Grigory Levenfish
Notable Games

Grigory Levenfish

14 celebrated games · 150 in the full archive
Player Index ◈ Biography 150 CURATED GAMES

Notable Games

  • 1913.04.20 Levenfish, Grigory vsAlekhine, Alexander 1-0 Indian Defense: Wade-Tartakower Defense 21 moves St Petersburg Quadrangular St Petersburg 1913. A 21-move win over the 20-year-old Alexander Alekhine — a future World Champion — the c-file skewer 20.Rc1+/21.Rxc3+ winning the queen.
  • 1920.10.07 Levenfish, Grigory vsGrigoriev, Nikolay Dmitrievich 1-0 Philidor Defense: Lion Variation 36 moves URS-ch01 Final The first Soviet Championship, Moscow 1920. A win over the celebrated endgame-study composer Nikolai Grigoriev.
  • 1925.11.29 Lasker, Emanuel vsLevenfish, Grigory 0-1 French Defense: Classical Variation, Steinitz Variation 63 moves Moscow International-01 Moscow 1925. A Black win in the French over former World Champion Emanuel Lasker, at the great international tournament — Levenfish's passed a-pawn queening (62…a1=Q+).
  • 1925.08 Bogoljubov, Efim vsLevenfish, Grigory 0-1 Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Center Attack 16 moves URS-ch04 Final USSR Championship 1925. A 16-move miniature: Levenfish (Black) lets Efim Bogoljubov's queen gorge on h8 and h7, then traps it — 15…Bg7 and 16…Bf5.
  • 1933.08.19 Levenfish, Grigory vsBohatirchuk, Fedor Parfenovich 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Steinitz Deferred 40 moves URS-ch08 Final USSR Championship 1933. A Ruy Lopez win over Fedor Bohatirchuk; Levenfish shared third place in this championship.
  • 1934.12.22 Levenfish, Grigory vsRagozin, Viacheslav 1-0 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation 34 moves URS-ch09 Final USSR Championship 1934. A French Winawer finished by a queen sacrifice and mate — 32.Rg8+ Qxg8 33.Rxg8+ Kxg8 34.Qh8#.
  • 1935.02.22 Levenfish, Grigory vsAlatortsev, Vladimir 1-0 Grünfeld Defense: Stockholm Variation 40 moves Moscow International-02 Moscow 1935. A Grünfeld endgame win over Vladimir Alatortsev.
  • 1936.05.30 Levenfish, Grigory vsFlohr, Salo 1-0 Slav Defense: Czech Variation, Carlsbad Variation 45 moves Moscow International-03 Moscow 1936. A win over Salo Flohr — then a leading World Championship candidate — converted in a knight endgame (45.Nxb7).
  • 1937.11.09 Levenfish, Grigory vsBotvinnik, Mikhail 1-0 Grünfeld Defense: Brinckmann Attack, Grünfeld Gambit 41 moves Match Botvinnik-Levenfish +5-5=3 From his celebrated 1937 match with Mikhail Botvinnik — the future World Champion — which the 48-year-old Levenfish drew 6½–6½. One of five wins he scored: a Grünfeld ground down to a won ending.
  • 1937.10.09 Levenfish, Grigory vsBotvinnik, Mikhail 1-0 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Noa Variation 67 moves Match Botvinnik-Levenfish +5-5=3 A second win from the 1937 Botvinnik match — a 67-move Nimzo-Indian in which Levenfish's technique wears down the future World Champion.
  • 1937.05.02 Levenfish, Grigory vsRauzer, Vsevolod 1-0 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Rosenthal Variation 92 moves URS-ch10 Final USSR Championship 1937. A 92-move endgame win over the opening theorist Vsevolod Rauzer — the kind of technical marathon that made Levenfish, co-author of the classic Rook Endings, a byword for endgame mastery.
  • 1939.01.24 Levenfish, Grigory vsKonstantinopolsky, Alexander Markovich 1-0 Caro-Kann Defense: Two Knights Attack 92 moves Leningrad & Moscow Leningrad–Moscow 1939. A patient technical win over Alexander Konstantinopolsky in a long Caro-Kann endgame.
  • 1948.11.18 Levenfish, Grigory vsLilienthal, Andor 1-0 Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation 39 moves URS-ch16 Final USSR Championship 1948. A Grünfeld win over Andor Lilienthal, the knights combining to a decisive fork (36.Nf6+, 39.Ne4+).
  • 1949.10.24 Levenfish, Grigory vsSmyslov, Vasily V 1-0 Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation 34 moves URS-ch17 Final USSR Championship 1949. At sixty, Levenfish beats Vasily Smyslov — the future World Champion — with a kingside attack (31.Nxe6+, 32.Rh8+).
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