The Chess Mind

Grigory Levenfish was one of the best players in the world in the 1930s, and as such excelled in all phases of the game. Many of us know of him for his line against the Dragon Sicilian (6.f4), and others know of his famous co-authored work on rook endings with Vassily Smyslov. But he was just as great a player as a theoretician - enough to win the Soviet Championship twice and to draw a match with Mikhail Botvinnik.

That he is relatively unknown as a player nowadays is a pity, but we will endeavor to take at least a small step toward fixing that this week. In our ChessBase show tonight (9 p.m. ET Wednesday night = 3 a.m. CET Thursday morning), we will present some highlights from his great career, demonstrating his abilities as a tactician and as a technician. I'd normally make some comment here that the tactics will entertain and the endgames instruct, but I think you'll find the whole thing entertaining! (And instructive, too, but we're aiming to entertain.)

To tune in, log on to the Playchess server at the hour given above, go to the Broadcast room and find "Levenfish Games" under the Games tab. Hope to see you there!