SANDS: Saluting some chess greats of greatest generation
By David R. Sands
The Washington Times
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Chess is witnessing the passing of its own “greatest generation” of luminaries who came of age in the years after World War II and would reshape and dominate the game for decades. In the past few years, we’ve lost two world champions – Bobby Fischer and Soviet star Vassily Smyslov – as well as such notables as German GM Wolfgang Unzicker, American Larry Evans, and the British player and author R.G. Wade.
Of the great Soviet generation of world titleholders born before the war, only Boris Spassky is still with us.
Two great veterans still on the scene are 89-year-old Serbian GM Svetozar Gligoric, who engaged Fischer in some memorable battles in the 1960s, and Russian GM and endgame wizard Yuri Averbakh, who turned 90 last month and is the world’s oldest living grandmaster. The two stars were in their prime when they met in a 1966 tournament in Yugoslavia, with Gligoric emerging the winner after a long and fascinating fight.
Some of the greatest combinations lie buried deep in long games like this one, where a magnificent tactic by Gligoric is followed not by mate but by another 47 tense moves in the endgame.
Full article here.
He was one amazing player.