Aryeh Davidoff: Those who will pass by this masterpiece are definitely
to rob themselves of an invaluable joy...

More than a Grandmaster

by Lev Khariton

On February 19, David Bronstein celebrates his 80th birthday...

When I think of grandmaster David Bronstein, for some reason I never
think of him as a chess player, and a strange story always comes to my
mind. Once Sergei Prokofiev, the famous composer, was asked by one of
his friends why, with all his operas, ballets, symphonies, he was much
less popular than Isaac Dunayevsky, the Soviet composer extremely
popular in Stalin's time and known for his melodious optimistic songs.
The great Russian musician gave a short answer. "Well, Dunayevsky and
I have different professions..." So, I believe that Bronstein is not
like all other chess players. His profession is different.

I met grandmaster Bronstein perhaps 100 metres from the Central Chess
Club of the USSR in Gogolevsky Boulevard. He was obviously upset.
"What is happening, grandmaster?" I asked him. "Is anything wrong with
you?" "Oh, I've just been in the federation, and they are still
delaying paying me my pension." I tried to find some words of comfort
for the great man. "Don't take it too much to heart, David Ionovich.
The whole world knows you. Everyone is learning from your games. Your
portrait is on the wall of the club together with the greatest
champions of all time!" Bronstein's reaction was as hot as unexpected.
"But I am a human being, and I am still alive!"

Even today, probably 20 years after this conversation, I regret the
words that I said at that moment. More than that, I still remember the
anger and frustration of the habitually quiet grandmaster. Needless to
say that he was "fighting" for an ordinary pension sufficient only for
eking out a miserable Soviet existence.

David Bronstein had conquered the chess world at that far-away time
when the American professor Arpad Elo had not yet perfected his
ingenious method of calculating the practical strength of every chess
player, ingenious in its simplicity and killing in its essence. When I
look at the FIDE lists of the top chess players published twice a year
I always have the feeling that I am studying a train schedule or a
telephone directory. Behind the rows of numbers and figures thrown up
by the computer every six months there is something which is
completely forgotten - the Eternal Beauty of chess, the spirit of
creativity, something which makes millions of people voluntary slaves
of the game.

Once Bronstein asked me, "In your opinion, is chess an easy or a
difficult game?" "Certainly, it's difficult," I answered without the
slightest hesitation. "Not at all difficult," said the grandmaster.
His eyes were sparkling. I felt he was about to say something that was
dear to his heart. "The game is easy when you don't want to win,
waiting for an opponent's mistake. In other words, when you are ready
for a draw. However, when you see me on the stage looking for a win,
sacrificing, getting into time-trouble, you certainly think that chess
is difficult." Naturally, all these creative tortures, sleepless
nights after undeserved losses are not reflected in the Elo lists.

Look, for example, at the grandiose final of the game played by
Bronstein many years ago. It is a real symphony of sacrificial moves.
Zita-Bronstein, Prague, 1946

White :Kg1,Qd2,Rb1,Re1,Ba1,Bg2,Nc3,Nd4 pp.b3,c4,e4,f2,g3,h3.
Black :Kg8,Qb6,Ra8,Re8,Bc8,Bg7,Nc5,Ng4 pp.b7,c6,d6,f7,g6,h7.

17...Rxa1!! 18.Rxa1 Nxf2!! 19.Re3 Nxh3+ 20.Kh2 Nf2 21.Rf3 Ncxe4 and
White soon resigned.

One cannot help but admire the beauty of this combination. Bronstein's
idea in this game later on became the cornerstone of the plan adopted
by Tal, Kasparov and other outstanding grandmasters.

I believe that more than anybody else Bronstein has suffered from the
bureaucracy and inflexibility of FIDE. This organisation was founded
in the 1920s to take charge primarily of the World Title matches.
Unfortunately, in the last four decades FIDE has always been
influenced by the Soviet Chess Federation and its bureaucratic spirit
invariably prevailed. I think that Bronstein, after the drawn match
with Mikhail Botvinnik in 1951, had the moral right to play another
match. In any case, FIDE should not have made the grandmaster go
through all the "nine circles" of the qualifying competitions. All you
need to do is to remember his spectacular victory in the Goeteborg
Interzonal in 1955 and you shall understand that in the 1950s
Bronstein was in a class by himself. To illustrate it, here is a case
in point - Bronstein's unexpected sacrifice in a game against Paul
Keres. Bronstein-Keres (1955, Gothenburg)

White:Kg1,Qd1,Ra1,Rf1,Bc1,Bc2,Nb5,Ng3 pp.a3,b2,f2,g2,h2.
Black:Kg8,Qd8,Ra8,Rf8,Bb7,Be7,Na6,Nf6 pp.a7,b6,c4,d7,f7,g7,h6.

