Events in

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

in 1970;

Top players

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

top 10 by

Elo rating The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor. The Elo system was invented as an improved c ...

- 1970 #

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an ...

2720 #

Boris Spassky Boris Vasilievich Spassky ( rus, Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский, Borís Vasíl'yevich Spásskiy; born January 30, 1937) is a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 196 ...

2670 #

Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. H ...

2670 #

Efim Geller Efim Petrovich Geller (russian: Ефим Петрович Геллер, uk, Юхим Петрович Геллер; 8 March 1925 – 17 November 1998) was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Champi ...

2660 #

Bent Larsen Jørgen Bent Larsen (4 March 1935 – 9 September 2010) was a Danish chess grandmaster and author. Known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play, he was the second strongest non-Soviet player, behind Bobby Fischer, for much of the 196 ...

2650 #

Tigran Petrosian Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian (, ; 17 June 1929 – 13 August 1984) was a Soviet-Armenian chess grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his almost-impenetrable defensive playing style, ...

2650 #

Mikhail Botvinnik Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, ( – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist and was a pioneer in computer chess. Botvinn ...

2640 #

Lev Polugaevsky Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky ( rus, Лев Абрамович Полугаевский, p=pəlʊɡɐˈjefskʲɪj; 20 November 1934 – 30 August 1995) was a Soviet chess player. He was awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE i ...

2640 #

Lajos Portisch Lajos Portisch (born 4 April 1937) is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik". One of the strongest non-Soviet players from the early 1960s into the late 1980s, he participated ...

2630 #

Vasily Smyslov Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov ( rus, Васи́лий Васи́льевич Смысло́в, Vasíliy Vasíl'yevich Smyslóv; 24 March 1921 – 27 March 2010) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, who was World Chess Champion from 1957 to ...

2620

Chess news in brief

*A much publicised team event, described as 'The Match of the Century', comprises a four-round, ten-board contest played between teams of the USSR and the Rest of the World. The encounter, held at the Trades Union House in Belgrade, is the brainchild of

Max Euwe Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. He served as ...

and captures the interest of the world media, due to the attendance of the world's elite grandmasters and because of the symbolism with Cold War politics. Two thousand spectators make up the audience.

is chosen (by virtue of his

) to play board one for the Rest of the World team, but surprisingly agrees to step down to board two when

argues that recent performances should put him first and refuses to give way. The match is won by the USSR, by the narrowest of margins (20½-19½) and many commentators are surprised that the USSR's remarkable strength in depth (four of the five last boards are ex-world champions) does not lead to a more comprehensive victory. Larsen scores a creditable 2½-1½ win against

, while Fischer comfortably defeats

3-1. *Fischer is triumphant at the

Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of Mallorc ...

Interzonal Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by the World Chess Federation FIDE from the 1950s to the 1990s. They were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle and were held after the Zonal tournaments, and before the ...

, scoring 18½/23, well ahead of Larsen,

Robert Hübner Robert Hübner (born November 6, 1948) is a German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist. He was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s. Chess career At eighteen, he was joint winner of the West German Ch ...

(all 15/23),

Mark Taimanov Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (russian: Марк Евгеньевич Тайманов; 7 February 1926 – 28 November 2016) was one of the leading Soviet and Russian chess players, among the world's top 20 players from 1946 to 1971. A prolific ch ...

and

Wolfgang Uhlmann Wolfgang Uhlmann (29 March 193524 August 2020) was a German chess grandmaster. He was East Germany's most successful chess player, reaching the 1971 Candidates Tournament. During his career, Uhlmann played many of the top players of the time a ...

(both 14/23). *Fischer enjoys another 3½ point winning margin at

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

, where he scores 15/17, ahead of

Vladimir Tukmakov Vladimir Borisovich Tukmakov (, born March 5, 1946 in Odessa) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He gained the Grandmaster title in 1972. Career His career first blossomed when he helped and then led the USSR to consecutive wins of the World St ...

(11½/17) and

Oscar Panno Oscar Roberto Panno (born 17 March 1935 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine chess Grandmaster. Panno was the first top world chess player born in South America. Panno won the 2nd World Junior Chess Championship in 1953, ahead of such future stron ...

