Paul Keres

Paul (Petrovitch) Keres (January 7th 1916 with Narva, Estonia - June 5th 1975 with Helsinki, Finland) is a Soviet player of failures . He was one of the largest players of failures of his time.

Biography

He learned how to play failures at the 5 years age. He became GMI at the 21 years age. He made studies of mathematics to the Université of Tartu, but devoted his life to the failures.

After his first place with the Tournament AVRO in Holland (1938) in front of 3 world champions (Alekhine, Capablanca and Euwe) and a future world champion (Botvinnik), it is regarded as the legitimate successor of the world champion in title, Alekhine.

Keres beat 9 world champions during his career, including Mikhaïl Tal, Vassily Smyslov, Tigran Petrossian, Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer, some several times. It gained more international tournaments than its contemporaries. After the annexation of its country by the the USSR in 1940, he is champion of the Soviet Union with 3 recoveries in 1947, 1950 and 1951, and played in 10 Olympiades of failures, defending the colors of Estonia pre-war period, then of the USSR, and obtaining his best score with the Olympiad of Amsterdam with 13,5 points out of 14 possible.

Keres never reached the supreme title. It took part in 8 tournaments of the candidates and finished second in three of them: Zurich in 1953, Amsterdam in 1956 and Bled in 1959. The Second world war and the annexation of Estonia by the USSR explain, perhaps partly, its failures. Many experts think that after the war the Soviet authorities, wishing a Russian of pure stock like world champion, made pressure on him. When it was asked him why he had never been world champion, he answered: “I was not lucky, like my country. ”

It was also distinguished as theorist from the failures.

He dies of an infarction whereas he returned as a winner of the tournament of Vancouver to the Canada.

A part

(Paul Keres- Mikhaïl Tal, Village, 1959)

1. c4 Cf6 2. Cc3 g6 3. g3 Fg7 4. Fg2 O-O 5. f4 c5 6. Cf3 d5 7. cxd5 Cxd5 8. O-O Cc7 9. b3 Cc6 10. Fb2 Tb8 11. Ca4 Fxb2 12. Cxb2 b6 13. Cc4 Fb7 14. e3 Cd5 15. a3 e6 16. Dc2 De7 17. g4 b5 18. Cce5 Cxe5 19. fxe5 Tbc8 20. a4 b4 21. Tf2 a5 22. h4 Dc7 23. Db2 c4 24. bxc4 Dxc4 25. Cd4 Fa8 26. Ff1 Dc5 27. Cb3 Dc7 28. Fa6 Cxe3?! (Tb8 is more careful) 29. Tc1 (if Fxc8? Dc6 threatens of chechmate, and if 30. Th2 Cxg4 31. Cxa5 Db6+ 32 d4 Txc8) De7 30. dxe3 Dxh4 31. Rf1 Dh3+ 32. Re2 Dxg4+ 33. Rd2 Tfd8+ 34. Cd4 Dg3 35. Tf4 Txc1 36. Dxc1 Dg2+ 37. Fe2 Dd5 38. Dc7 Td7 39. Dc4 Rg7 40. Dxd5 Fxd5 41. Fb5 Tc7 42. e4 Fa8 43. Re3 Tc3+ 44. Fd3 b3 45. TF1 Tc5 46. Cxb3 Txe5 47. Tc1 Th5 48. Tc7 Rf6 49. Cc5 Re5 50. Cd7+ Rd6 51. Ta7 e5 52. Txa8 Rxd7 53. Txa5 Th3+ 54. Rd2 Th2+ 55. Rc3 h5 56. Ta7+ Rc6 57. Txf7 g5 58. a5 g4 59. a6 Ta2 60. Fc4 Ta1 61. TF1 Txf1 62. Fxf1 h4 63. Fe2 g3 64. Ff1 1-0

Sources

Paul Keres, The Road to the Signal , Batsford, (translated into English by Harry Golombek, published by John Nunn, 1996.

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