![]() ![]() Both its chess leaders in the early 1980s - Kevin Spraggett and Igor Ivanov - had to move to another area: Kevin to Europe and Igor to the USA. The country where he started his new chess life, Canada, is not for chess. He played many tournaments with small prizes and really needed the grandmaster’s title to get the invitations for the big events. Igor’s professional life in the West was difficult. ![]() It is easy to change the state’s flag and emblem, but it is not possible to change a head or a conscience. Igor did not have any illusions about communists or perestroika. We reminisced about our chess teacher from the Palace of Pioneers, Alexander Cherepkov, who is now 86 years old, and of course we talked of St. We especially enjoyed the great bass singer Feodor Shaliapin and the beautiful soprano Nadezda Obuhova. Both of us liked the Russian operatic romances. Igor asked for political asylum and the socialist paradise lost one of its most talented masters.Įvery time our chess diagonals crossed, I was very glad to meet Igor. This was the first and the last invitation which he received from the “generous colonel.” Coming back from Havana to Moscow, the plane of the Soviet company Aeroflot made a stop in Gander, Newfoundland. As a consequence of this victory, Colonel Baturinsky, Schach Fuehrer of the USSR, gave him a chance to participate in the Capablanca Memorial in Havana the following year. In 1979, Igor won a famous game against Anatoly Karpov. He could have easily gotten it 20 years ago! Igor did not care about himself and became a grandmaster only a few months before his death. ![]() He did not have the persistence which is so important for getting the grandmaster’s title. Fortunately, Igor was very talented at chess.Īs an artistic personality Igor was living like a careless bird, flying from one place to another, playing chess and piano and singing Russian romances. She dreamed to see him as a good pianist and cellist, but his passion was to become a professional chess player. Igor was lucky and received a good musical education from his mother who died when he was only 14 years old. Both of us received our living strength from Imperial Russia, which had over 1,000 years of culture. Neither of us could not adapt to the socialist paradise. If I lost, I would view it as a learning experience. I was pleased with the pairing since playing any grandmaster was a rush - if I won, great. He beat a lot of great players during his career, including Bent Larsen, Lev Polugaevsky, and Ludek Pachman.ĭuring the Lone Pine tournament of 1979 I was paired with Balinas. He earned his grandmaster title when he won a powerful tournament in Odessa with an undefeated 10–4 score. Grandmaster Rosendo Balinas (1941-1998), a Filipino, was the world’s strongest Asian player in the 60s and mid-70s (Eugenio Torre eventually took the “best Asian player throne”). Grandmaster Rosendo Balinas and the Cup of Honey This is the first of two articles showing some of the sad or crazy or funny or sweet moments that go on behind the scenes.Īll of them are things I witnessed or was a part of, which means you’re getting the information from the horse’s mouth. I’ve talked to countless chess fans over the years and though all serious chess players have their favorite chess heroes, many of them aren’t in touch with the human side of the chess legends. ![]()
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