of compatriots Andras Adorjan and

Zoltán Ribli Zoltán Ribli (born September 6, 1951 in Mohács) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and International Arbiter (1995). He was twice a World Championship Candidate and three times Hungarian Champion. A career in chess As a youngster, he was twic ...

, the winners of the previous two Niemeyer tournaments. *Computer scientists at The Institute of Control Science, Moscow, create the chess-playing program

KAISSA Kaissa (russian: Каисса) was a chess program developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. It was named so after Caissa, the goddess of chess. Kaissa became the first world computer chess champion in 1974 in Stockholm. History By 1967, a c ...

and run it on a British computer. *

Ken Thompson Kenneth Lane Thompson (born February 4, 1943) is an American pioneer of computer science. Thompson worked at Bell Labs for most of his career where he designed and implemented the original Unix operating system. He also invented the B programmi ...

, an American chess enthusiast and pioneer of computing, writes his first chess-playing program called "chess" for the earliest version of his

Unix Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...

operating system.

Births

* Michael Adams, English GM, world elite player, former World Championship finalist - November 17 *

Vladimir Akopian Vladimir Akopian (russian: Владимир Акопян, hy, Վլադիմիր Հակոբյան; born December 7, 1971) is an Armenian-Americans, American chess Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster. Career Akopian was born in Baku, Azerbaijan Sov ...

, Armenian GM, former World Junior Champion and highly rated - December 7 *

Victor Bologan Victor (Viorel) Bologan (born 14 December 1971) is a Moldovan chess player and author. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1991. Career Bologan won the first two editions of the Poikovsky Karpov International Tournament, in 200 ...

, Moldovan GM, a winner of the strong Dortmund Sparkassen event - December 14 * Vasil Spasov, Bulgarian GM, former World Junior Champion with multiple national titles - February 17 * Alexander Delchev, Bulgarian GM, former European Junior Champion and national champion - July 15 *

Christopher Lutz Christopher Lutz (born 24 February 1971) is a German chess grandmaster and a two-time German Chess Champion. Chess career Born in 1971, Lutz earned his international master title in 1989 and his grandmaster title in 1992. He won the German Ch ...

, German GM, renowned theoretician and former national champion - February 24 *

Konstantin Lerner Konstantin Zaivelevich Lerner ( uk, Костантин Зайвелевич Лернер; 28 February 1950, Odessa, Ukraine, former USSR – 24 September 2011, Herzlia, Israel) was a Ukrainian chess grandmaster (GM). In 1978 and 1982, he w ...

, Soviet-Ukrainian GM, former national champion of the Ukraine - February 28 *

Vitali Golod Vitali Matveyevich Golod (; born 23 June 1971) is a Soviet-born Israeli chess player. He holds the title of Grandmaster, which FIDE awarded him in 1996. Chess career Golod was Ukrainian champion in 1991. He then moved to Israel. In 2004, he ...

, Ukrainian-Israeli GM, former champion of Ukraine before his move to Israel - June 23 * Martin Mrva, Slovakian GM, former national champion - December 12 *

Vasik Rajlich Vasik Rajlich (born 1971 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an International Master in chess and the author of Rybka, previously one of the strongest chess playing programs in the world. Rajlich is a dual Czechoslovakian-American citizen by birth; he was bor ...

, Czech-American IM, author of the powerful playing program Rybka - ?

Deaths

Olaf Barda Olaf Barda (17 August 1909 – 2 May 1971 in Oslo), born Olaf M. Olsen, was a Norwegian chess player. He was the first Norwegian awarded the chess title of International Master, which he received in 1952. Barda won the Norwegian Chess Champio ...

, Norwegian IM, six times the national champion and a correspondence grandmaster - May 2 *

Alexander Zaitsev Alexander Zaytsev may refer to: *Alexander Zaytsev (artist), Alexander Dmitryevich Zaytsev (1903–1982), Russian painter and art educator *Alexander Zaytsev (pilot), Alexander Andreyevich Zaytsev (1911–1965), Soviet aircraft pilot and Hero of the ...

, Soviet GM, tied first for the 1968/69 USSR Championship, died at thirty-six - November 8 * Hans Müller, Austrian IM, divided career between chess, skiing, fencing etc. Also a chess writer - February 28 *

Victor Kahn Victor Kahn (russian: Виктор Кан; 1889 in Moscow – 6 October 1971 in Nice) was a Russian–French chess master. He was born in Moscow but left Russia in 1912 eventually ending up in France going via Sweden, Denmark and Germany. He won ...

, Russian-born master, later settled in France and won the national championship - October 6 * José Araiza, Mexico's best player prior to the arrival of Carlos Torre - September 27 *

Iosif Pogrebyssky Iosif Benediktovich Pogrebyssky (Pogrebysski, Pogrebissky) (February 23, 1906, Uman - May 20, 1971, Leningrad) was a Ukrainian chess master. He played several times in Ukrainian Chess Championship, and took third at Poltava 1927 ( as Alexey Selez ...

, Ukrainian master, active as a tournament player in the 1920s and 1930s - May 20 *

Luis Palau Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...

, Argentinian master, represented his country at three Olympiads in the 1920s - February 8

Notes

References

*
Chess History & Chronology - Bill Wall
2009-10-20)
Olimpbase - Olympiads and other Team event information
Olimpbase download of historical Elo ratings 1971–2000 (approx. 9Mb). {{chess 1971 in chess, 20th century in chess Chess by year