In memoriam: Yuri Averbakh, the oldest chess grandmaster ever
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YURI AVERBAKH

In memoriam

Diario AS

Adriana Palao

the oldest chess grandmaster ever

As we saw last week, the chess world has thousand of prodigies that, since an early age, compete in the elite of this sport.
Diario AS
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Diario AS

As we recently saw, the chess world has thousand of prodigies that, since an early age, have competed at the sport's elite level.

On the other hand, there are some chess legends that have made history over and out of the board.
Diario AS
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There are also, however, some chess legends that have made history over and above the board.

Diario AS
Today we want to remember Yuri Averbakh, who died on May 7th, at 100 years old.
Diario AS

Today we remember Yuri Averbakh, who died on May 7th 2022 at the age of 100.

Averbakh, borned on February 8th, 1922, was a chess Grand Master who also was a candidate for the World Championship Tournament.

Averbakh, born on February 8th 1922, was a chess grandmaster and a contender for the World Championship.

Diario AS
When he was 27, he got the 1st place on the Moscu Championship, feat that he repeated on the next year, in 1950.

When he was 27, he won the Moscow Championship, a feat that he repeated the next year, in 1950.

Two years later, Averbakh got the 5th place on a local big tournament, qualifying to the Candidates Championship in Zürich.

Two years later, Averbakh took 5th place in a big local tournament, qualifying for the Candidates Tournament in Zürich.

Diario AS
This competition, celebrated in 1953, would determine the challenger of the world champion, at this time, Mikhail Botvinnik.

This 1953 competition would determine the challenger of the world champion, who was Mikhail Botvinnik.

Out of the 15 participants in the competition, Averbakh finished in 10th position, closing his path to the world title.

Out of the 15 participants in the competition, Averbakh finished joint 10th.

Diario AS
But his career didn’t stop, on the next year he won the URSS Championship, over elite characters of chess like Petrossian, Taimanov and Korchnoi.

But his career didn’t stop there, as he won the USSR Championship the next year, beating elite players including Petrossian, Taimanov and Korchnoi.

In 1956, he came back to the first place of the URSS Championship, but tied with the world champion Boris Spassky.

In 1956, he returned to the USSR Championship, but tied with the then world champion, Boris Spassky.

...Yuri Averbakh finished in 2nd place of the tournament following the playoff.

Averbakh never stopped playing, introducing several opening moves and was a major endgame study theorist. His ELO rating in 2021 was still 2445.

THE NEW BOBBY FISCHER?

Abhimanyu Mishra

The youngest chess grandmaster ever