14.Bxh6! White sacrifices the bishop, the consequences of this
combination were difficult to calculate. Later on Tal made such
sacrifices his "stock-in-trade". He called them intuitive or
speculative sacrifices. When making such a risky decision, an
experienced chess player usually relies on intuition. 14...gxh6 15.Qd2
Nh7 16.Qxh6 f5 17.Nxf5 Rxf5 18.Bxf5 Nf8 19.Rad1 Bg5 20.Qh5 Qf6 21.Nd6
Bc6 22.Qg4 Kh8 23.Be4 Bh6 24.Bxc6 dxc6 25.Qxc4 Nc5 26.b4 Nce6 27.Qxc6
Rb8 28.Ne4 Qg6 29.Rd6 Bg7 30.f4 Qg4 31.h3 Qe2 32.Ng3 Qe3+ 33.Kh2 Nd4
34.Qd5 Re8 35.Nh5 Ne2 36.Nxg7 Qg3+ 37.Kh1 Nxf4 38.Qf3 Ne2 39.Rh6+
Black resigned.

It is of interest to note that for this game Bronstein got the first
brilliancy prize long before the end of the tournament. It should not
be forgotten that his "victim" was not an ordinary chess player, but
Keres, the outstanding Estonian grandmaster who suffered as much as
Bronstein at the hands of FIDE bureaucrats. He never played a match
for the world crown.

Probably, it was logical that finally, exhausted by the never-ending
qualifying tournaments Bronstein broke down and lost a game to Cardoso
at the end of the Interzonal tournament in Portoroz in 1958. Although
a boy of 13 at that time, I felt the drama of the great chess player,
the injustice he had not deserved.

However, Bronstein, as I understand now, was not that upset by this
setback. For his creative nature chess is a big world and he did not
want the struggle in which he had to "crush down" his opponents. More
than that, this struggle which we often see today at top-level
competitions, was contrary to his nature. As Einstein and Sakharov
understood that physics was concerned with humanitarian problems, so
Bronstein, long before anyone else in the chess world, realised that
chess is not confined only to the 64 squares of the chessboard.

Bronstein was often criticised for his tendency to be too original,
for his lack of pragmatism. But he simply loved chess! Soon after the
Zurich Candidates' he wrote a book about this competition. It was not
just a new book - it was a revolution in chess literature. The
annotations to each game read as avidly as a detective story. It was
Bronstein who proposed the idea of "active chess" competitions, that
is, competitions with shorter time controls. The grandmaster has also
composed several beautiful endgame studies. His lectures are always
attended by hundreds of chess lovers, and he lavishly shares the
secrets of his art with ordinary chess players.

It is unthinkable to write about Bronstein without without mentioning
his match with Mikhail Botvinnik. Undoubtedly, this match was the peak
of Bronstein's career, but at the same time it is the most vulnerable
point in his heart and soul. I noticed a long time ago that whatever
subject you are discussing with Bronstein sooner or later the
conversation will come around to Botvinnik and that match played
almost half a century ago. At that time, in 1951, in spite of the draw
in this match, it was clear that Bronstein had achieved a moral and
creative victory. Botvinnik was severely tested. The chess world was
amazed to see the champion playing beyond the limit of his practical
strength, having confronted the resistance he had never seen in his
career, even in his trade-mark positions.

It is of interest to cite here the ending of the 5th game in which
Bronstein was playing with Black.
White:Kg1,Rd1,Bg2,Nc3,Nf5 pp.a3,b4,c5,f2,g3,h2.
Black:Kg8,Rf8,Bb7,Nc4,Nf6 pp.a6,b5,d5,d7,g7,h7.

