Answers to Trivia Questions

Here are the answers to the trivia that took place during the SPICE Spring Invitational:

1. When did William Steinitz become the first official world champion?

A: 1886

2. What is grandmaster Pal Benko’s birth country?

A: France

3. What year did the Polgar sisters win their first Olympic Gold medal for Hungary?

A: 1988

4. Which country finished second at the 1966 Chess Olympiad?

A: USA

5. Who won the men’s individual gold on board 1 at the 1970 Chess Olympiad?

A: Boris Spassky with 9.5 points in 12 games

6. What was Bobby Fischer’s highest chess rating?

A: 2785

7. In which country does world champion Vishy Anand have his second home?

A: Spain

8. What was Topalov’s highest ever rating?

A: 2813

9. Who won the 1957 world championship match between Botvinnik and Smyslov?

A: Smyslov

10. What year did Kasparov lose his match against Deep Blue?

A: 1997

11. Who said “When you see a good move, look for a better one”?

A: Emanuel Lasker

12. Who said “I don’t believe in psychology. I believe in good moves”?

A: Bobby Fischer

13. Who said “It is not enough to be a good player… you must also play well”?

A: Siegbert Tarrasch

14. Who said “There are two types of sacrifices: correct ones and mine”?

A: Mikhail Tal

15. Who said “Life is a kind of chess, with struggle, competition, good and ill events.”?

A: Benjamin Franklin

16. Who said “Chess is a test of wills”?

A: Paul Keres

17. Where was grandmaster Walter Browne born?

A: Australia

18. Who was England’s first grandmaster?

A: Anthony Miles

19. Why are the Melody Amber events called as such?

A: Melody Amber is the name of the sponsor’s daughter

20. Which currently married chess couple has the highest combined average rating?

A: Alexander Grischuk and Natalia Zhukova