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L Shamkovich 
 
Leonid Alexandrovich Shamkovich
Number of games in database: 903
Years covered: 1950 to 1998
Highest rating achieved in database: 2495
Overall record: +310 -267 =326 (52.4%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Sicilian (117) 
    B33 B20 B67 B32 B46
 Ruy Lopez (67) 
    C78 C95 C87 C67 C83
 King's Indian (38) 
    E61 E90 E80 E92 E81
 French Defense (38) 
    C05 C07 C04 C18 C09
 Ruy Lopez, Closed (33) 
    C95 C87 C93 C97 C99
 French Tarrasch (26) 
    C05 C07 C04 C09 C03
With the Black pieces:
 Sicilian (138) 
    B42 B89 B40 B80 B82
 English, 1 c4 c5 (26) 
    A30 A36 A34 A37 A39
 English (24) 
    A16 A15 A14 A18 A17
 Sicilian Kan (24) 
    B42 B43 B41
 Grunfeld (24) 
    D85 D94 D80 D91 D89
 Nimzo Indian (21) 
    E41 E52 E46 E44 E21
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   L Shamkovich vs V Zheliandinov, 1959 1-0
   L Shamkovich vs Anguiano, 1978 1-0
   L Shamkovich vs Benko, 1978 1-0
   Taimanov vs L Shamkovich, 1955 1/2-1/2
   L Shamkovich vs G Lebredo, 1978 1-0
   L Shamkovich vs J Benjamin, 1976 1-0
   L Shamkovich vs V Tukmakov, 1970 1-0
   L Shamkovich vs R Ervin, 1975 1-0
   L Shamkovich vs Blohm, 1977 1-0
   I Platonov vs L Shamkovich, 1971 0-1

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Shamkovich by ughaibu

Search Sacrifice Explorer for Leonid Alexandrovich Shamkovich
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LEONID ALEXANDROVICH SHAMKOVICH
(born Jun-01-1923, died Apr-22-2005) Russia (citizen of United States of America)
PRONUNCIATION:
[what is this?]
Leonid Alexandrovich Shamkovich was born in Rostov-on-Don in the Soviet Union. Awarded the GM title in 1965 he emigrated to the USA via Israel and Canada. He was 5th= in the 32nd USSR Championship 1964-65 and in other tournaments he finished 1st= at Sochi 1967, 1st= at Timisoara 1972, 1st at Calgary 1975 (Canadian open), 1st= at New York 1976, 1st= in the 1976 US Open and 1st= at New York 1977. He was also a well known chess author. He passed away in his home in Brooklyn, New York in 2005.

source: "Leonid Shamkovich, 81, Ex-Soviet Chess Grandmaster, Is Dead" by Dylan Loeb McClain - http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/07/n...

Wikipedia article: Leonid Shamkovich


 page 1 of 37; games 1-25 of 903  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves Year Event/LocaleOpening
1. L Shamkovich vs D Rovner  ½-½53 1950 Ch URS (1/2 final)A25 English
2. Bannik vs L Shamkovich  1-046 1950 Ch URS (1/2 final)B24 Sicilian, Closed
3. Novotelnov vs L Shamkovich  1-053 1950 Ch URS (1/2 final)D45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
4. L Shamkovich vs S Zhukhovitsky  1-037 1951 Ch URS (1/2 final)E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4
5. L Shamkovich vs G Goldberg  1-068 1951 Ch URS (1/2 final)B13 Caro-Kann, Exchange
6. Taimanov vs L Shamkovich 1-025 1951 LeningradC18 French, Winawer
7. L Shamkovich vs Taimanov  1-050 1951 Ch URS (1/2 final)D38 Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin Variation
8. Lilienthal vs L Shamkovich 1-019 1951 Ch URS (1/2 final)D43 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
9. Krogius vs L Shamkovich 1-030 1951 Ch RussiaE10 Queen's Pawn Game
10. L Shamkovich vs V Tarasov  1-036 1951 Ch URS (1/2 final)B74 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical
11. N Aratovsky vs L Shamkovich  0-132 1951 Ch RussiaD31 Queen's Gambit Declined
12. Estrin vs L Shamkovich  1-036 1951 Ch URS (1/2 final)B50 Sicilian
13. L Shamkovich vs Simagin 0-127 1951 Chigorin MemorialD99 Grunfeld Defense, Smyslov
14. Konstantinopolsky vs L Shamkovich  0-137 1952 URS-ch02 corr5255D85 Grunfeld
15. L Shamkovich vs J I Zilber 1-029 1953 TournamentD38 Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin Variation
16. L Shamkovich vs Kholmov  0-151 1953 URS-ch sfE04 Catalan, Open, 5.Nf3
17. Chekhover vs L Shamkovich  1-060 1953 Ch URS (team)E70 King's Indian
18. Y Shaposhnikov vs L Shamkovich  1-023 1953 Correspondence GameA16 English
19. L Shamkovich vs Lisitsin  0-142 1954 Ch URSB70 Sicilian, Dragon Variation
20. Ragozin vs L Shamkovich  0-143 1954 21st Soviet ChampionshipB95 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6...e6
21. Korchnoi vs L Shamkovich 1-042 1954 URS-ch21 Kiev ,URS-cE62 King's Indian, Fianchetto
22. L Shamkovich vs I Livshin  0-136 1954 URS-ch21E06 Catalan, Closed, 5.Nf3
23. L Shamkovich vs Y Shaposhnikov  1-020 1954 Ch RussiaD37 Queen's Gambit Declined
24. Suetin vs L Shamkovich  1-039 1954 KievB93 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6.f4
25. Sokolsky vs L Shamkovich  ½-½76 1954 21st Soviet ChampionshipA16 English
 page 1 of 37; games 1-25 of 903  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Shamkovich wins | Shamkovich loses  
 

