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Chessville
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The chess playing public today, and indeed even the general public, tend to regard Russian dominance in chess as some kind of natural given. On the surface, at least, there is certainly evidence in favor of this prejudice: of the 14 classical world champions, nine are Russian! Looking a bit more deeply, however, we find a clear division in world championship chess history. To wit: from the establishment of the classical title in 1886 to the end of the Second World War (1945), we find the two Germans Steinitz and Lasker, the Cuban-born Spaniard Capablanca, the lone Russian Alekhine, and the Dutchman Euwe. Thus we see, in this first period, an international line-up, with a 60% bias in favor of the Germanic countries. However, as the geo-political map had been redrawn as a result of the Second World War, so too had championship chess: of the nine world champions since 1948, eight have been Russian ( the sole exception being, in the words of Tal, “the greatest genius to descend from the chess heavens”, Bobby Fischer). To say simply that the Soviets were “interested in” or “promoted” chess is to beg the question. In the power politics of communism, the Big Man theory rules: every major movement is impelled into life via a single strong will.
The will that brought Soviet chess to life was Nikolai Krylenko (note1). Opening Nikolai Krylenko was born in 1885, in Bekhteevo city, Smolensk province (about 420 kilometers east of Moscow). The family was working-class; further, the father was a supporter of the populist (i.e., anti-imperialist) reform movements (note 2). In 1904, Krylenko enters St. Petersburg University, majoring in history and literature. Very soon he becomes heavily involved with the burgeoning, and completely illegal, communist movement. He eventually aligns himself with the radical Bolshevik Faction of the Russian Social Democratic Party (note 3). From 1906-16, Krylenko’s communist activities (e.g., publication of an anti-government newspaper, or agitating workers to unionize) will land him in serious difficulties with the authorities. He will be arrested several times, briefly imprisoned, exiled twice to annexed areas (Poland and Ukraine), and even twice be pressed into military service. In 1914, facing imminent arrest and long-term imprisonment, he is forced to flee to Austria, and thence, as a result of WWI, to Switzerland. Evidently a true believer in the cause, however, Krylenko is intractable, never abandoning his underground activities. Despite this peripatetic and edgy lifestyle, Krylenko nonetheless manages to not only finish his undergraduate degree at St. Petersburg (in 1906, on return from exile in Poland), but even obtains a law degree in 1913 – while in exile in Ukraine! These facts not only say something about the man himself, but also indicate an important point about the wider social conditions of 18th century Czarist Russia: by this epoch, the government had so fallen into the practice of shuffling about dissidents via an endless round of imprisonment and exile (wide-scale executions being unsafe with the government so weak) that predicaments like Krylenko’s were not so uncommon.
From this early period, we have but a single, though interesting, chess
fact: in 1915, while taking refuge in Switzerland, Krylenko is said to have
played chess daily with Lenin. The majority of the time, however, was
devoted to plotting the overthrow of the Russian government. Middle Game By early 1915 Lenin had begun to covertly reorganize the Bolshevik organization within Russia. Dissidents abroad, such as Krylenko, where ordered to return to assigned areas, while internal supporters resurrected political “cells”. The Russian government, naturally, was having none of it: the entire Populist movement, and particularly the Bolshevik Faction, was still outlawed. Krylenko managed to evade government notice for just over a year. In November 1915 he was picked up on the charge of draft-dodging. Staying true-to-form, the authorities imprisoned him for several months and then re-enlisted him into the army. Now, it must be understood, that by 1917 the overall situation in Russia (i.e., politically, economically, and militarily) was disastrous. The Czarist government, headed by Nicholas II, had fundamentally failed to resolve serious problems resulting from WWI. Thus, beginning in February of that year, a nation-wide series of workers’ strikes and demonstrations (largely organized by the Bolsheviks) brought the crisis to a head. Military leaders, having little, if any, faith in Czar Nicholas II, though ordered to suppress the unrest, refused to do so.
Conditions, naturally, deteriorated rapidly. On 1 March 1917, possessing neither popular nor military support, Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. A Provisional Government was set-up by the Duma (note 4).
