Semyon Furman
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Semyon Abramovich Furman (December 1, 1920 – March 17, 1978) was a
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
chess player and trainer of Belarussian Jewish origin. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by
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 ...
in 1966. Furman is best known for developing
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 ...
into a
World Chess Champion The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013. The first event recognized as a world championship was the 1886 match ...
, but was a formidable player himself, as well as a successful
coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...
for several other world-class players. His name is sometimes written as Semen or Semion Furman.


Early life

Born in
Pinsk Pinsk ( be, Пі́нск; russian: Пи́нск ; Polish: Pińsk; ) is a city located in the Brest Region of Belarus, in the Polesia region, at the confluence of the Pina River and the Pripyat River. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk ...
, Furman was a factory worker in
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, who developed his chess skills in his spare time, and was a late bloomer by chess standards, not reaching even National Master strength until he was well into adulthood. For example, he made only an even score of 6½/13 in the All-Union Candidates-to-Masters tournament, Group 1, at
Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...
1939. In the same event at Kalinin 1940, group 3, he was only able to score 5/11, and in the Leningrad Championship of 1940, he scored just 6½/16. His chess development was on hold during the next few years of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, as
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
was placed under siege by the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
, beginning in 1941. Organized chess started up again as the Second World War ended. In an All-Union Tournament of First Category players at Gorky 1945, Furman posted his first noteworthy result when he tied for first with Konstantin Klaman, at 11/15. At Tula 1945, Furman placed second with 10½/14, behind only V. Lyublinsky. In the
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
Championship of 1946, Furman tied for 8th-9th places, with 8½/17. In the USSR Championship semi-final (URS-ch15 sf),
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
1946, Furman was unsuccessful in advancing, but made a highly respectable score of 9/18, to tie for 9th-10th places. He was moving up slowly through the incredibly deep Soviet vanguard. The year 1947 brought some rewards for Furman. He tied for first place in the All-Union Championship of the Spartak Club, with Vladimir Simagin, at 15/19, but lost the playoff match. Then, in the
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
Championship, he tied for 3rd-4th places, with 11/17. At the
Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...
1947 National Tournament, he scored 7/11 for a tied 2nd-3rd place.


Qualifies for Soviet Championships

Furman qualified from the semi-final at Sverdlovsk 1947, for his first
Soviet Chess Championship The USSR Chess Championship was played from 1921 to 1991. Organized by the USSR Chess Federation, it was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners ...
at age 27. In the final, he performed exceptionally well, placing third, only half a point behind joint winners
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 narro ...
and
Alexander Kotov Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov (Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Ко́тов; – 8 January 1981) was a Soviet chess grandmaster and author. He was a Soviet chess champion, a two-time world title Candidate, and a prolific write ...
, with a fine score of 11/18 (URS-ch16,
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
1948). In the
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
Championship of 1948, he tied for 7th-10th places, with 9½/17. He tied for first-third places at
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1949, the semi-final for URS-ch17, with 11½/17, qualifying again for the Soviet final. In the
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
Championship of 1949, he was off form with 8½/18 to tie for 11th-13th places. Then, in the Soviet final later in 1949, again in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
(URS-ch17), he tied for 5th-7th places with 11½/19. In the 1950 Championship of the Spartak Club, he tied for 4th-5th places, with 6/11. Then at Gorky 1950, he was unsuccessful in qualifying for the next Soviet Championship final, as he could only score 9½/15, for fourth place. In the URS-ch21 at
Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
1954, Furman scored 10/19 to tie for 7th-9th places. He earned his first international tournament opportunity for
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1954, where he tied for 6th-7th places with a fine 10/17. He was in the middle of the field in URS-ch22 at
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
1955, with 10/19, in a tie for 10th-11th places. It was a similar story for URS-ch24,
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
1957, where he scored 10/21 for 12th place. He had a good tournament at Kiev 1957, scoring 11½/19 to tie for 2nd-5th places, behind only
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, ...
. His form dropped for URS-ch25,
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1958, as he could only make 6/18 for 17th place. At URS-ch26,
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
1959, he was again below 50 per cent with 8/19 for 15th place. Furman gradually proved he belonged in the upper echelon of the extraordinarily deep Soviet chess elite, with many victories over top players. He placed equal fourth in the 1965 Soviet Championship. Furman was awarded the
International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...
(IM) title in 1954. He won the
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
Championship in 1953, 1954, and 1957 (jointly).


