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Boleslavsky 
 
Isaac Boleslavsky
Number of games in database: 780
Years covered: 1940 to 1971
Overall record: +268 -98 =405 (61.0%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
      9 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Ruy Lopez (139) 
    C97 C99 C89 C83 C77
 Sicilian (84) 
    B32 B56 B85 B84 B40
 Ruy Lopez, Closed (66) 
    C97 C99 C89 C92 C91
 French Defense (40) 
    C11 C15 C16 C19 C18
 Nimzo Indian (27) 
    E54 E59 E53 E39 E33
 Caro-Kann (24) 
    B10 B11 B17 B18 B16
With the Black pieces:
 Sicilian (107) 
    B65 B63 B58 B88 B31
 King's Indian (88) 
    E67 E64 E81 E94 E86
 Sicilian Richter-Rauser (32) 
    B65 B63 B60 B62 B67
 Grunfeld (32) 
    D94 D85 D97 D81 D75
 French Defense (26) 
    C07 C19 C11 C05 C15
 English (20) 
    A15 A16 A10 A17 A19
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Alatortsev vs Boleslavsky, 1950 0-1
   Boleslavsky vs Dzindzichashvili, 1967 1-0
   Boleslavsky vs Lisitsin, 1956 1-0
   Boleslavsky vs Kasparian, 1947 1-0
   Boleslavsky vs Fine, 1945 1-0
   Boleslavsky vs Kotov, 1953 1-0
   Boleslavsky vs B Goldenov, 1947 1-0
   Boleslavsky vs Smyslov, 1950 1-0
   Tal vs Boleslavsky, 1958 0-1
   M Christoffel vs Boleslavsky, 1946 0-1

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   King's Indian pioneers by keywiz84
   USSR Championship 1940 by suenteus po 147
   WCC Index [Budapest 1950] by nescio2
   Sverdlovsk 1943 by protean

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ISAAC BOLESLAVSKY
(born Jun-09-1919, died Feb-15-1977) Russia

[what is this?]
Isaac Efremovich Boleslavsky was born on June 9, 1919 in Zolotonsha. He learned chess at the age of nine, but it was not until after World War II that he first made a name for himself with second place in two consecutive Soviet championships. He continued his rise to the top in 1950, when he became the first player ever to go through a Candidates' tournament undefeated, tying David Bronstein for first place. To determine who would challenge Mikhail Botvinnik for the World Championship, Boleslavsky and Bronstein then contested a twelve-game playoff match; this was tied too. Finally Bronstein won the second tie-break game and gained the right to play Botvinnik.

After this near-miss, Boleslavsky played in another Candidates' tournament in 1953, and then devoted his chess ability more toward coaching and serving as a "second" to his fellow Soviet players. He died in 1977, and left behind several contributions to theory for both the King's Indian Defense and Sicilian Defense openings.


