Mikhail Yudovich, Sr.

    The obscure Soviet Master, writer and journalist Mikhail Yudovich (1911-1987) was born in Roslavl in central Russia and is known mostly as co-author with Kotov of the book The Soviet School of Chess. 

    In 1930, he tied for 5–9th in the Moscow Championship and in 1931, he took 4th in the same event, and shared 3rd in the USSR Championship in Moscow (Botvinnik won). He was the Soviet Correspondence Champion in 1966. 

    Yudovich was awarded the titles of International Master in 1950, International Correspondence Master in 1961, and International Correspondence Grandmaster in 1973. His son, Yudivuch, Jr. (1932-1992) was also a strong player. And that;s about ll that is known of him. Chessnetrics estimates his highest ever world rank to have been #46 in 1937 with a rating of 2580. 

    The following game was played in 1937 in a small tournament held in Moscow as a sort of tuneup for some of the Soviet players for upcoming tournaments in Margate, England, Kemeri, Latvia and the International Team Tournament. 

    Reuben Fine was visiting Russia and besides the Moscow event participated in another small tournaments in Leningrad which he also won. 

    During his brief stay in Russia his time was occupied principally with chess, but he wrote that he also had many deep impressions of life in Russia. One thing he commented on was the “thirst for knowledge”; for example, studies of mathematics, languages and engineering. Aside from that, what caught his attention was people’s enthusiasm for work and for life itself. He saw it as a sign of a new, rising culture. 

    One wonders if Fine was aware that in 1937, Russia was in the midst of the Great Purge, a period of political repression that took place from 1936 to 1938. It was a way for Joseph Stalin to consolidate his power and eliminate his political opponents. Some of the events that took place included the arrest of worker responsible for what was considered a harmful population growth. 

    Then there were the Moscow trials that saw many party, government and economic activists branded as enemies. In the Polish Operation the NKVD arrested people of Polish background, including peasants, railway workers, industrial laborers and engineers. 

    Fine wrote that one of the signs of this new culture was particularly apparent in the field of chess. Chess books were being sold in the tens of thousands and every chess player considered it necessary to read all the books on chess that they could get. 

    He also observed that practically everyone in the county was interested in chess and spectators at tournaments displayed extraordinary interest and applause was a common occurrence. 

    Fine was impressed with the Soviet masters who, he said, confirmed his observations that they all apply themselves diligently and persistently. They were not only familiar with all the Soviet chess literature, but also with the foreign. 

    Fine was invited to play in these two tournaments to test the young, inexperienced Soviet players. The head of Soviet chess Nikolai Krylenko was very angry with the their play. When he asked, "Can't somebody beat Fine?",  Yudovich announced that he would. When asked how he expected to do it, Yudovich showed Krylenko an obscure game that Fine had won and future GM  Ragozin had found a mistake in Fine's play that refuted the line.

    Fine gave the following game he lost to Yudovich as an example. Yudovich “bluntly refuted” one of Fine’s favorite variations. Fine also found it interesting that practically all the Soviet masters favored energetic attacking play and did not fear a loss.