Before moving on with our story, it must be remarked, en passant,
that it was Czar Nicholas II who created the title “Grand Master of Chess”:
in 1914 the Czar sponsored an international tournament in St. Petersburg,
and the five finalists – Capablanca, Lasker, Alekhine, Marshall, and
Tarrasch – were so honored. By 1950, the Soviets had resurrected the
GM title, having it incorporated as the highest rank given by the
international chess-governing body FIDE. 1918-34
On another occasion, this time public, when confronted with the apparent contradiction of these executions in face of the October 1917 ban thereof, our man took a more “subtle”, even jocular, tack, and replied, “Well, I ordered those prisoners ‘to be shot’ – I mentioned nothing about ‘condemned to death’.” The following two items are culled from Time Magazine: July 16, 1928 Twenty-two sentences of Death were demanded, last week, by Soviet Prosecutor Nikolai Vassilievich Krylenko, at the close of the great Shahkta or Technicians Trial before the Soviet Supreme Court (TIME, July 2). The original defendants were 49 Russians and 3 Germans. The Russians were charged with High Treason and all defendants with conspiracy to sabotage (disablement) of the vital coal mines in the region of the Don. The five Supreme Court Judges, after pondering for 48 hours, acquitted two Germans and two Russians, paroled the other German, imposed 35 sentences of imprisonment on Russians, placed under suspended sentence of death six Russians, ordered shot five Russians. Lastly Supreme Court Justice Professor A. Y. Vyshinsky intoned: "Against this verdict there is no appeal." Feb. 6, 1933 Krylenko & Carfare Cat-like Nikolai Krylenko, famed for his pouncing cross examinations of witnesses and prisoners at numerous Soviet "propaganda trials" (TIME, Dec. 8, 1930, et ante), retired as State Prosecutor about a year ago, and became Commissar (Minister) of Justice. Last week the Red State officially hailed Comrade Krylenko's "services in strengthening our courts and exposing sabotage and counter revolution," conferred on him the Order of Lenin. Holders of this supreme Soviet decoration are exempt from Soviet taxes (proverbially heavy). They receive an inalienable monthly stipend from the State, ride free on Soviet tramcars, busses, trains, steamers, airplanes. Russia's new State Prosecutor, plodding Comrade Andrei Vyshinsky, who has yet to make a really big mark, received last week the Order of the Red Banner, still has to pay railroad, steamship and airplane fare but not carfare. Around 1924 until his death, Krylenko was listed as the official editor of 64, the well-regarded Soviet chess magazine.
Krylenko’s primary official involvement with chess during this period was
his organization of the 1925 International Tournament in Moscow (won by
Capablanca) (note 5). In order to finance this event, Krylenko
diverted money from the New Economic Program! (note 6). Incidentally,
it should be mentioned that the original tournament book for this event
contained an introduction written by Krylenko, however, after his execution
in 1938, the Soviet authorities excised it. Oddly, in reprints since
1992, the introduction has never been restored. Krylenko and Chess: 1935-38 Although Krylenko had been a ardent sportsman (e.g., he was an accomplished mountain climber) and chess player for many years, it was indeed something of an odd career turn to go from leading Soviet prosecutor and legal official to a key post in the Sports Committee. Certainly, while the Sovietization of sport was an issue of the day, it was not of such importance as to occupy one such as Krylenko.
In all likelihood, Krylenko knew that Stalin’s bloody purges (note 7) were
not yet over. From 1930-33, a great number of Soviet officials had
been summarily arrested, publicly “tried”, then quickly executed. In
many of the high-profile cases, Krylenko had been State Prosecutor.