Grandmaster, and coach to the stars

Furman did not become a Grandmaster until 1966, at age 46, after his fine first-place result at
Harrachov Harrachov (; german: Harrachsdorf) is a town in Jablonec nad Nisou District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic, close to the border with Poland. It has about 1,300 inhabitants. It is known for its ski resort. Administrative parts The town ...
. It was difficult in those years for all but the very top Soviet players to travel abroad to international tournaments, where titles could be earned, and Furman had few opportunities. He did play for the USSR in the 1961 European Team Championship at Oberhausen on board ten, scoring 4/7, and contributing to the overall gold medal team victory. Bronstein faced Furman in the 1948 Soviet Championship, won the game, but was impressed with Furman's skill. Bronstein wrote, in his acclaimed book ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' (page 102): "Later, when I recognised the logical play of Furman, I invited him to be my assistant during preparation for the match gainst_World_Champion_Mikhail_Botvinnik.html" ;"title="Mikhail_Botvinnik.html" ;"title="gainst World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik">gainst World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik">Mikhail_Botvinnik.html" ;"title="gainst World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik">gainst World Champion Mikhail Botvinnikin 1951. Also, I took him abroad as my second to the Interzonal Tournament in Gothenburg in 1955 and the Candidates' Tournament in Amsterdam 1956." Furman had been one of the assistants to Botvinnik in his 1963 world title match against
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, ...
, according to
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 ...
, writing in his autobiography ''Karpov on Karpov''. Botvinnik played many training games with Furman, to prepare for Botvinnik's 1960 and 1961 World Championship matches; these matches only became public many years afterwards, when Botvinnik published the games, which are now available on various databases. Furman and Botvinnik at that time were both members of the Trud (Trade Unions) Club. Later Furman switched to the Army Sports Club. Furman also assisted world-class players such as
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 ...
(according to both Bronstein and Karpov) and
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 ...
(according to Karpov). The site
Chessmetrics Chessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. It is intended as an improvement over the Elo rating system. Implementation Chessmetrics is a weighted average of past performance. The score considers a player's win percen ...
.com, which endeavors to provide historical ratings for players while correcting for different methods of calculation, puts Furman's peak rating at 2708 in April, 1948, #11 in the world at that time. That is certain Grandmaster level, but, because of lack of international opportunities, Furman did not formally receive the title until eighteen years later. According to chessmetrics, his best tournament from a performance rating standpoint was Gorky 1954 (5½/6, for a 2755 performance).


