Overview
The third volume of Sergey Voronkov’s epic tale takes the reader on a historical journey through the late Stalinist period in the USSR. It covers in depth the five Soviet championships from 1948 to 1952 and the playoff match between Botvinnik and Taimanov in 1953, which concludes one month before Stalin’s death. Against a background of rampant anti-Semitism, a new wave of repressions and descent into the First Cold War, in which chess was an important front, the USSR captures the world chess crown and Botvinnik and the generation that followed him, including Smyslov, Keres, Bronstein, and Boleslavsky, assert their places at the top-tables of Soviet and indeed global chess. Yet a new group of legends begins to emerge, including Petrosian, Geller, Korchnoi, Taimanov, Averbakh, Simagin, Kholmov, and Furman making their championship debuts, as well as a semi-final appearance by Nikitin and Spassky’s first quarter-final. At the same time, the reader learns about lesser-known masters Yuri Sakharov and Johannes Weltmander, victims of Stalinism who found solace in chess from their otherwise tragic lives. The present volume contains 77 games and fragments, once again mostly annotated by the participants and other contemporary masters, augmented with modern computer analysis. It is illustrated with over 220 photos and cartoons from the period. Many of these photos come from unique archives, including that of David Bronstein, and are published for the first time.
Full Product Details
Author: Sergey Voronkov
Publisher: Limited Liability Company Elk and Ruby Publishing House
Imprint: Limited Liability Company Elk and Ruby Publishing House
Volume: 3
Dimensions:
Width: 23.50cm
, Height: 2.80cm
, Length: 15.50cm
Weight: 0.929kg
ISBN: 9785604560716
ISBN 10: 5604560715
Pages: 524
Publication Date: 10 September 2022
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
In this, perhaps the final work in the great trilogy so painstakingly constructed by Sergey Voronkov, we are regaled with reinforcement and refinement of crucial historical themes set out in the first two volumes, but also with new ideas and provocative suggestions. This book gives us not only some 76 games and positions; it contains around 220 photos and cartoons, many of which are published for the first time; splendid snippets of poetry and song which cut to the quick of what's really going on; and its text is still richer than in the previous works. ... From the strictly chess angle, the championships covered here offer a wonderful feast. For these were the years when absolutely top players, who were still young, clashed with a new generation of 'young guns' that contained many of the players who were to dominate the world chess scene for at least two decades more (and in some cases for still longer). ... I cannot end this review without stressing the immensity and value of Voronkov's achievement. He has sustained throughout the trilogy the theme of the interaction between Soviet history and the history of chess in the USSR. He has demonstrated beyond any doubt how the game benefitted from massive public encouragement, but also the terrible costs for so many players and their families... the tragedies, deceits, injustices and sheer suffering that so many fine exponents of the game could suffer, frequently for the most flimsy of reasons, and often enough for no reason at all. - Peter O'Brien, British Chess Magazine, December 2022 This year, without question, Sergey Voronkov's Masterpieces and Dramas series has been the highlight of my chess reading. It was a privilege to review the exceptional Volume II in a previous column, and I am delighted to report that Volume III is every bit as good. Covering the 1948-53 events, Voronkov brings to life the beginnings of the golden age of Soviet chess, a period when a galaxy of pre- and post-war stars collided with Botvinnik, Smyslov and Keres on one side of the divide, and Bronstein, Petrosian and Korchnoi on the other. Voronkov tells the story of these fantastic contests, drawing on a host of sources, as well as providing 77 well-annotated games and over 220 photographs, including many (particularly from David Bronstein's archive) that have not been seen before. As in the previous editions, Voronkov also excels at setting these contests within their broader historical context, in which Stalin looms large. ... Voronkov provides many fascinating portraits of the players. To share but one, he quotes Viktor Vasiliev on Petrosian thus - Tigran 'got to Moscow in late 1949, wearing a light coat, summer shoes and with some chess books under his arm - that was his entire property.' From such humble beginnings, Petrosian's journey, which would ultimately lead him to world championship victory, had begun. It is impossible for a single review to do justice to the richness of the historical sources, intriguing games and beautifully told stories contained within this book. I have but attempted to give a flavour in this review. If you are looking for the ideal Christmas gift for the chess player in your life - the three volumes of this series are what you are looking for. I would encourage everybody to go one step further and buy them for themselves. They are truly perfect, both for the festive season and any other. - Ben Graff, Chess Moves magazine, December 2022 This volume covers the period from 1948 to the 1953 playoff match between Botvinnik and Taimanov and has the same heady mix of the horrors of the era, fleeting heroes lost in the mists of time and amazing chess! A wonderful read once again - 5 stars! - Grandmaster Matthew Sadler, New In Chess magazine, December 2022 ...a cornucopia of chess delights - Sean Marsh, CHESS magazine, January 2023.