Now, in Stalin’s Russia, such a post was decidedly double-edged, and
Krylenko may well have tried to castle himself out of the limelight and into
safety via this job shift. Chess to the Front-Line! Leaving lesser sports to lesser mortals, Krylenko concentrated all his formidable energy on the development of Soviet chess. As mentioned, in the early part of the 18th century, although having its fair share of masters, Russia was just one of many strong chess nations. Krylenko set out to change that. To begin, the power and scope of the Soviet Chess Committee, heretofore a minor branch of the overarching Sports Committee, were greatly expanded under Krylenko’s directorship. Precisely how Krylenko managed this feat is unknown; however, just prior, in 1934, the ‘Congress of the Union of Soviet Writers’ had adopted the heavily Krylenko-influenced doctrine of “socialist realism”. The main thrust was as clear as a knife at your throat: the correct function of all arts and sports were as weapons of the State against capitalism. Krylenko termed chess "a scientific weapon in the battle on the cultural front." As early as 1932, speaking to the Congress of Chess Players, he said, "We must finish once and for all with the neutrality of chess. We must condemn once and for all the formula 'chess for the sake of chess,' like the formula 'art for art's sake.' We must organize shock-brigades of chess players, and begin the immediate realization of a Five-Year Plan for chess." (quoted in Boris Souvarine's "Stalin," published London, 1939). Thus, with State backing, a sound ideological basis, and a pool of masters at hand, Krylenko was ready to launch his grand project. Basically, Krylenko’s chess campaign can be divided into two parts: 1) the establishment of a Soviet Union-wide chess development program, and 2) the gradual infiltration of the international chess governing body FIDE (founded in 1924). Nota bene, we have here the two sides of the problem: the practical and the political. Regarding the clandestine maneuvers engaged in to bring about the second objective, little, naturally, is known. However, as the Soviets did indeed dominate FIDE from the end of the WWII until their own dissolution (1945-1992), and this dominance was important to their chess dynasty, Krylenko’s early efforts in this direction, whatever they were, must have been effective. However, concerning the chess development program instituted by Krylenko, a great deal is known. First, chess became part of the Soviet education system: from grade school all the way up to tertiary level, courses in the game became part of the core-curriculum. Obviously, such a program required qualified teachers, and so a training and certification system was put into place. Krylenko saw to it that these chess instructors were not only well-paid, but also accorded professional status by official work-unit classification. Finally, a carefully designed inter-locking series of local, regional, and national tournaments permitted the best players to rise to the top. These outstanding players were awarded economic perks virtually unknown to all but the Soviet elite (note 8).
Having already mentioned the International Chess Tournament of 1925, four other chess events of importance were organized by Krylenko. First, from 1933-35, the 8th, 9th, and 10th Soviet Chess Championships (note 9), and next, the International of 1935 (won by Flohr). Over the next three years
Soviet chess would continually strengthen under Krylenko’s determined
leadership. All, however, was not well. At the edge of the board dark
clouds were massing and beginning to close… The Whirligig of Time
Today Nikolai Krylenko is assessed by historians as one of the important early Bolsheviks who Stalin later found convenient to do away with. In 1989, the Soviet government, then on its own last legs, in a minor propaganda campaign seeking a bit of nostalgia and an appearance of justice, decided to “reinstate” a number of Stalin’s victims, including Krylenko. This commemorative coin was issued in Krylenko’s (posthumous) honor (images from www.collectrussia.com):
Sweeping this foolishness aside, however, Krylenko’s lasting achievement, to my mind, lies firmly within the field of the 64 squares. By entrenching chess within the Soviet system, Krylenko set the conditions whereby the Royal Game would attain a level of excellence unknown to any other game, then or since. An entire generation of Soviet masters would spring from the soil Krylenko prepared. Leading among these masters was Botvinnik. Here we have not only the man’s games, but also an entire training method, and the beginning of computer chess!
The Botvinnik School trained Karpov and Kasparov, and, indirectly, Kramnik.
