Isaac Boleslavsky
Notable Games

Isaac Boleslavsky

15 celebrated games · 310 in the full archive
Player Index ◈ Biography 310 CURATED GAMES

Notable Games

  • 1941.04.04 Boleslavsky, Isaak vsLilienthal, Andor 1-0 Elephant Gambit 17 moves URS-ch Absolute USSR Absolute Championship, Leningrad/Moscow 1941 — a crushing 17-move miniature. Meeting Lilienthal's 2...d5 with the piece-grabbing 3.Nxe5, Boleslavsky let his pieces swarm the centre; after 15.N4g5 and 16.Bxe5 the black position collapsed and 17.Bxc7 forced resignation.
  • 1942 Boleslavsky, Isaak vsRagozin, Viacheslav 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Open, St. Petersburg Variation 37 moves Moscow-ch22 22nd Moscow Championship, 1942 — a sharp Open Ruy Lopez. Ragozin's knight sacrifice ...Ng3 was answered by Boleslavsky's cold-blooded queen counter-sacrifice 19.Qxf5; left with rook and bishop for the queen, he coordinated his forces and pushed the passed pawns through to win.
  • 1945.09.03 Boleslavsky, Isaak vsFine, Reuben 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Modern Steinitz Defense 41 moves Match/Nation URS-USA (8-2) (7,5-2,5) USSR–USA radio match, 1945 — the game that took the prize for the best of the match. In a Ruy Lopez Boleslavsky secured a superior pawn structure out of the opening, traded into a favourable ending with 23.Qxf6+, and outplayed Reuben Fine without allowing counterplay.
  • 1950.04.19 Boleslavsky, Isaak vsSmyslov, Vasily V 1-0 Slav Defense: Alapin Variation 22 moves Candidates Tournament Candidates Tournament, Budapest 1950 — a 22-move positional demolition of the future World Champion Vasily Smyslov. In a Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Boleslavsky exploited an early central break, planted his knights on b5 and d6, and by 21.Nf6 Smyslov was lost. Boleslavsky finished the event as its only undefeated player, tied for first.
  • 1950.04.26 Boleslavsky, Isaak vsFlohr, Salo 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Closed, Kholmov Variation 37 moves Candidates Tournament Candidates Tournament, Budapest 1950 — a Ruy Lopez from the run that carried Boleslavsky to shared first place. He won Flohr's queenside pawns with 25.Qxc6 and 26.Qxb5, then marched the passed b-pawn to b6 to force resignation.
  • 1950.11.20 Alatortsev, Vladimir vsBoleslavsky, Isaak 0-1 Old Indian Defense: Ukrainian Variation 27 moves URS-ch18 Final 18th USSR Championship, Moscow 1950 — playing the Old Indian with Black, Boleslavsky opened the position with 13...f5, sacrificed to lay the white king bare, and finished with a direct attack (24...Rg2+, 26...Rxf8) after 27.Qf1+ Rf2+.
  • 1952.05 Boleslavsky, Isaak vsBotvinnik, Mikhail 1-0 Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Reynolds' Variation 61 moves Match/Training Team1-Team2 Soviet training tournament, Gagra 1952 — a win over the reigning World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. In a Semi-Slav Meran, Boleslavsky nursed a protected passed d-pawn, wore down Botvinnik's counterplay over a long struggle, and queened it with 61.d6.
  • 1953.09.02 Boleslavsky, Isaak vsKotov, Alexander 1-0 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Alekhine System 42 moves Candidates Tournament Candidates Tournament, Zürich 1953 — from the great tournament immortalised in Bronstein's book. In a Queen's Gambit Accepted, Boleslavsky's central break 14.d5 won a pawn and the initiative against Alexander Kotov, and he ground out the minor-piece endgame.
  • 1953.10.23 Euwe, Max vsBoleslavsky, Isaak 0-1 King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Double Fianchetto Attack 53 moves Candidates Tournament Candidates Tournament, Zürich 1953 — a win over former World Champion Max Euwe. Playing his beloved King's Indian with Black, Boleslavsky answered Euwe's queenside play with 15...b5 and 30...Bh6, broke through with 31...Rxb4, and won the minor-piece ending with his extra passed pawns.
  • 1955.11.12 Boleslavsky, Isaak vsKorchnoi, Viktor Lvovich 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Magnus Smith Trap 21 moves URS-ch23 Semifinal 23rd USSR Championship semifinal, Riga 1955 — a clean 21-move win over the young Viktor Korchnoi. Out of a Sicilian, Boleslavsky steered into a favourable position, exchanged into a winning ending with 17.Qxb4, and won material with 20.Rxe5 to force resignation.
  • 1956.02.01 Boleslavsky, Isaak vsLisitsin, Georgy M 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Modern Line 30 moves URS-ch23 Final 23rd USSR Championship, Leningrad 1956 — Boleslavsky's signature attacking game (titled 'Isaac Lootin'' on chessgames.com). In a Yugoslav-Attack Dragon he opened lines with a central knight and a kingside pawn storm, and the blow 29.Rxh6 netted Georgy Lisitsin's queen by move 30.
  • 1958.01.16 Tal, Mikhail vsBoleslavsky, Isaak 0-1 King's Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Closed Variation 51 moves URS-ch25 Final 25th USSR Championship, Riga 1958 — a win over Mikhail Tal, World Champion two years later, in Tal's home city. Defending a Sämisch King's Indian with Black, Boleslavsky met the g4–h4 storm with the central counter 8...Ne8 and 11...Bxf5, forced the queens off with 14...Qxe3+, and won the endgame a pawn up. He never lost a classical game to Tal.
  • 1960.08 Boleslavsky, Isaak vsGurgenidze, Bukhuti 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Open 13 moves URS-ch28 Semifinal 28th USSR Championship semifinal, Rostov-on-Don 1960 — a 13-move miniature. After Gurgenidze's dubious 3...d5, Boleslavsky's knights swarmed to b5 and the centre; 12.Bxa7 and the fork 13.Nd6+ forced immediate resignation.
  • 1966.01.21 Boleslavsky, Isaak vsPetrosian, Tigran V 1-0 Alekhine Defense: Brooklyn Variation 47 moves Moscow Training Moscow training tournament, 1966 — a win over the reigning World Champion Tigran Petrosian, whose long-time trainer and second was Boleslavsky himself. Against Petrosian's Alekhine Defence he built a kingside attack with g3–g4 and h4–h5, broke in with 36.Nf6+ and 41.Qxg6+, and reached a winning ending.
  • 1967 Boleslavsky, Isaak vsDzindzichashvili, Roman 1-0 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Main Line 25 moves URS Games Soviet event, 1967 — a Queen's Gambit Accepted against the young Roman Dzindzichashvili, later a grandmaster. Boleslavsky sacrificed a rook with 22.Rd8+ and hunted the black king across the board (23.Nxf7+, 24.Qg4+, 25.Qe6+) to a decisive finish.
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