In this, perhaps the final work in the great trilogy so painstakingly constructed by Sergey Voronkov, we are regaled with reinforcement and refinement of crucial historical themes set out in the first two volumes, but also with new ideas and provocative suggestions. This book gives us not only some 76 games and positions; it contains around 220 photos and cartoons, many of which are published for the first time; splendid snippets of poetry and song which cut to the quick of what's really going on; and its text is still richer than in the previous works. ... From the strictly chess angle, the championships covered here offer a wonderful feast. For these were the years when absolutely top players, who were still young, clashed with a new generation of 'young guns' that contained many of the players who were to dominate the world chess scene for at least two decades more (and in some cases for still longer). ... I cannot end this review without stressing the immensity and value of Voronkov's achievement. He has sustained throughout the trilogy the theme of the interaction between Soviet history and the history of chess in the USSR. He has demonstrated beyond any doubt how the game benefitted from massive public encouragement, but also the terrible costs for so many players and their families... the tragedies, deceits, injustices and sheer suffering that so many fine exponents of the game could suffer, frequently for the most flimsy of reasons, and often enough for no reason at all. - Peter O'Brien, British Chess Magazine, December 2022
"""In this, perhaps the final work in the great trilogy so painstakingly constructed by Sergey Voronkov, we are regaled with reinforcement and refinement of crucial historical themes set out in the first two volumes, but also with new ideas and provocative suggestions. This book gives us not only some 76 games and positions; it contains around 220 photos and cartoons, many of which are published for the first time; splendid snippets of poetry and song which cut to the quick of what's really going on; and its text is still richer than in the previous works. ... From the strictly chess angle, the championships covered here offer a wonderful feast. For these were the years when absolutely top players, who were still young, clashed with a new generation of 'young guns' that contained many of the players who were to dominate the world chess scene for at least two decades more (and in some cases for still longer). ... I cannot end this review without stressing the immensity and value of Voronkov's achievement. He has sustained throughout the trilogy the theme of the interaction between Soviet history and the history of chess in the USSR. He has demonstrated beyond any doubt how the game benefitted from massive public encouragement, but also the terrible costs for so many players and their families... the tragedies, deceits, injustices and sheer suffering that so many fine exponents of the game could suffer, frequently for the most flimsy of reasons, and often enough for no reason at all."" - Peter O'Brien, British Chess Magazine, December 2022 ""This year, without question, Sergey Voronkov's Masterpieces and Dramas series has been the highlight of my chess reading. It was a privilege to review the exceptional Volume II in a previous column, and I am delighted to report that Volume III is every bit as good. Covering the 1948-53 events, Voronkov brings to life the beginnings of the golden age of Soviet chess, a period when a galaxy of pre- and post-war stars collided with Botvinnik, Smyslov and Keres on one side of the divide, and Bronstein, Petrosian and Korchnoi on the other. Voronkov tells the story of these fantastic contests, drawing on a host of sources, as well as providing 77 well-annotated games and over 220 photographs, including many (particularly from David Bronstein's archive) that have not been seen before. As in the previous editions, Voronkov also excels at setting these contests within their broader historical context, in which Stalin looms large. ... Voronkov provides many fascinating portraits of the players. To share but one, he quotes Viktor Vasiliev on Petrosian thus - Tigran 'got to Moscow in late 1949, wearing a light coat, summer shoes and with some chess books under his arm - that was his entire property.' From such humble beginnings, Petrosian's journey, which would ultimately lead him to world championship victory, had begun. It is impossible for a single review to do justice to the richness of the historical sources, intriguing games and beautifully told stories contained within this book. I have but attempted to give a flavour in this review. If you are looking for the ideal Christmas gift for the chess player in your life - the three volumes of this series are what you are looking for. I would encourage everybody to go one step further and buy them for themselves. They are truly perfect, both for the festive season and any other."" - Ben Graff, Chess Moves magazine, December 2022 ""This volume covers the period from 1948 to the 1953 playoff match between Botvinnik and Taimanov and has the same heady mix of the horrors of the era, fleeting heroes lost in the mists of time and amazing chess! A wonderful read once again - 5 stars!"" - Grandmaster Matthew Sadler, New In Chess magazine, December 2022 ""...a cornucopia of chess delights"" - Sean Marsh, CHESS magazine, January 2023."
Author Information
Sergey Voronkov was born in 1954 and lives in Moscow. He is a leading Russian chess historian, journalist and author. Sergey has written ten books in Russian and numerous articles on Russian chess history. He graduated in Journalism from Moscow State University and edited over 100 chess books for the Fizkultura i Sport publishing house in 1978-1991. He was Deputy Chief Editor of the magazine Chess in Russia (the successor to Chess in the USSR) in 1992-1999 working under Yuri Averbakh. As an editor of the Ripol Klassik publishing house in 2002-2015 Sergey increased the total number of books edited by him to around 150, including fourteen written by Garry Kasparov (the original versions of the Modern Chess, Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov and My Great Predecessors series among others). He regularly contributes articles to the leading Russian-language ChessPro website. For his first book on David Janowski (1987 in Russian, co-authored with Dmitry Plisetsky) Sergey won the prize for Best Chess Book from the USSR Sports Committee. His other books include David Versus Goliath (2002 in Russian, co-authored with David Bronstein, published in English as Secret Notes, 2007), Russians Versus Fischer (2004 in Russian, co-authored with Dmitry Plisetsky, English editions published in 1994 and 2005, Italian edition published in 2003), Fyodor Bogatyrchuk: the Dr. Zhivago of Soviet Chess (2013 in Russian, in two volumes), Masterpieces and Dramas of the Soviet Championships (2007 and 2019 in Russian, in three volumes, the first English volume was published in 2020 and the second in 2021) and The Russian Sphynx. Alexander Alekhine (2020 in Russian). Sergey's father Boris Voronkov was a distinguished chess coach of the RSFSR, an International Master at correspondence chess, an author of two chess books, and a participant in the semi-final of the Soviet Championship in 1956.