Trains the world champion

It was in a training role that Furman first met the young
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 ...
, who at age seventeen was representing the Army Sports club on the junior board at the 1968 Soviet Team Championships, held in
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
. In training, the two got along well, and Karpov made the outstanding score of 10/11. Furman was assigned to prepare Karpov (who gave his whole-hearted approval) for further competitions, such as the Soviet Junior qualifying match-tournament, Leningrad 1969, which Karpov won. This win earned Karpov the Soviet berth in the 1969
World Junior Chess Championship The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament (players must have been under 20 years old on 1 January in the year of competition) organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). The idea was the brainchild of William Ritso ...
, held in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. Karpov also won this tournament with a dominating performance; it was the first Soviet win at that level since Boris Spassky in 1955. From this stage on, Furman worked ever more closely with Karpov, who moved from Moscow to Leningrad, switching universities as well, from
Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
to Leningrad State University, to be nearer to Furman. The two also became close friends, with Karpov actually assisting Furman, upon his request, for the 1969
Soviet Chess Championship The USSR Chess Championship was played from 1921 to 1991. Organized by the USSR Chess Federation, it was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners ...
, held in Moscow; Karpov had not qualified to play in it. Karpov earned the Grandmaster title at
Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
1970. He qualified for the Soviet Championship for the first time in 1970, scoring well. Karpov drew a 1971 secret training match with Korchnoi, a world title Candidate. His rise continued, with wins at the very strong
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
1971,
Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
1971-72, and
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1972 tournaments. Karpov made the Soviet national team for the 1972
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Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...
as first reserve, and scored 13½/16, winning gold on his board, and helping the USSR to win the team gold. Because Furman had earlier worked with Korchnoi, Karpov was able to utilize this situation to good effect to win his vital 1974
World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013. The first event recognized as a world championship was the World Chess ...
Candidates A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...
final match against Korchnoi, who had earlier fallen out with Furman over a dispute around a 1971 match against Geller. Korchnoi had wanted Furman to assist him against Geller, but Furman and Geller were teammates at the Army Club, so Furman withdrew his training services on principle, as Furman had also helped to train Geller. This made Korchnoi bitter towards Furman, and their connection ended, even though Korchnoi went on to defeat Geller. So, a full-time training spot opened up with Furman, which Karpov took. Karpov wrote that Korchnoi did not realize at the time the strength of Karpov's potential challenge to him. As Karpov built further successes, and was earning favour in the Soviet sports bureaucracy, he was able to arrange for Furman to compete with him sometimes in the same international tournaments, such as
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
1973,
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/
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1975, and
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1977, all of which Karpov won. Furman also performed well, taking or tying for third place at all three of Madrid, Ljubljana / Portoroz, and Bad Lauterberg. Furman was awarded the ''Honoured Trainer of the USSR'' in 1973 for his work with young players. He served as trainer to the combined Soviet teams to the 1974
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Olympiad and the 1977 European Team Championship in Moscow. In his autobiographical book, ''Karpov on Karpov'', published in 1991, Karpov credits Furman very extensively and deservedly with helping him scale the heights of grandmaster chess, culminating in his World Championship in 1975 and superb play for the next decade, as he dominated the game. This fine book is perhaps the most detailed work ever published on the relationship between a top chess player and his coach. The two also played a great deal of
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together; this game became for a time something of an obsession with Furman. Bronstein, who had worked with Furman earlier, wrote "When Furman started to work with Anatoly Karpov, I was not surprised by the young grandmaster's success, showing a brilliant understanding of grandmaster strategy. It was obvious that Furman had passed on to him a lot of the knowledge acquired during his earlier years. It should also be said that Furman had very good analytical powers and was able to look deeply into the games of other grandmasters, disclosing the secrets of their success." Furman's health had not been good since the mid-1960s, however. He had survived one operation for stomach cancer, but the cancer returned, and he died at Leningrad in 1978, just before Karpov's match with Korchnoi for the World Championship. Karpov wrote that he missed Furman's help greatly during that match,Аnatoly Karpov, "В далёком Багио" с. 17, с.136 М: Советская Россия 1981 (in Russian) which he won only narrowly (+6−5=21).


Success as coach

Furman may have been the most successful coach in the history of chess, although some would give that title to Mark Dvoretsky. Chess culture has traditionally and typically credited the player for chess success, with the coach recognized in a much lesser fashion, or not at all. Chess coaches were not commonly seen for top players until the post-World War II period, when competition became much stiffer. They were first developed in the Soviet Union and in other Eastern European countries; it is no coincidence that top players from these nations have dominated chess for the past sixty years. Furman, with a very significant role in Karpov's development from his late teens, building upon earlier roles with World Champion Botvinnik and world-class players such as Bronstein, Korchnoi, and Geller, may have done more than any other coach, from the early 1950s until the late 1970s, to help ensure Soviet dominance.


Legacy

Furman was an exceptional openings specialist, and was respected as being of virtually world-class strength with the White pieces, with which he scored most of his wins over the top players, as the game selection shows. He was sometimes referred to as "the world champion when playing White." He could not score anywhere near as well as Black, and this held back his success. While best remembered today as Karpov's trainer, Furman also made many important contributions to the success of other top players, such as Bronstein, Botvinnik, Korchnoi, and Geller. He developed several significant improvements to opening theory. He favoured the closed openings (1.d4, 1.c4, 1.Nf3) as White, and in many of his wins over top-class rivals, his opponents were simply unable to generate counterplay, and were slowly strangled by Furman's precise, yet amorphous strategy. Karpov noted that a book on Furman's career and best games would be well received and valuable; but no one has yet taken up this challenge.