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Aug-14-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  nasmichael: May peace and goodness follow him.
Aug-15-05  WTHarvey: Here are some puzzles from Leonid's games: http://www.wtharvey.com/sham.html
Sep-14-05  domradave: I took some lessons with Shamkovich when he lived in Queens and when he lived in Brooklyn.

He loved music and appreciated my domra playing.

The first game he ever showed me was the one by Reti from New York, 1924 which ended with the subtle bishop move.

He loved to sacrifice!

Sep-14-05  ughaibu: Reti vs Bogoljubov, 1924?
Sep-15-05  domradave: That is the game. He asked me to solvew it at the end which I couldn't do.
Jun-01-06  BIDMONFA: Leonid Shamkovich

SHAMKOVICH, Leonid
http://www.bidmonfa.com/shamkovich_...
_

Aug-29-06  syracrophy: I remember a diagram from one of his games, that appeared in a book of chess problems, but does not appear in here:

Goldstein - Shamkovich, Moscow, 1946


click for larger view

Black to play and draw

Solutions? Anyone?

Aug-29-06  positionalgenius: <syracrophy>thats literally a position I reached tonight vs a 1640.Flip the board though..and it was a draw...I found technique.
Aug-29-06  syracrophy: <positional> Well, let's see... Try the position of the diagram
Aug-29-06  positionalgenius: <syracrophy>I played Kf4 and drew easily.
Aug-29-06  syracrophy: <positionalgenius: <syracrophy>I played Kf4 and drew easily.> But here it is "Black to play and draw"
Aug-29-06  positionalgenius: <syracrophy>I was white in that game. OK:lets see..
1...gxf3 2.Bxf3 Rb1 3.b7 Rb5+
4.Ke6 Rb1! and I think black can hold.Am I,a 1500+,close?
Sep-02-06  syracrophy: <positionalgenius> 2...Rb1?? is a horrible blunder. 1...gxf3 2.Bxf3 Rb1?? 3.c7+ Kc8 4.Bg4+ Kb7 5.c8=Q+ Kxb6 6.Qc8+ and good-bye to the rook
Mar-18-07  LivBlockade: <syracrophy> Good problem. How about 1...gxf3, with the following lines: 2. c7+ Kc8; 3. Bf5+ Rd7!; 4. Bh3 f2; followed by 5...f1=Q and 6...Rxc7 draws. So White must answer 1...gxf3 with 2. Bxf3. But after 2. Bxf3, Black plays 2...Rd7!! when 3. cxd7 is stalemate and if 3. c7+ Rxc7 draws. So White can try 3. Bg4, but then Black plays 4...Rb7! when 5. cxb7 Kxb7 followed by ...Kxb6 draws, and if not 5. cxb7, then moves such as 5. Kd6 fail to 5...Rxb6 pinning the c-pawn, so Black draws with 6...Rxc6. Instead of 3. Bg4, White can try 3. Ke6, but then 3...Rb7!! again draws because 4. cxb7 is another pretty stalemate. Very nice problem. I saw the ...Rd7 stalemate theme quickly, but struggled with how to get there. The line I originally overlooked was that after 1...gxf3; 2. c7+ Kc8; 3. Bf5+; Black can interpose with 3...Rd7! and suddenly White's pawns are blockaded while Black's passed pawn will force White's Bishop to break the pin, allowing ...Rxc7. Again, a beautiful problem. Did Shamkovich find this over the board?
Mar-19-07  MaxxLange: A friend of mine played GM Shamkovich at the US Amateur Teams about 10 years ago. Shamkovich sacked a piece, and my friend didn't find the proper defense, and lost. But, with best play, he could have offered resistance much longer. The game fragment is in Shamkovich and Cartier's book "Tactical Chess Training": Shamkovich vs. D Hunt
Mar-19-07  MaxxLange: D Hunt was rated about 1700, and was in awe...he had studied GM Shamkovich's book on sacrifices to get to 1700....and now the great man's White bishop visited h7 against his French Defense!
Dec-27-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Caissanist: Back in 1998, Shamkovich wrote an article about Jacob Yuchtman, which mentioned that, before his death, Yuchtman had entrusted him with a collection of his annotated games that Shamkovich hoped to publish someday. Now that Shamkovich too has passed on, does anyone know what happened to the Yuchtman games?
Jun-01-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  wordfunph: In 1975, at the Los Angles airport security check, GM Leonid Shamkovich suitcase was taken to go through the x-ray machine. Thinking that this was part of the check-in, he boarded the airplane to Cleveland for a chess tournament. It took four days to track down and recover his missing luggage.
Jun-10-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  whiteshark: Leonid Shamkovich was born on June1,1923 in Rostov-on-Don, USSR, and began playing chess at the age of nine. In 1941, at the beginning of World War II, his family was evacuated to Tbilisi in Soviet Georgia, where young Leonid became a Candidate Master.