And there, at the head of this line of giants, stands a man of gigantic
vision: Nikolai Krylenko: The Father of Soviet Chess. Games To my knowledge, only the following two games of Krylenko survive: Krylenko - Lykum
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.O-O d6 7.d4 Bd7 8.Qb3 Qe7
9.dxe5 Bb6 10.exd6 cxd6 11.Qd1 O-O-O 12.Na3 Bg4 13.Qd3 Nf6 14.Bd5 Rhe8
15.Qc4 Qd7 16.Nd4 Bc5 17.Nxc6 bxc6 18.Rb1 Kc7 19.Bf4 Bxa3 20.Qa6 Rb8
21.Qxa7+ Kd8 22. Rxb8+ Ke7 23.Rb7 1-0 Krylenko - Serebriakov, A
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nbd2 e6 5.e3 Be7 6.Bd3 Nbd7 7.b3 O-O 8.O-O Qc7
9.Bb2 Bd6 10.c5 Be7 11.Rc1 e5 12.dxe5 Ng4 13.e6 fxe6 14.h3 Ngf6 15.Ng5 Nxc5
16.Bxf6 Rxf6 17.Bxh7+ Kf8 18.Qh5 Bd6 19.Bg6 Ke7 20.Qh7 Rxg6 21.Qxg6 Kf8
22.Nh7+ Ke7 23.Qxg7+ 1-0
Notes 1. For more on Krylenko’s life see http://www.answers.com/krylenko or the source for this document, in Russian, http://www.hrono.ru/biograf/krylenko.html 2. For info on populism see http://www.iusb.edu/~journal/1999/Paper6.html 3. Bol·she·vik n., pl. -viks or -vi·ki (-ve'ke). In all senses also called Bolshevist. A. 1. A member of the left-wing majority group of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party that adopted Lenin's theses on party organization in 1903. 2. A member of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party that seized power in that country in November 1917. 3. A member of a Marxist-Leninist party or a supporter of one; a Communist. B. Often bolshevik An extreme radical: a literary bolshevik. [Russian Bol'shevik, from bol'she, comparative of bol'shoi, large.] WORD HISTORY The word Bolshevik, an emotionally charged term in English, is derived from an ordinary word in Russian, bol'she, “bigger, more,” the comparative form of bol'shoi, “big.” The plural form Bol'sheviki was the name given to the majority faction at the Second Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party in 1903 (the term is first recorded in English in 1907). The smaller faction was known as Men'sheviki, from men'she, “less, smaller,” the comparative of malyi, “little, few.” The Bol'sheviki, who sided with Lenin in the split that followed the Congress, subsequently became the Russian Communist Party. In 1952 the word Bol'shevik was dropped as an official term in the Soviet Union, but it had long since passed into other languages, including English. (From http://www.answers.com/) 4. For info on the February Revolution see: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSmarchR.htm 5. A nice article featuring analysis of some of the games of the 1925 IT can be found at: http://www.kenilworthchessclub.org/games/java/summer05/massey-lecture.htm Because the pgn is not easy to find, I offer it here. Next, after winning the IT, Capablanca gave a simultaneous against 20 or so Russian masters. The only loss, I believe, is the following, to the 16 year old Botvinnik: Jose
Capablanca - Mikhail Botvinnik
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.e3 Bb4 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Qb3 c5 8.dxc5
Qa5 9.Bxf6 Nxf6 10.O-O-O O-O 11.Nf3 Be6 12.Nd4 Rac8 13.c6 Bxc3 14.Qxc3 Qxa2
15.Bd3 bxc6 16.Kc2 c5 17.Nxe6 Qa4+ 18.b3 Qa2+ 19.Qb2 Qxb2+ 20.Kxb2 fxe6
21.f3 Rc7 22.Ra1 c4 23.bxc4 dxc4 24.Bc2 Rb8+ 25.Kc1 Nd5 26.Re1 c3 27.Ra3 Nb4
28.Re2 Rd8 29.e4 Rc6 30.Re3 Rd2 31.Raxc3 Rxc2+ 32.Rxc2 Rxc2+ 0-1 6. For a good summary of the New Economic Plan see: http://countrystudies.us/russia/9.htm 7. For info on Stalin’s purges see: http://www.gendercide.org/case_stalin.html 8. Find my articles on Flohr and Kotov in the Past Pawns Index.
9. Some info on various Soviet chess events can be found at:
http://members.aol.com/graemecree/chesschamps/ and check 10. Mark Weeks has a good summary of the Soviet chess rise at: http://chess.about.com/od/history/p/aa05g30.htm 11. For some info on the difficulty chess problemists had under Soviet rule, see: http://chessgrrl.bravejournal.com/archive/02/22/2004 12. For a brief summary of FIDE history see: http://chess.about.com/library/weekly/aa03c08.htm 13. The essay “The Books That Came in from the Cold”, by Alburt and Lawrence, contains info the Soviet chess program. http://www.chesscafe.com/text/leval07.pdf 14. The Soviet School of Chess, by A. Kotov, although containing a good deal of propaganda, is nonetheless useful. ISBN: 1843820072. 15. “Soviet Chess 1917 – 1991”, by Andy Soltis, is a valuable book. ISBN: 0786406763. 16. Last, From Russia With Love, by Ian Fleming, is factual in its descriptions of the KGB decision-making process; and, what’s more, just a great read. Further, as a young reporter, Fleming was in Moscow and actually observed Krylenko in court.
“Checkmate, old boy.”
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