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Lev Khariton:Ungilded Monuments - Vladimir Simagin - 2006/03/30 13:53
Ungilded Monuments - Grandmaster Vladimir Simagin by Lev Khariton
The chess community, as well as any other community, has always had its heroes and idols. Some of them were more gilded, while others were less gilded. The first category comprised World Champions, challengers for the world title, authors of famous chess books, great theoreticians, the second group embraced those who did not taste the glory and even the slightest attention. I have written quite a lot on them, and in these notes I'll try to give credit to the memory of the outstanding chess player and remarkable personality of grandmaster
Vladimir Simagin.
Grandmaster Simagin died as befits a real chess player - at the chess board. He was playing at the international tournament in Kislovodsk in
1968. He was only 49 years old. All his short life was completely dedicated to chess.
I was lucky to meet Vladimir Pavlovich Simagin when I was a boy of sixteen, in summer 1961, when he was training the Moscow junior team preparing for the USSR Junior Championship in Baku. I had seen Simagin before when I visited chess tournaments in Moscow. He produced an impression of a gloomy man, totally withdrawn into the world of chess, probably too introvert. Sitting at the chess table he was totally concentrated on his game and it seemed that the world outside the chess board did not interest him at all. However, when I came to know
Simagin closely I understood that my impression was absolutely wrong!
If you really wanted to know Simagin, you had to see him speaking to young people, to those whom he was teaching chess. I used to meet him quite frequently in the Central Chess Club in Moscow and I was lucky to talk with him. Of course, it was mostly he who did the talking. I was just asking him questions, full of respect and reverence for someone who was many years my senior and a famous chess player.
At that time I perceived Simagin as if he were an old man, but time passes by, and making a flashback I understand that I was wrong.. The illusion of age! Our teachers always seemed old to us - just because we were young! Simagin always had some book in his hand, not necessarily chess book, but most often some good fiction. Vladimir
Pavlovich was a highly educated person, extremely intelligent, and his politeness, kindness and tolerance were, as we, Russians, say, in his blood.
He had his own attitude to chess. Once he said to me: "In chess, as in life, all the time you have to overcome obstacles. When you play a game, your opponent with each move sets up barriers before you, the barriers you have to overcome. It seems that you have overcome one barrier, but at his next move you encounter another obstacle to overcome. And it goes on all the time
"
Although I should admit that making such a sincere statement, in point of fact, Simagin was really a great and profound chess philosopher. It is not by chance that he gave life to many opening systems and variations, that he had his own concepts that have stood the test of time..
Simagin was a remarkable chess coach. I have just said that he was teaching chess to young players. He never imposed anything on his chess students. You could never hear any dogmas from him. As a teacher, he was "prima inter pares" (first among equals) with his students. And they felt that they were really profiting from his lessons!
Simagin was also working on top level. Suffice it to say that for many years he was training Smyslov who won the World Title in 1957..
For many years Simagin was dreaming to win the grandmaster's title. In the 50-s this title was a much coveted fetish for Soviet chess masters and only very few of them were lucky to achieve it. There were very few international tournaments, only an exclusive minority of the
Soviet chess elite was allowed to travel and play abroad. The grandmaster's title opened up new prospects for talented chess players. Simagin made the grandmaster's norm when he was already over forty, in 1961 at a chess tournament in Hungary. But even on achieving his goal, Simagin was continuing his modest life without drawing any profits or dividends from the high title. So much unlike today's grandmasters and champions - the readers will easily guess whom I mean!
I was trying to think what games or fragments of Simagin's games I would propose for my readers' delectation. They are really plenty!
Simagin was a real artist and, frankly, even some of his lost games are real masterpieces. That happens only to great players!
V. Simagin
D.Bronstein (Moscow, 1947)
This game was played in the Moscow Championship. David Bronstein, who was 23 years old at that time, was undoubtedly even then one of the world's best chess players. Understandably, in this position with a strong passed pawn he was playing for a win. Therefore he played
43
h4. Possibly, he should have 43
Qe4+ being content with the draw.
But Bronstein simply did not foresee Simagin's great riposte.
44.Qxd6 Qg2+ 45.Kb3 h3 46.Qd7+ Kg8. The line 46...Kg6 47.f5+ Kh5
48.Bf4 was losing for Black.47.f5 h2 48.Bg5!!
One of the most beautiful moves I have ever seen in chess! It transpires that Black's two queens being cut off from their king are unable to save him.
48... h1Q. Also losing is 48...fg 49.f6, or 48...Qxg5 49.Qc8+ Kg7
50.Qc7+ and Black loses his dangerous pawn.
49.Qe8+ Kg7 50.Qg6+ Kf8 51.Qxf6+ Kg8 52.Qd8+ Kg7 53.Qe7+ Kg8 54.Qe8+.
Black resigned. Owing to this victory Simagin won the title of the
Moscow Champion.
V.Simagin
G.Ravinsky
Moscow, 1949
25.f5!!
When I see such moves, I always remember the great masterpieces created by Alekhine, Pillsbury, Marshall
White hits in Black's most fortified square. 25...Rxc2. It is obvious that Black does not want to get under a monstrous attack after 25...gf 26.Qh5 Qe7 27.Rf2 Nxd4
28.g4.
26.Qxc2! Qe7.