 page 1 of 32; games 1-25 of 780  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves Year Event/LocaleOpening
1. Botvinnik vs Boleslavsky 1-049 1940 RussiaE67 King's Indian, Fianchetto
2. Boleslavsky vs Lisitsin ½-½28 1940 URS-ch12C99 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin, 12...cd
3. Bondarevsky vs Boleslavsky  ½-½34 1940 URS-ch12C09 French, Tarrasch, Open Variation, Main line
4. Boleslavsky vs V Mikenas  ½-½49 1940 MoscowB05 Alekhine's Defense, Modern
5. Keres vs Boleslavsky  ½-½41 1940 Moskva XIIch-SU (25.09.40)C15 French, Winawer
6. Veresov vs Boleslavsky  ½-½41 1940 URS-ch12E67 King's Indian, Fianchetto
7. Konstantinopolsky vs Boleslavsky  ½-½26 1940 URS-ch12D32 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch
8. Levenfish vs Boleslavsky 0-177 1940 Ch URSA54 Old Indian, Ukrainian Variation, 4.Nf3
9. Boleslavsky vs M Stolberg  1-032 1940 URS-ch12C11 French
10. Boleslavsky vs Lilienthal  ½-½42 1940 RUSC98 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin
11. Boleslavsky vs Kotov 1-033 1940 RUSB85 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Classical
12. Ragozin vs Boleslavsky  0-153 1940 URS-ch12A02 Bird's Opening
13. Boleslavsky vs V Makogonov 1-036 1940 XII Ch URSB11 Caro-Kann, Two Knights, 3...Bg4
14. Boleslavsky vs I Rudakovsky  ½-½44 1940 URS-ch12B83 Sicilian
15. V Petrov vs Boleslavsky  0-152 1940 URS-ch12A45 Queen's Pawn Game
16. Boleslavsky vs Panov  1-054 1940 URS-ch12C97 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin
17. E Gerstenfeld vs Boleslavsky  1-057 1940 URS-ch12C07 French, Tarrasch
18. Boleslavsky vs Smyslov  ½-½55 1940 6, Moscow URS chB10 Caro-Kann
19. Boleslavsky vs P Dubinin 0-144 1940 URS-ch12B11 Caro-Kann, Two Knights, 3...Bg4
20. Bondarevsky vs Boleslavsky  1-077 1941 USSR Absolute Ch M-TtC19 French, Winawer, Advance
21. Botvinnik vs Boleslavsky 1-049 1941 match-tournamentC07 French, Tarrasch
22. Lilienthal vs Boleslavsky ½-½35 1941 Leningrad/Moscow ,HCL 01E67 King's Indian, Fianchetto
23. Boleslavsky vs Smyslov  ½-½65 1941 Leningrad/Moscow ;HCL 01C66 Ruy Lopez
24. Bondarevsky vs Boleslavsky  ½-½42 1941 USSR Absolute Ch M-TtA45 Queen's Pawn Game
25. Botvinnik vs Boleslavsky 1-065 1941 match-tournamentC07 French, Tarrasch
 page 1 of 32; games 1-25 of 780  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Boleslavsky wins | Boleslavsky loses  
 

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing >
Jun-13-05   sitzkrieg: Lol;funny dialoge about God-Fischer var between Ughaibu and S4nkt!

Learned a lot about Boleslavsky by it too :-)

Jul-31-05   ughaibu: I thought about the value that Helios727 placed on Fischer winning the 1962 interzonal and wondered how chess history might have been if the candidates tournaments had been restricted to the automatic qualifiers (loser of the previous championship match and runner-up in the previous candidates tournament) and the winner of the interzonal. Zurich 1953 would have been won by Boleslavsky as follows: Boleslavsky vs Kotov, 1953 Bronstein vs Boleslavsky, 1953 Kotov vs Bronstein, 1953 Kotov vs Boleslavsky, 1953 Boleslavsky vs Bronstein, 1953 Bronstein vs Kotov, 1953
Jul-31-05   ughaibu: Continuing the theme, 1956 Smyslov and Keres tied, 1959 Keres, 1962 Keres.
Dec-19-05   Chess Champ: so what happened to this guy
Dec-19-05   sitzkrieg: He happened to die.
Feb-21-06   Chess Champ: Ok, so he died, rip!
Feb-21-06   Chess Champ: Yea but what of?
May-16-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  Gypsy: <...The Boleslavsky was specifically designed as a response to 6.Be2..the Leonhardt/Fischer/Sozin attack Cc4 is an entirely different setup>

In fact, Boleslavsky was instrumental in turning <Sozin> into a respected weapon for White. Bronstein gives Boleslavsky vs Aronin, 1949 as a landmark game and recalls how Boleslavsky showed him the entire White blueprint right before the game.