Notable chess games


Semyon Furman vs Efim Geller, Leningrad 1947, Queen's Gambit, Semi-Slav Defence (D46), 1-0
Furman shows the rising star Geller a few things about precise positional play, and catches him in a nifty tactic to win a piece.
Semyon Furman vs Paul Keres, USSR Championship, Moscow 1948, Queen's Indian Defence (E15), 1-0
Keres was one of the world's top three players, and for Furman, the humble factory worker, wins like these meant that he had arrived near the top.
Semyon Furman vs Vasily Smyslov, USSR Championship, Moscow 1949, Grunfeld Defence, Exchange Variation (D88), 1-0
Smyslov had finished second in the World Championship the year before, and would become the joint Soviet champion for 1949.
Semyon Furman vs Tigran Petrosian, USSR Championship, Moscow 1949, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E68), 1-0
Petrosian was just making his debut at top level; he would go on to become world champion.
Semyon Furman vs Viktor Korchnoi, Leningrad 1953, English Opening (A16), 1-0
Furman would later become a coach for Korchnoi.
Semyon Furman vs Ratmir Kholmov, USSR Championship, Kiev 1954, Queen's Gambit, Tarrasch Defence (D30), 1-0
Rising star Kholmov became almost unbeatable a few years later.
Semyon Furman vs Boris Spassky, USSR Championship, Moscow 1955, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Rubinstein Variation (E59), 1-0
Another future World Champion learns to respect Furman's talent.
Duncan Suttles vs Semyon Furman, Polanica Zdroj 1967, Van Geet Opening (A00), 0-1
Suttles was known for his unconventional opening play, but he can't disorient the veteran Furman.
Semyon Furman vs David Bronstein, Leningrad vs Moscow match 1967, Queen's Gambit Declined (D50), 1-0
Furman takes care of business against one of his former charges.
Semyon Furman vs Mikhail Tal, USSR Championship, Moscow 1969, Queen's Pawn Game (A40), 1-0
Former World Champion Tal sacrifices the exchange, but doesn't get enough for it.
Semyon Furman vs Lev Polugaevsky, Moscow 1969, Queen's Indian Defence (E14), 1-0
The reigning Soviet champion takes one on the chin.
Semyon Furman vs Leonid Stein, USSR 1971, English Opening, Symmetrical (A39), 1-0
Stein was a three-time Soviet champion, but couldn't handle Furman in this game.
Ulf Andersson vs Semyon Furman, Madrid 1973, English Opening (A15), 0-1
One of the new generation of young stars gets taken care of quite expeditiously.
Semyon Furman vs Svetozar Gligoric, Bad Lauterberg 1977, King's Indian Defence, Saemisch Variation (E88), 1-0
Gligoric is a world authority on the King's Indian, but his learning process is extended a bit further by Furman.
Anthony Miles vs Semyon Furman, Bad Lauterberg 1977, English Opening (A16), 0-1
Furman was ill and spotting Miles 35 years, but wins anyway as Miles gets simply outclassed.


Notes


Further reading

* ''The Complete Games of World Champion Anatoly Karpov'', by K.J. O'Connell, D.N.L. Levy, and J.B. Adams, London, Batsford 1976, * ''Chess is My Life'', by Anatoly Karpov (translated from the Russian by Ken Neat), London, Pergamon 1980 * ''Karpov on Karpov: Memoirs of a Chess World Champion'', by Anatoly Karpov (translated from the Russian by Todd Bludeau), New York, Atheneum (McMillan) 1991, * ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'', by
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 narro ...
and Tom Furstenberg, London, Cadogan 1995, * ''Russian Silhouettes: Portraits of the Heroes of a Vanished Age (Paperback) by Genna Sosonko, Interchess BV, (Has an excellent chapter devoted to biography of Semyon Furman).


External links


Semen Abramovich Furman
games at 365Chess.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Furman, Semyon 1920 births 1978 deaths Sportspeople from Pinsk Belarusian Jews Chess grandmasters Chess coaches Soviet chess players Jewish chess players Deaths from stomach cancer