Should players wishing to improve study Smyslov’s games? Kramnik thinks you should, but more on that later.
Vassily Smyslov (March 24, 1921 – March 27, 2010) was one of those champions who is under-appreciated. He achieved the greatest success of his chess career in 1957 when he defeated Mikhail Botvinnik in a match for the world championship. In the return match fate was not on his side and his short reign as champion is probably the reason why he is not better appreciated.
By the way, in a later edition of his best games which combined both volumes, Smyslov makes an interesting comment about computers and books. He observed that these days players are armed with a chess program that enables them to get a quick reply about the present state of an opening variation or about an opponent. But, books will never lose their instructional value since the general laws of the game remain unchanged. He added that the theories of Steinitz were excellently expounded by Emanuel Lasker in his Manuel of Chess. Food for thought on an old instructional book from a former world champion.
More Smyslov wisdom:
* When an advantage has been gained, you must seek a combinative solution to the problem and take energetic measures, as otherwise the advantage will disappear.
* A position changes with every move, and grasping its slightest changes, on which evaluation and concrete calculation depend, is a great skill in the practical struggle at the board.
Smyslov was always seeking the truth of a position and always trying to find the objectively best move, no matter the tastes or abilities of his opponent; his opponent didn’t matter to him, only the position. Because he had a strong aversion to unsound sacrifices he dismissed Tal’s play as “nothing more than tricks.”
Kramnik said of Smyslov that he was a player who played very correctly, truthfully, with a very natural style. Kramnik also added that Smyslov wasn’t a chess artist and his play wasn’t bright or artistic.
But, here’s the important thing...Kramnik stated, “I'd recommend the children who want to learn chess to study Smyslov's games. Because he was playing like it was needed; his style is the closest to some virtual chess truth. He was trying to play the strongest move in any position, and it's possible that by sheer amount of strongest moves, he's way ahead of many other World Champions. As a professional, I like him for that. I know that amateurs are more interested in mistakes, ups and downs. But from a purely professional point of view, I think that Smyslov is very underrated.”
Smyslov was also a brilliant endgame player. When he learned the game, he practiced many different endgames, especially those with just a few pieces on the board. Because of this, Smyslov had an incredible intuitive understanding of what each piece was capable of. Smsylov’s superior intuition is why Kasparov thought we was capable of reaching the Candidates Final at the age of 64 in 1984!
Kasparov in My Great Predecessors states the opinion that Smyslov’s greatly undervaluing of chess psychology was one of weaknesses because at the elite level players have to be aware of their opponents’ strengths and weakness and always try to steer the course of a game away from their strengths.
The following short, stormy game against A.K. Tolush from the 1947 Soviet Championship is an exception to the normal Smyslov games. Alexander K.Tolush (born May 1, 1910 - March 3, 1969, 58 years old) was awarded the GM title in 1953. An outstanding master of attack and tactics, he paid little attention to positional play and defense and this adversly affected his results. His best result in the USSR Championship was a tie for second in 1950 and his best result internationally was first at Bucharest 1953 ahead of Petrosian, Smyslov, Boleslavsky and Spassky who was his pupil at that time. Tolush passed away in Leningrad in 1969 and did not live to see Spassky become World Champion.
The 15th Soviet Chess Championship took place in Leningrad from February 2nd to March 8th, 1947. Paul Keres, who had returned to Estonia after World War II, was invited after he had been punished for participating in Nazi tournaments during the war by being denied an invitation to Groningen 1946. Upon learning that the world championship would not be held in 1947, Botvinnik got in a funk and withdrew and was replaced by Boris Goldenov.
Alexander K. Tolush - Vasily Smyslov
Leningrad 1947
Slav Defense
Leningrad 1947
Slav Defense
[...] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.♘f3 ♘f6 4.♘c3 dxc4 5.e4 This move, what was to later be known as the Geller Gambit, is a rarely played alternative to the classical 5 a4 .In exchange for an active position in the center and good attacking chances, it allows black to defend his P on c4. White almost always plays 5.a4. 5...b5 6.e5 (6.a4 b4 7.♘b1 ♘xe4 8.♗xc4 ♘d6 is good for black.) 6...♘d5 7.a4 ♗e6 The idea behind this is to transfer the B to d4 after the exchange of Ns. The result is a very sharp struggle. Normal and safe is 7...e6 and ...O-O. 8.axb5 ♘xc3 9.bxc3 cxb5 10.♘g5 ♗d5 Mission accomplished. Now all he has to do is play ...e6 and his position will be rock solid. Therefore, Tolush sacrifices a second P in order to try and disorganize black's K-side development. 11.e6 Preventing ...e6 and forcing black to weaken his position. 11...fxe6 12.♕g4 White's double threat is Nxe6 and Nxh7 makes it look like he has a successful attack in the making, but in reality things aren't so clear. In the game Tolush-Levenfish, Leningrad City Championship 1947, Tolush played 12.Bf4, but black succeeded in wresting the initiative and so this is an attempt at improving on that game.
12.♗e2 ♘c6 13.O-O followed by Bg4 is suggested by Stockfish as being advantageous for white.
12...h5 Smyslov attaches a ! to this move and points out that in sharp positions where intensive and resolute actions are called for it is very important to feel the rhythm of the struggle and estimate the time factor. Stockfish and Komodo disagree and shift their evaluation to either slightly in white's favor or equal after this move. A solid reply is 12...Qd7. 13.♕f4 ♕d6 Trying to lure white's Q to f7 and then retreat the K to the Q-side. At the same time this move parries the threat of Nf7. 14.♕f7 ♔d7 15.♗a3 Smyslov gives 15. Bf4 as an alternative which, in fact, was probably better.
15.♗f4 e5 16.dxe5 ♗xf7 17.exd6 ♗d5 18.dxe7 ♗xe7 19.O-O-O ♔c6 20.♖xd5 ♔xd5 with an unclear position.
15...♕c7 16.♗e2 ♘c6 Smyslov recommended 17.Bf3 challenging black's strong and giving black some problems to solve. 17.♗xh5 An outright blunder that costs the game. (17.♗f3 ♘d8 18.♕g6 ♖h6 19.♕b1 with the advantage.) 17...♘e5 An unexpected move! The Q has no satisfactory retreat so the N must be taken. 18.dxe5 ♕xe5 19.♔f1 ♕xg5 20.♗f3 ♕f6 21.♗xd5 A last attempt to prolong the game. 21...♕xf7 22.♗xa8 a5 23.g3 ♕f5 24.♔g2 g5 25.h3 ♗g7 26.♖ad1 ♔c7 27.g4 ♕f7 Tolush resigned.
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