Soviet chess player Mark Taimanov: biography, career, family

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Taimanov Mark Evgenievich is one of the leading Soviet and Russian chess players, who is included in the list of the 20 best chess players in the world from 1946 to 1971. Taimanov is also the author of many chess books that focus on the study of openings and endgames for both beginners and established professionals.

Besides his chess career, Taimanov was also a famous musician whose popularity spread throughout the Soviet Union.

Achievements of the Soviet chess player

Mark Taimanov received the title of grandmaster in 1952, and already in 1956 he became the champion of the USSR. Twice became a candidate for the world chess crown (in 1953 and 1971). The Soviet chess player was lucky enough to play the legendary Bobby Fischer (he is considered the best chess player of all time) in a game for the world title in 1971, but Taimanov was defeated with a crushing score of 6-0. In addition to the above, Mark also became famous for his phenomenal game for the USSR national team. This chess player became the ancestormany openings and endgames, variations of which have acquired unique names.

Mark Taimanov: biography, family

Mark Evgenyevich Taimanov was born on February 7, 1926 in the city of Kharkov (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic). His family fled here from Smolensk during the First World War (from 1914 to 1918). His father, Yevgeny Zakharovich Taimanov, was half Cossack and half Jew. Taimanov's parents studied in Kharkov, and when their son was six years old, they moved to Leningrad. My mother's grandmother, Serafima Ivanovna Ilyina, also received her education in Kharkov (at the Kharkov National Art School named after Ivan Petrovich Kotlyarevsky), she was from a Russian Orthodox family. Here she received her education as a piano teacher. It was Serafima Ivanovna who instilled a love for music in the future grandmaster. At the age of nine, Mark starred in the children's film "Beethoven Concerto" (1937 release), where he played the role of a young violinist. During the Great Patriotic War, shortly before the blockade of Leningrad, he and his father were evacuated to Tashkent (Uzbekistan).

Chess career: achievements, books

Received the title of international master of sports in chess in 1950, and already in 1952 became an international grandmaster. In 1953, Mark Taimanov played at the Candidates Tournament in Zurich (Switzerland), where he took an honorable eighth place. The Soviet chess player was included in the list of the 20 best players in the world, in which he stayed for more than 25 years.

Taimanov was one of the few chess players who managed to beat such world champions as Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosyan, Anatoly Karpov, Mikhail Botvinnik and Boris Spassky. It was Mark Taimanov who developed the following chess variations: the Sicilian Defence, the Benoni Defence, and the Indian Defence.

Taimanov's favorite chess players were Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Tal and Garry Kasparov.

The highest rating of a chess player was recorded in July 1971 - 2600 points.

Duel against American grandmaster Bobby Fischer

In 1971, Mark lost to the famous American chess player Bobby Fischer in the quarterfinals of the Candidates tournament. The defeat was extremely unpleasant, because then the Soviet chess player lost with a score of 6-0.

Soviet critics often recalled this match, emphasizing the harshness and unscrupulousness of Fischer's defensive play. After the defeat, Mark began to have problems with power. Soviet officials deprived the chess player of wages and forbade him to travel outside the USSR. The official reason for such a sanction was that Mark brought to the country a book by Alexander Solzhenitsyn (who at one time criticized Stalin, as a result of which he was imprisoned), but such accusations were clearly of a secondary nature here.

After a while, all sanctions were lifted from Taimanov. Mark believed that the game with the American grandmaster was the climax of his career. The Soviet chess player wrote a whole book aboutmatch with Fischer, which he called "How I became a victim of Fischer."

Music career

Besides chess achievements, Mark was the best concert pianist in the Soviet Union. As a musician, Taimanov was known throughout the country. He was personally acquainted with such composers as Dmitri Shostakovich, Mstislav Rostropovich (cellist) and Svyatoslav Richter (pianist).

In addition to the above, Taimanov also starred in films. In 1936, he starred in the film "Beethoven Concert", where he played a violinist, and in 1971 he played a cameo role (cameo) in the film "Grandmaster".

Mark Taimanov: family, personal life

He met his first wife at the music conservatory. He played in a piano duet with Lyubov Brook. At first, their relationship was strictly professional, but after a while the couple began a romantic relationship, which later developed into marriage. Soon a son is born in the family, who many years later began to study music and graduated from the conservatory.

Soon Mark Taimanov, whose personal life was discussed by all Soviet media, married a second time. The second chosen one of the eminent chess player was called Nadezhda. The girl was 35 years younger than her husband. The media often discussed his personal life, saying that the age difference would get in the way of a happy relationship. However, in 2004 (at the age of 78), Mark and his wife gave birth to the long-awaited twins - a boy and a girl.

The great Soviet musician and chess player died on November 28, 2016in St. Petersburg at the age of 90 after illness. The cause of Mark Taimanov's death has not yet been announced.