On 30 dic, 14:52, zdrakec wrote:
Hello all, and especially the historians among us:

I have in front of me a copy ofBotvinnik's"Half a Century of Chess".
This edition was published by Pergamon Press, translated by E.
Strauss, edited by K. P. Neat, and printed in 1984 as the first
English edition.
On page 66 of this edition, I findBotvinniksaying, in reference to
the conclusion of the tournament in Moscow in 1935:
"...I was also awarded the title of USSRGrandmaster(after
consultation with Lasker and Capablanca)."

I find this statement to be curious, to say the least.Botvinnikneeds
approval from Lasker and Capablanca to be namedgrandmaster? I wonder:
1) Who actually awarded this title toBotvinnik? I don't mean an
agency, but which actual person would get to make this sort of
decision?
2) Who actually consulted with Lasker and Capablanca?
3) What form did this consultation take?

Best regards,
zdrakec

"Mikhail Botvinnik is awarded the title of grandmaster by order of the
All-Union Committee for Physical Culture" (page 35 of "The Second
International Chess Tournament Moscow 1935"