He won the Russian Championship twice, in 1954 and 1956. He tied for 3rd at the 1962 Moscow Championship (behind Yuri Averbakh and Evgeny Vasiukov) and placed fifth at the 1964-65 Soviet Championship. He finished third at Marianske Lazne 1965 (behind Paul Keres and Vlastimil Hort).
Awarded the GM title in 1965, his best victory was at Sochi in 1967, where he tied for first place with Nikolai Krogius, Vladimir Simagin, Boris Spassky and Alexander Zaitsev.
Shamkovich dropped out of Leningrad State University one semester short of graduation to become a full-time player. In 1972, he immigrated briefly to Israel and then went to Canada before finally settling in the United States in 1973 where he quickly became a powerful force on the American chess scene.
In 1976 he was winner of both the World Open and the US Open, sharing the latter title with Anatoly Lein and in 1977 tied again for the US Open, this time with Andrew Soltis and Timothy Taylor.
In addition to his achievements as a player, Shamkovich is one of the most respected authorities on chess sacrifices and tactics and was the author of more than a dozen books, including The Modern Chess Sacrifice.
He also has been a major influence through his work as teacher and trainer of some of the world’s best players, including Mikhail Tal and Garry Kasparov.
In 2005, he passed away from complications related to cancer and Parkinson’s disease at his home in Brooklyn.
Although Shamkovich, whose expertise was as an analyst and in his tactical ability, was not among the leading Soviet players who dominated the game for most of the second half of the 20th century, but he played with great emotion, which made his results very uneven. He continued to play into the late 1990s. He was married and divorced three times.
The following game was played at Rio de Janeiro Interzonal in 1979. Along with Lubomir Kavalek (1st) and James Tarjan (2nd), Shamkovich qualified as a result winning a playoff against Edmar Mednis after they tied for third in the 1978 US Championship. Kavalek dropped out and his place was taken by Mednis. Walter Browne had been scheduled to play in the championship but dropped out before round one after a run in with the TD, Isaac Kashdan. See my post HERE.
Shamkovich’s opponent in this game was the strong Cuban GM Guillermo Garcia Gonzlez (December 9, 1953 – October 26, 1990) who tragically died at in a car accident in Havana in 1990.
The game isn’t one of Shamkovich’s tactical gems. Instead it’s a positional crush were Garcia never seemed to have a chance right from the start.
Guillermo Garcia Gonzales - Leonid Shamkovich
Result: 0-1
Site: Rio de Janeiro BRA
Date: 1979.10.08
English Opening: Flohr-Mikenas System
[...] 1.c4 ♘f6 2.♘c3 e6 3.e4 This is the Flohr-Mikenas Attack. It forces black to respond vigorously. In this game white's backward d-Pawn will cost him the game! 3...d5 Black has two main ideas in these kind of positions. He can counterattack in the center immediately and force a liquidation with this move or he can try to exploit the weakness created by 3.e4 which is the d4-square. The other method is to try and exploit d4 by playing 3...c5 hoping at some point to make it a post for a N. Any other reply is likely to land black in a passive position. 4.e5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.e5 is rarely played, but it has also worked out well for white in practice. 4...♘e4 5.♘xe4 Less effective, but not bad, is 5.Nf3. 5...dxe4 6.♕g4 ♗d7 Black plans on using the long diagonal.
6...♘c6 7.♕xe4 ♕d4 8.♕xd4 ♘xd4 is awkward for white but after 9.Bd3 and 10.Ne2 the postion is about even.
7.♕xe4 ♗c6 8.♕e2 This move blocks the B and so white never gets his K-side developed.
8.♕f4 ♘a6 9.a3 ♘c5 10.♕e3 Adamowicz,M (2071)-Czyz,A (2042)/ Rewal POL 2013 and black was slightly better.
8.♕e3 seems better. 8...♘a6 (8...♘d7 9.a3 ♗e7 10.d4 leaves black badly cramped.) 9.d4 ♘b4 10.♔d1 ♕h4 and black has active play.
8...♗c5
8...♕d4 9.♕e3 ♗c5 10.♕xd4 ♗xd4 with equal chances. Wedberg,T (2504)-Hermansson,E (2412)/Sweden 2001
9.d3
9.♘f3 ♗xf3 10.♕xf3 ♘c6 11.♕e4 ♕d7 12.♗e2 was played in Hausner,I (2430) -Chloupek,S (2305)/Czechia 1996. Black is very slightly better.
9...♘a6 An odd move. One would expect 9...Nd7 10.♗e3 ♗b4 Garcia's next move reveals the point behind Shamkovich's strategy when he played his last move. 11.♗d2 After this logical looking move black establishes a dominating position.
11.♔d1 was better. 11...♕d7 12.♔c1 ♖d8 13.a3 ♗e7 14.b4 ♗a4 15.d4 with roulghly equal chances.
11...♕d4 12.♗xb4 ♘xb4 The backward pawn on d3 has become a target 13.h4
13.a3 runs into 13...♘xd3 14.♕xd3 ♕xd3 15.♗xd3 ♗xg2 16.♗e4 ♗xe4 17.f3 and black has won a piece.
13...O-O-O
13...♘xd3 no longer works because the R has an escape square. 14.♕xd3 ♕xd3 15.♗xd3 ♗xg2 16.♖h2
(13...♗a4 is not dangerous for white. 14.♘f3 ♕d7 15.b3) 14.♖h3 ♗a4 15.♖c1 ♘xa2 16.♖a1 ♗b3 17.♘f3 ♕b6 18.♘d2 ♖d4 Here white should probably see if Shamkovich would be interested in a draw by repitition. 19.♖e3 After this white falls into serious difficulties and he remains titally passive and can only wait to get slowly crushed. (19.♘f3 ♖dd8 20.♘d2 ♖d4 etc.)
19.♘xb3 does not work out well after 19...♕xb3 20.♕d2 a6 21.♗e2 ♘b4 with an excellent position.
19...♖hd8 20.c5 Hoping for counterplay. This moive ultimately loses a P, but even after 20.Nf3 R4d7 white remains horribly passive. 20...♕b4 21.♖e4 ♗d5 22.♖xd4 ♕xd4 23.♘f3 ♕xc5 (23...♗xf3 24.gxf3 ♖d5 was a alternative way to win.) 24.d4 ♕b6 Equally effective was 24...Qb4+ 25.♕b5 ♕xb5 26.♗xb5 a6 27.♗e2 ♘b4 28.♔d2 ♘c6 Here Garica resigned. (28...♘c6 29.♔c3 ♗xf3 30.♗xf3 ♘xd4 is hopeless.) Powered by Aquarium
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