Jun-09-06   BIDMONFA: Isaac Boleslavsky

BOLESLAVSKY, Isaak
http://www.bidmonfa.com/boleslavsky...
_

Oct-31-06   WTHarvey: Here's a collection of puzzles from Boleslavsky's games: http://www.wtharvey.com/bole.html
Nov-13-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  ahmadov: <WTHarvey:> Your web site is great. It would be great if you activated your forum to discuss more puzzles there.
Jun-05-07   spasskey69: I am looking to purchase Jimmy Adams's translation of Boleslavsky's games -- anyone know where I can get a copy? drop a line to me at Brenan61 @yahoo.com
Jun-05-07   Tomlinsky: <spasskey69: I am looking to purchase Jimmy Adams's translation of Boleslavsky's games -- anyone know where I can get a copy? drop a line to me at Brenan61 @yahoo.com>

Here you go...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ISAAC-BOLESLAVS...

Dec-20-07   nescio: Today I noticed that Boleslavsky's name his isn't included on the drop-down player list in the advanced search section. I would like to raise my glass to the memory of this giant of chess strategy. Great player, famous trainer/coach and, above all, superb analyst and annotator, Boleslavsky's strategical ideas were among the most influential and in this I think only Rubinstein can claim a higher percentage.

Already mentioned here were:

-His work on the King's Indian with e5xd4 and the centre formation c6-d6 (the Boleslavsky Wall), and active play on both wings.

-The Najdorf Sicilian with d6-e5 and subsequent play on the queen's wing, trying for the advance d6-d5.

-The idea Bc4 in the Sicilian (which later became Fischer's favourite).

But there is more:

-It cannot be claimed that the manoeuver Qd1-e1-g3 in the Sicilian with d6 and e6 is his invention, but the energetic way he employed it in Saltsjöbaden had a large impact.

Boleslavsky vs L Steiner, 1948
Boleslavsky vs Stahlberg, 1948
Boleslavsky vs Book, 1948

-The idea c6 and b5 in the Grünfeld-Indian. Again he was certainly not the first to play it, but he made it a first-class weapon. I don't think it is played much these days, but it probably will, because it is an active defence and I'm not aware of a straightforward refutation.

V Makogonov vs Boleslavsky, 1947
Smyslov vs Boleslavsky, 1949
Flohr vs Boleslavsky, 1950

-As a curiosity I should mention his fondness of the move a2-a4 on the white side of the closed Ruy Lopez. He rarely omitted this move and he even played it when there was no Black pawn at b5: Boleslavsky vs O'Kelly, 1946.

Feb-21-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  whiteshark: Interesting to note the different contents of various wikipedia pages:

English:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_...

German:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaak_...

French:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_...

Spanish:
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_...

Jun-09-08   maxi: Interesting comments, <nescio>.
Jun-09-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Wild Bill: Here's to David Bronstein's very good friend, fierce rival and posthumous father-in-law.

He's not on the drop-down list? I hope that oversight is soon remedied.

Jun-18-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Marmot PFL: If you are looking for chess books by Isaac Bolesavsky don't get The First Six Lessons. It turned out to be an acting book by Richard Boleslavsky.
Jun-18-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Calli: <Marmot PFL> Get any gigs yet? :-)
Oct-02-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Open Defence: <Feb-21-06 Chess Champ: Yea but what of? > well its a long time since the question but I believe he slipped and fell and then died of the injury
Dec-06-08   dramas79: Just curious, what is coming out of his ear/head in his photo? Is it just poor photo quality?
Feb-20-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  Thrajin: <dramas79>, I was wondering the same thing. It looks as if he's the T-1000 (from the movie "Terminator 2: Judgment Day") and he's in the process of reforming himself after having been blasted with heavy shrapnel.
May-23-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  Phony Benoni: I think it's real, since it's casting a shadow on his face. Perhaps it's a stray leaf from a bouquet of flowers being held at his left during an awards ceremony.
May-24-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  Phony Benoni: Here's a slightly larger version of the Boleslavsky picture. http://www.chessdevon.co.uk/HTML/ga...
Jun-09-09   Cees Verhagen: Isaac Boleslavsky,s Selected Games is one of the best chessbooks. And Happy Birthday
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