Also beautiful were such variations as 26...Nxd4 27.Qc7 or 26...Rc8
27.fe!! Rxc2 28.ef+ with a crushing attack.
27.fe fe.
Bad is 27...Qxg5 on account of 28.Qc7! and Black gets mated.
28.Qc6 Bb7.
Another beautiful line was 28...Rb8 29.Ng4 Nxd4 30.Nf6+ Kh8 (or
30...Qxf6 31.Qc7) 31.Qc5!! Nf3+ 32.Kh1! and White wins.
29.Qxb6 Ra6 30.Nxd5! Rxb6.
After 30...ed 31.Bxd5+ Bxd5 32.Qxa6 Qxg5 33.Qc8+ Black is a shambles.
31.Nxe7+ Kf8 32.Nxg6+ hg 33.Rf1+. Black resigned.
The readers will certainly enjoy another two games played by Simagin in which he displayed his greatness as a master of attack.
O.Moisieev
V.Simagin
URSS Ch., Moscow, 1951
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 0-0 5.Nf3 d6 6.h3 e5 7.d5 Nh5 8.Be3 f5
9.exf5 gxf5 10.Be2 Nf6 11.Qc2 Na6 12.g3 Nb4 13.Qb3 a5 14.0-0-0 f4
15.gxf4 Bf5 16.Ne1 exf4 17.Bd4 Kh8 18.a3.
18.. c5 19.Bxf6 Qxf6 20.axb4 axb4 21.Nb5 Ra1+ 22.Kd2 f3 23.Nc2 Bxc2
24.Kxc2 fxe2 25.Rxa1 Qg6+ 26.Kd2 Bh6+ 27.Qe3 Rxf2 28.Rhe1 Bxe3+
29.Kxe3 Qg3+ 30.Kd2 Qf4+ White resigned
V.Simagin
L.Stein
URSS Ch., Moscow, 1961
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4
Qb6 9.Qd2 Qxb2 10.Rb1 Qa3 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Be2 h5 13.0-0 Nd7 14.Kh1 Qc5
15.Rf3 Be7 16.Rh3 h4 17.f5 Nb6 18.Nd1 Nc4 19.Qc3 Ne5 20.Qb2 b5 21.Ne3
Bd7 22.c3 Rc8 23.Rc1 Bd8 24.Qb3 Ke7 25.Qd1 Bb6 26.Qf1 Qa3 27.Rd1 Rxc3
28.fxe6 fxe6 29.Ndf5+ Kd8 30.Nxd6 Rf8 31.Rxh4 Rxe3
32.Rh8! Rxh8 33.Qxf6+ Kc7 34.Qxe5 Kc6 35.Nxb5 Qc5 36.Rd6+ Kb7 37.Rxd7+
Kc8 38.Rc7+ Qxc7 39.Nxc7 Rxh2+ 40.Qxh2 Rxe2 41.Qh8+ Kxc7 42.Qc3+ Kb7
43.Qc4 Re1+ 44.Kh2 Bc7+ 45.Kh3 Rh1+ 46.Kg4 Rh2 47.Kf3 Rh6 48.Qb4+ Kc6
49.Qc3+ Kb7 50.Qb2+ Kc8 51.Qg7 Rh5 52.Qg8+ Kb7 53.Qxe6 Ra5 54.g4.
Black resigned.
Mikhail Botvinnik did not usually like to write about his chess colleagues. Simagin was just one of the few exceptions. I would like to cite here what Botvinnik wrote about Simagin:
"It was spring 1966. I had almost completed my work on the book
"Algorithm of Chess" which was published two years later. However, it was too early to speak about the publication of this book in 1966, In high places they were more than skeptical about chess, algorithms and computers. Then someone suggested publishing an article in the
Bulletin of the Central Chess Club of the USSR on the algorithm of chess. Before the publication the article was sent for evaluation to one chess player who was a professor of higher mathematics. However, his report on the article was so incoherent that I decided to go va-banque and suggested that I together with the reviewer discuss my article in the presence of Simagin who was editor-in-chief of the
Bulletin. I said that I was ready to accept any decision of the editor. I should say that it was a risky step because practically I did not know Simagin well. Simagin liked the idea. My scientific opponent also liked my idea because he was sure that he would down my article. So, we came to the editor's office. I do not remember exactly how our discussion proceeded. At some point, when our discussion came to a standstill,
We looked askance at our arbiter Simagin. During the discussion he did not pronounce a word sitting silently and apparently engrossed in his thoughts. Already triumphant my adversary asked him: "Do you see now
Vladimir Pavlovich, that we cannot publish this article now?"
Simagin's answer was calm and absolutely impassionate: "Well, we'll publish the article, so it would be discussed by the readers" It seemed that my opponent was dazed after Simagin's reply. He could not say a word! Simagin published this article and five years later these ideas became known to the whole world
"
I believe that this episode reveals very well Simagin as an honest and profound man. Modest and humble, never asking anything for himself in this life, he could stand by another man when the truth was at stake.
He was a highly educated man and he could pass his judgment on the problems that were apparently too far from his sphere of interests.
Doubtless, in Botvinnik's article there was more electronics than chess.
Now Simagin's name is almost forgotten and that makes me very sad. But when I see his games, I enjoy chess as an art; I understand that
Simagin was a real artist whose name is forever engraved in the chess annals..
---------
Would you live with ease? Do what you ought, not what you please.
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