(11/17). *Larsen wins the

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

tournament, with 9½/14, ahead of Fridrik Olafsson (8½/14),

Wolfgang Unzicker Wolfgang Unzicker (26 June 1925 – 20 April 2006) was one of the strongest German chess Grandmasters from 1945 to about 1970. He decided against making chess his profession, choosing law instead. Unzicker was at times the world's strongest amat ...

and

Svetozar Gligorić Svetozar Gligorić (Serbian Cyrillic: Светозар Глигорић, 2 February 1923 – 14 August 2012) was a Serbian and Yugoslav chess grandmaster and musician. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is consider ...

(both 7½/14). *Fischer wins at

Rovinj Rovinj (; it, Rovigno; Istriot: or ; grc, Ρυγίνιον, Rygínion; la, Ruginium) is a city in Croatia situated on the north Adriatic Sea with a population of 14,294 (2011). Located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, it is a p ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

with 13/17, ahead of

Vlastimil Hort Vlastimil Hort (born 12 January 1944) is a German chess Grandmaster. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the world's strongest players and reached the 1977–78 Candidates Tournament for the World Chess Championship, but never qualified fo ...

and

, each with 11/17. Former World Champion, Tigran Petrosian scores 10½/17. *Spassky is the winner of

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

's four-player event.

Jan Hein Donner Johannes Hendrikus (Hein) Donner (July 6, 1927 – November 27, 1988) was a Dutch chess grandmaster (GM) and writer. Donner was born in The Hague and won the Dutch Championship in 1954, 1957, and 1958. He took part in the Internacional Chess Tou ...

and Bent Larsen also compete. *The

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region. The university town (nearly 20,000 students in the 2018–2019 winter semeste ...

Olympiad An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not unt ...

plays host to sixty teams and three hundred and sixty players. The USSR are overall gold medal winners with 27½/44, making it their tenth successive win, ahead of Hungary (26½/44) and Yugoslavia (26/44). Spassky makes the top board best score (individual gold, 79.2%), ahead of Fischer (silver, 76.9%) and then Larsen (bronze, 76.5% - from the B Final). There are record numbers of spectators, especially on the day of the Fischer - Spassky encounter, which is won by Spassky. Following a poor performance in the preliminaries, England are surprisingly relegated to the C Final, which they win and from where

William Hartston William Roland Hartston (born 12 August 1947) is an English journalist who wrote the Beachcomber column in the ''Daily Express''. He is also a chess player who played competitively from 1962 to 1987 and earned a highest Elo rating of 2485. He ...

takes the board three gold medal (78.1%). Other individual gold medals include those awarded to

Borislav Ivkov Borislav Ivkov (12 November 1933 – 14 February 2022) was a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was a World championship candidate in 1965, and played in four more Interzonal tournaments, in 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979. Ivkov was a three-time Yugos ...

(board two) and Aleksandar Matanovic (board four). Harry de Graaf officiates. *

formally adopts the

system and publishes its first official list, a revised version of the provisional 1969 list, taking more recent game result data into account. The top 10 is as listed above. *

Kapfenberg Kapfenberg , with around 22,609 inhabitants, is the third largest city in Styria, Austria, near Bruck an der Mur. The town's landmark is Burg Oberkapfenberg. Its main employer is the steel manufacturer Böhler. The town has a swimming complex, ...

hosts the final stage of the

European Team Chess Championship The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...

. From the eight qualifiers, USSR take gold with 52½/70, from Hungary (41/70) and East Germany (39½/70). Played over ten boards (with reserves), the Soviet Union's result is emphatic, even though they leave out Spassky and Botvinnik.

Paul Keres Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on fi ...

scores 5/5 on board eight. Prizes are awarded to players scoring the best result on each board.

Harry Golombek Harry Golombek OBE (1 March 1911 – 7 January 1995) was a British chess player, chess author, and wartime codebreaker. He was three times British chess champion, in 1947, 1949, and 1955 and finished second in 1948. He was born in Lambeth to ...

is the controller. *Taimanov is a comfortable winner in

Beverwijk Beverwijk () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The town is located about northwest of Amsterdam in the Randstad metropolitan area, north of the North Sea Canal very close to the North Sea coas ...

, at the annual Hoogoven tournament, with 12/15. He finishes ahead of Hort (10½/15) and Ivkov (10/15). *Korchnoi wins the 38th Soviet Championship with 16/21, ahead of Tukmakov (14½/21) and Leonid Stein (14/21). Solid progress continues to be made by last year's World Junior Champion,

Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov ( rus, links=no, Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈkarpəf; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Che ...