After the war, Shamkovich moved to Leningrad, where he graduated from the university with a degree in physics and earned his Master's title in three years. Soon he abandoned all pursuit of a ''mainstream'' career to become a chess professional, combining tremendous activity as a player with internationally recognized work as a theoretician.

Between 1954 and 1974, Shamkovich was extremely active in the USSR. He was twice Russian Republic Champion (1954,1957) and Moscow Co-Champion with David Bronstein in 1963, narrowly losing a playoff 2.5-1-5. He participated in the famous Kiev USSR Championship with a stellar field of Soviet grandmasters, including Korchnoi, Stein, Bronstein, Tal, Geller, Kholmov, Suetin and Vasyukov. He went on compete a total of six times in the USSR Championship, sharing 5th place in 1964. In 1962, Shamkovich competed in his first international tournament, the Moscow International, finishing equal third behind Averback and Vasyukov and earning an International Master norm. In Marianske Lazen (1965) he finished third behind Hort and Keres, achieving his first grandmaster norm. At Sochi (1967) he tied for first with Krogius, Simagin, Spassky and Zaitsev. During this same period, Shamkovich was also second and trainer to Tal (1965) and Stein (1972), publishing a prodigious number of theoretical works, including the book ''Sacrifice in Chess''. During 1969-1972 he won three international tournaments in Romania and Hungary.

In 1975 he emigrated to Israel, winning their Open Championship. The following year he came to the US via Canada and established permanent residence. He has been a US citizen since 1983. Since arriving in the US he has won the US Open twice (1976,1977), qualified for the 1979 Interzonal in Rio, and competed in the 1980 Malta Olympiad. Shamkovich is still playing strong chess, writing internationally recognized books and articles, and serving as one of America's most qualified and experienced coaches.

Shamkovich is a popular author. His book ''Sacrifice in Chess'' was translated for publication in the US. He has authored or co-authored works such as ''The Tactical World of Chess'', ''Fischer vs Spassky, 1992'' and ''The Schliemann Defense'', among others.''

(From the introduction of ''The Chess Terrorist's Handbook'', 1995) found here: http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com/

Mar-14-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: The first GM I ever faced in tournament play, in the third round of the New England Open in Merrimack, NH.

The night before, I'd had an 8.5 hour marathon with Danny Kopec; I went to the pairing sheet that Sunday morning of Labour Day weekend to find myself with an even tougher nut to crack this time round!

In the game itself, I played the line 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Ne2 Ba6 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.Nxc3 d5 8.b3; the 4....b6 line was one I would often play as Black through the 1990s.

While I don't remember any more specifics about this game, other than Shamkovich marching his king all the way into my position with heavy pieces still on the board, this is one of my games against GMs I shall not forget.

May-12-11  Marcelo Bruno: He and another writer did an excellent article about Jacob Yuchtman: they were awarded with the best prize for a chess biography.
May-12-11  I play the Fred: I read that article on Yuchtman. It was very interesting about a player I hadn't heard of before.
Jun-01-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  talisman: happy b'day leonid..RIP.
Nov-20-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  PhilFeeley: Another game for some reason <CG.com> does not have. Again, found on Kevin Spraggett's blog:


click for larger view

Shamkovitch - Kholmov, Baku, 1961.

White to play and win.

Nov-20-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <Phil Feeley> Come again?

L Shamkovich vs Kholmov, 1961 fills the bill.

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