NY Times on the Match and its (Supposed) Geopolitical Significance
This article strikes me more as a conclusion in search of a story than something real, but perhaps those more intimately aware of how Russia works from the inside will disagree and correct my error.
In passing, there are (at least) two or maybe three factual errors in the story. First and second, the author surely meant to say that Russians held the title from 1948 to 2007, not from 1958 to 2000. (Botvinnik was just as Russian in 1948 as he was a decade later, as was one-year titlelist Smyslov from 1957-1958. And of course Kramnik was a Russian during his reign from 2000 to 2007 - and he still is.) And third, one could fuss a bit over whether Tal and Petrosian should be called "Russian" as opposed to "Soviet". Both lived in Moscow at times, but my impression is that they would have considered themselves Latvian and Armenian, respectively.
HT: Aurelio
Reader Comments (1)
I believe that I remember a non Russian having the title from 1972-1975.
[DM: Yes, that's my mistake, not mentioning that qualification. It is in the Times's text. My focus was on their error regarding the broader span, but of course I should have mentioned Fischer's reign en passant.]