, as he scores 12/21. *Larsen wins the US Open Chess Championship in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

. Over three hundred players compete. *Yugoslavia's bright new prospect

Ljubomir Ljubojević Ljubomir Ljubojević (; born November 2, 1950) is a Serbian chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster. He won the Yugoslav Chess Championship in 1977 (tied) and 1982. Life and career Ljubojević was born on 2 November 1950 in Užice, Titovo Užice, ...

, shares first place at

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajev ...

with

Bruno Parma Bruno Parma (born December 30, 1941) is a Slovene- Yugoslav chess player and Grandmaster. Parma was born in Ljubljana, in Italian-occupied Slovenia. He first played in the World Junior Chess Championship in 1959, sharing second place. Two yea ...

(both 10/15), ahead of

Vladimir Antoshin Vladimir Sergeyevich Antoshin (; 14 May 1929 in Moscow – 13 May 1994) was a Soviet chess Grandmaster, a theoretician and a national champion of correspondence chess. Student Olympiad performances As a young man, he was a high achiever, princip ...

and

Georgi Tringov Georgi Petrov Tringov ( bg, Георги Пеев Трингов) (7 March 1937 – 2 July 2000) was a Grandmaster of chess from Bulgaria. He won the Bulgarian national chess championship in 1963, the year he was awarded the Grandmaster title, o ...

(both 9½/15). *Keres wins at

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

with 10/15, ahead of László Szabó (9/15) and Borislav Ivkov (8½/15). *

Evgeny Vasiukov Evgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov (russian: Евгений Андреевич Васюко́в, March 5, 1933 – May 10, 2018) was a Russian chess player, one of the strongest in the world during his peak. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by F ...

and Mark Taimanov share victory at

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; ...

with 11/15. Following are

Florin Gheorghiu Florin Gheorghiu (born 6 April 1944) is a Romanian chess player and has been a university lecturer in foreign languages. Born in Ploiești, on 6 April 1944, while the American bombers attacked the country's capital, his prodigious talent for the ...

(10/15) and

Dražen Marović Dražen Marović (born January 14, 1938 in Split) is a Croatian chess player who was active in former Yugoslavia, later a trainer, journalist, writer and broadcaster. Biography Despite learning the game at the relatively late age of sixteen, h ...

(9/15). *Mikhail Botvinnik announces his retirement from competitive chess, in order to devote more time to his chess school activities and a developing interest in chess-playing computer programs. *FIDE President

Folke Rogard Bror Axel Folke Per Rogard (6 July 1899 – 11 June 1973) was a Swedish lawyer, chess official, player and arbiter. He was born in Stockholm, with the surname Rosengren, and qualified as a lawyer with that name. After a family member was charged ...

retires and is replaced by former World Champion, Max Euwe. His appointment appears to be a universally popular choice. *The Soviet spacestation

Soyuz 9 Soyuz 9 (russian: Союз 9, ''Union 9'') was a June, 1970, Soviet crewed space flight. The two-man crew of Andriyan Nikolayev and Vitaly Sevastyanov broke the five-year-old space endurance record held by Gemini 7, with their nearly 18-day fl ...

hosts the first game of chess in space, when the

Cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

s play against the ground support staff. The game takes six hours to complete (as communication is only possible for a short time during each orbit) and is drawn after 35 moves of a

Queen's Gambit The Queen's Gambit is the chess opening that starts with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 It is one of the oldest openings and is still commonly played today. It is traditionally described as a '' gambit'' because White appears to sacrifice the ...

Accepted. CHESS magazine - Vol 35, August 1970, p 349

Births

Xie Jun Xie Jun (born October 30, 1970) is a Chinese chess grandmaster and is not just the first Chinese female but the first Asian female to become a chess grandmaster. She had two separate reigns as Women's World Chess Champion, from 1991 to 1996 ...

, Chinese GM and former Women's World Champion - October 30 *

Boris Alterman Boris Alterman ( he, בוריס אלתרמן, russian: Борис Альтерман; born May 4, 1970) is an Israeli chess Grandmaster, FIDE Senior Trainer (2010), advisor of the Junior chess program. He started playing chess at the age of 7. ...

, Soviet-Israeli GM, a highly rated tournament player of the 1990s - May 4 * Rune Djurhuus, Norwegian GM and former European Junior Champion - January 25 * Zbyněk Hráček, Czechoslovak GM, a former winner of the national championship - September 9 *

Alisa Marić Alisa Marić, PhD ( Serbian Cyrillic: Алиса Марић, ; born 10 January 1970) is a Serbian chess player who holds the FIDE titles of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and International Master (IM). On 27 July 2012, she was elected as Minister of ...