Here Bronstein made quite a mysterious move - 30...Kh8!! Until 1951 no
one, I am sure, had played like that against Botvinnik. Bronstein, a
superb psychologist, finds the best solution in this position. He
makes an inconspicuous move with his king, abandoning his queenside
pawns. Botvinnik, true to his style, tries to punish his light-headed
opponent and launches an attack. But after 31.Re1 Nxa3 32.Nd6 Bc6
33.Ra1 Nc2 34.Rxa6 d4 35.Ncxb5 Bxg2 36.Kxg2 Ng4 37.Nf5 d3 38.Rd6 Rxf5
39.Rxd3 Nce3+, it was White who had to resign.

The collection of Bronstein's paradoxical, mysterious moves is really
inexhaustible. I always remember one episode from his game against
Porecca played in Belgrade, 1954. (See Diagram)
White:Kg1,Qd1,Ra1,Re1,Bc1,Bc4,Nf4,Ng3 pp.a2,b2,c2,d4,f2,g2,h4.
Black: Ke8,Qc7,Ra8,Rh8,Bf8,Bh7,Nd7,Nf6 pp.a7,b7,c6,e7,f7,g7,h6.

Bronstein here, playing with Black, chose the most paradoxical move -
...14...Bg8!! Two exclamation marks for Bronstein's imagination,
originality and courage. Undoubtedly, no other human being, let alone
a computer, can play like this. To make such a move one has to be a
Bronstein! It is of interest that Botvinnik had called such
improvisations by Bronstein before the match "Bronstein's tricks".
After the match he seemed to have forgotten this expression. This was,
of course, a great moral victory for the young challenger.

However, years passed by and Bronstein regretted more and more that as
a result of the lack of a mere half-point he had not convinced the
chess world of the conservatism and dogmatism of Botvinnik's concepts.
It is easy to understand the grandmaster because the new generations
of chess players were coming on the chess scene and Bronstein's
exploit in 1951 was becoming a thing of the past.

But if Tal and Fischer crushed the Soviet chess machine, Bronstein was
the first to lay the mines to destroy it. There was some dissidence in
his play, some well-felt challenge. It should not be forgotten when
the match was played. The authorities supported Botvinnik, the loyal
communist. Long before the appearance of computers, Botvinnik had used
the term 'self-programming'. Apart from the purely chess sense, that
is the preparation for the game, self-programming was aimed at
developing hatred towards the opponent. This was destructive chess.

On the other hand, Bronstein's approach to chess implied, first of
all, a noble, chivalrous attitude towards chess and the opponent. And
it really was not even an "opponent" but rather a "partner" in
creating chess masterpieces. Even today Bronstein is true to this
principle. "I would never agree with the propaganda of an unfriendly
or even hostile attitude to the opponent proceeding from the premise
that it facilitates one's victory. Any further development of such
psychology threatens to turn the art of chess into business. Those who
assert that the aim of the game of chess is to score a point by any
means should not be surprised that this point is quickly surrounded by
many zeros ... To hate the opponent, to sacrifice the wealth of your
soul for just getting a half-point in the tournament table, this is
the chess of beggars".

But what if Bronstein had won that match against Botvinnik? Life could
have been a lot easier for Bronstein, he would have travelled more
often to international tournaments, he would not have had to play in
qualifying tournaments, even his everyday life would have been much
easier. But one thing is certain - he would not have kept the title
for long. He would not have been greedy about it! He lacked many
qualities characteristic of other outstanding chess players:
Botvinnik's purposefulness; Fischer's endurance; Karpov's tenacity;
and Kasparov's energy. And the King who does not stick to his throne
is doomed to be overthrown. Even Tal, the greatest artist, was always
playing, first and foremost, for a win. Bronstein, on the other hand,
could have been carried away by some interesting idea and he could
have forgotten why he had come to play the game. Sometimes he spent
about 40 minutes thinking over his first move.

Alexander Konstantinopolsky, Bronstein's teacher and trainer, once
told me that often he failed to guess which move Bronstein would make
over the board. He started improvising and all the home-prepared
novelties and plans were completely forgotten.

