The first of three Botvinnik–Smyslov title clashes was a brutal, swinging fight — fourteen of twenty-four games decisive. Botvinnik roared ahead, Smyslov surged back to level it in the twenty-third game, and the crown again came down to the drawn-match rule. It ended 12–12, and Botvinnik retained.
Smyslov earns his match
Smyslov qualified by winning the great Zürich 1953 Candidates tournament two full points clear of the field. The Soviet organisers staged the opening as a grand occasion: FIDE president Folke Rogard made the first move on the challenger's behalf before more than two thousand spectators at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall.
What followed was anything but ceremonial.
Twelve decisive games, then a truce
Botvinnik surged to 3½–½ after four games; Smyslov fought back to lead 6–5; Botvinnik retook control at 9–7 after sixteen. Then Smyslov won the twentieth and the twenty-third to draw level, and the shortest game of the match — the twenty-fourth — was agreed drawn, sealing a 12–12 tie and Botvinnik's title.
The champion's narrow escape (+7−7=10) made a rematch almost certain; Smyslov was back within three years.
Cross table
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botvinnik | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 12 |
| Smyslov | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 12 |
1 win · ½ draw · 0 loss — click a game number to replay it.