, Serbian WGM and IM, former Women's World Championship Candidate - January 10 *

Mirjana Marić Mirjana Marić (Serbian Cyrillic: Мирјана Марић ; born January 10, 1970, in New York City) is an American-born Serbian chess player who holds the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She lives in Belgrade, capital of Serbia (former ...

, Serbian WGM, former women's national and World Youth Champion - January 10 *

Gilberto Hernández Guerrero Gilberto Hernández Guerrero (born February 4, 1970 in Ébano, San Luis Potosí) is a chess Grandmaster from Mexico. On the July 2008 FIDE rating list he has an Elo rating of 2550, making him the second highest ranked player on the Mexican EL ...

, Mexican GM, for many years the country's strongest player - February 4 * Tiger Hillarp Persson, Swedish GM and former national champion - October 28 *

Manuel Apicella Manuel Apicella (born 19 April 1970 in Longjumeau, France) is a French chess grandmaster. Apicella was awarded the title International Master in 1989 and the GM title in 1995. In 1990 he won the Paris City Chess Championship. He won the Fre ...

, French GM and former national champion - April 19 * Zoltán Varga, Hungarian GM and former national champion - July 12 * Karsten Muller, German GM, a writer for Chessbase and noted expert on endgames - November 23 *

Alberto David Alberto David (born 26 March 1970) is a Luxembourgian-Italian chess grandmaster. He is a three-time Italian Chess Champion. Chess career David was born in Milan in 1970, and in 1974 moved with his parents to Luxembourg, where he learned to pl ...

, Luxembourg GM, for many years the country's strongest player - March 26 *

Yona Kosashvili Yona Kosashvili ( he, יונה קוסאשווילי; July 3, 1970) is an Israeli chess Grandmaster and surgeon. Personal life Yona Kosashvili was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. He is a graduate of Tel Aviv University in Medicine, as part of the aca ...

, Georgian born GM who has also lived in Israel and Canada - July 3 * Lin Weiguo, Chinese IM and 3 times the national champion - July 25

Deaths

Vincenzo Castaldi Vincenzo Castaldi (15 May 1916, Marradi – 6 January 1970, Florence) was an Italian chess master. He won the Italian Chess Championship seven times, (1936, 1937, 1947 (jointly), 1948, 1952 (jointly), 1953, and 1959), and was an Italian corres ...

, Italian IM, many times the national champion - January 6 * Mariano Castillo, Chilean Master and multiple winner of the national championship - September 23 *

Abraham Kupchik Abraham Kupchik (25 March 1892 – 26 November 1970) was an American chess master. Abraham Kupchik was born into a Jewish family in Brest, Belarus, Brest (then Russian Empire, now Belarus) to parents Pinchas Kupchik and Bessie Kupchik née Perlmu ...

, U.S. Master and Olympiad medal winner - November 26 * Ludwig Rodl, German Master and Olympiad medal winner - March 23 *

Adolf Seitz Jakob Adolf Seitz (February 14, 1898, Meitingen, Germany – April 6, 1970, Switzerland) was a German–Argentine chess master and journalist. Career In 1920, he tied for 2-4th in Canterbury, took 10th in Berlin, and tied for 4-5th in Kulmbach. I ...

, German-Argentine Master mostly active in the 1920s and 1930s - April 6 * Alois Wotawa, Austrian composer of chess problems and endgame studies - April 12 *

Wilhelm Schönmann Peter Heinrich Wilhelm Schönmann (Schoenmann) (7.4.1889–15.5.1970) was a German chess master. He tied for 8-9th at Hamburg 1910 (DSB Congress, ''Hauptturnier B''), shared 2nd at Hamburg 1913 ( Paul Krüger won), won a simultan game against Ema ...

, German Master, active in the early part of the 20th century - ?

Miscellaneous

* 1970 Dubrovnik chess set was created for the

19th Chess Olympiad The 19th Chess Olympiad (german: Die 19. Schacholympiade), comprising an open team tournament as well as the annual FIDE congress, took place between September 5–27, 1970, in Siegen, West Germany. The Soviet team with six Grandmasters, led ...

Notes

References

*
Chess History & Chronology - Bill Wall
2009-10-20)
Olimpbase - Olympiads and other Team event information
{{chess 20th century in chess Chess by year