I don't know who was the first to call Bronstein "sly Davik". His
slyness was only evidenced at the chessboard. In everyday life, in the
most ordinary situations, he has always been naive and, unfortunately,
defenseless. The sly were in fact those who without even
one-thousandth of his talent were traveling all over the world. In the
meantime,David Bronstein was teaching chess to deaf and mute chess
players in the sport club "Dynamo" in Moscow.

But it seems that his luck has turned lately. Reading chess reports I
come across the news that David Bronstein is playing in chess
tournaments now - in England, Spain, Belgium... Quite often David is
playing against chess computers; he knows, probably better than the
best grandmasters, how to tame silicon monsters. Here is a fragment
from one of his numerous games in which Bronstein playing with White
sacrificed his queen to pursue Black's King into the mating net.
White:Kd2,Qh4,Rh1,Rh2,Be3,Bh3,Nc3,Ng3 pp.b5,c4,d5,e4,f3,g5.
Black:Kg8,Qe7,Ra8,Rf8,Bb7,Bh8,Nc7,Ng7 pp.a7,b6,d6,e5,g6,h7.

40.Qxh7+! Kxh7 41.Be6+ Nh5 42.Nxh5 Rg8 43.Nf4+ Kg7 44.Rh7+ Kf8
45.Nxg6+ Ke8 46.Bxg8 Qg7 47.Rxh8 Kd7 48.R1h7 and Black resigned.

If the grandmaster is playing like that now, it is easy to imagine how
much the chess world has lost in the twenty years of his
non-participation in chess tournaments.

I am grateful to destiny that it gave me the chance to know David
Bronstein. Frankly speaking, I began to play chess in the post-war
years because of the match between Botvinnik and Bronstein. I remember
how my father was playing over the games of the match from newspapers
and I was helping him to set up the pieces. In 1952 my brother took me
to the Moscow Championship and I saw Bronstein for the first time in
my life - and I was infatuated with his chess and his personality for
the rest of my life!

Certainly, I could not imagine then that some years later I would
attend Alexander Konstantiniopolsky's chess school and from time to
time Bronstein, who had been once Konstantinopolsky's pupil, would
drop in at our class. For Konstantinopolsky, he always remained his
favourite pupil. For me as well as for other boys, Bronstein was a
celebrity. However, even at that time I noticed that he did not have
any vanity.An ordinary man, he was turning into a magician when he was
showing us fantastically beautiful and complicated variations and
sacrifices. His hands moved the chess pieces very quickly. Like a
circus magician extracting objects out of his sleeve, Bronstein would
spinning miraculous laces in front of our eyes and we, the little
boys, were just absolutely spellbound.

Years later when I came to know Bronstein personally, I was attracted
by his simplicity, by his unpretentiousness. He used to call me
saying, "Lev, come over, we'll drink some tea and I'll show you some
games." Oh, how I loved those visits to his small apartment in
downtown Moscow! One even superficial look around his apartment was
enough to determine that its proprietor is an unusual man. Books,
magazines, hundreds and thousands of them scattered here and there, on
the table, on the shelves, on the chairs, on the floor... Books on
chess, astronomy, geography, various dictionaries... Once one of my
friends, a chemist, brought Bronstein his dissertation, a 400-page
book. A week later, when Bronstein returned the dissertation, he asked
my friend quite competent questions. You may be sure that the
grandmaster knew every book, every magazine in his apartment by heart.

When speaking to Bronstein, you are impressed by the range of his
interests, his most original approach to any trivial problem, any
trivial question. Some people say that the grandmaster is too timid in
life, and this timidity did not allow him to scale the summit of the
chess pyramid. I think that in his case modesty is mistaken for
timidity. One had to be a courageous person, a man of principles, not
to sign the notorious anti-Korchnoy letter that was signed by the
majority of Soviet grandmasters after Korchnoy's defection to the
West.

I think that I was lucky - it is real happiness to know Bronstein, the
'no'-man to hypocrisy, dishonesty, treachery. The yes-man, to give
help, to understand, to support. Everyone in my generation loves David
Bronstein. The halo of his chess magic is as bright today as 40 years
ago.

I have written these lines to congratulate and honor grandmaster David
Bronstein on his 75th birthday and to wish him good health and
happiness. I would also like to remind him that all the true lovers of
the game are his slaves for good. They enjoy the best slavery in the
world, the slavery of Bronstein's great creative genius.