Tuesday 13 October 2009
MIKHAIL BOTVINNIK
Mikhail Botvinnik held the World Championship title on and off for 15 years, from 1948 to 1963 when he was eventually defeated. He also coached some of the greats, including Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik. Not only a great player, he made significant contributions to developing the World Chess Championship after WW2. He started playing chess at a young age of 12 and from there he went places. At 20 he became the Soviet Champion. He was a strong contender for the Alekhine World’s championship and eventually won it in 1948. He remained champion or a strong contender for it till 1963. He retired from competitive play in 1970 and started training young chess players. He features among the best players for his consistency and ability to remain at the top for such a long period of time.
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Mikhail Botvinnik was a great chess player, who learned the game early and progressed rapidly winning USSR championship in 1931 and therefore it is obvious that he held that World championship for 15 years. His style of playing was of rigorous opening and perfect end with deep calculations. It is quite fortunate that Anatoli Karpov and Garry Kasparov were his students.
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