Chess
BY PHILIDOR
No. 37. K. A. K. LARSEN (1st Prize, `Good Companions' 1920)
BLACK (12 men)
WHITE (11 men)
WarrE to play and mate in two moves. solution next week.
Solution to last week's problem by Hume: Kt-R 4, threat P x P. 1 ... Kt (B 5)-K 6; 2 Q x P. 1 . . Kt (Q 4)-K 6 or Kt 3; 2Q x Q P. Beautiful example of Black half-pin -I- White unpinning.
SMYSLOV The 'Candidates tournament,' to choose a challenger to meet Botwinnik in the 1957 world title match, starts in Amsterdam this March. Here the nine leading players from last year's interzonal tournament—five Russians and four non-Russians—join the 1954 challenger, Vassily Smyslov, in a ten-player tournament, each player playing every other player twice. Bronstein (winner of the interzonal) and the thirty-four- year-old Smyslov will be joint favourites; I have written previously about the former—this article attempts to give an impression of the latter.
A big, heavily-built redhead, Smyslov looks more like a Scot than a Slav; rather slow moving and slow spoken, he gives an impression of massive calm and determination. You feel that where Botwinnik will scientifically dissect you, Bronstein blow your position up with some diabolical contrivance and Reshevsky ruthlessly bend you to his will, Smyslov will flatten you like a leisurely steamroller and hardly notice you are there. This is a half-truth only; Smyslov's games often have this massive quality, but this description does not do justice to his imaginative power in the middle game. While he has not quite got Bronstein's dynamic originality ho is capable—as he showed in the drawn match with Botwinnik in 1954—of great daring, imagination and depth of thought.
Smyslov has a wide range of general interests; he is keenly interested in the arts and for a long time was in doubt whether to be a chess player or a concert singer! I think this is a good thing for his chess; too narrow specialisation is often a handicap in the long run. In this respect he has some advantage over his great rival Bron- stein. Finally, which of them will win? It is an absolute toss-up; Smyslov is the better endgame player (he is the finest in the world), Bronstein rather more original and possibly more of a fighter. if I were compelled to choose one or the other, I would say Smyslov: and whichever it is will in my view defeat Botwinnik in 1957— at forty-six 1 do not believe he can hold the title against an opponent ten years younger.
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