Other Great Players

Other Famous Players
	1. Akiba Rubinstein (1882 – 1961) Rubinstein is considered by many chess scholars to have been the strongest player in the world from about 1906-13. He never had a chance to play for the world championship or he would probably have won the title. Rubinstein's games are characterized by their deep and far-reaching strategic plans. Rubinstein's rook endgames are still some of the best ever played and he is among the favorite players of Garry Kasparov. [More] Games

	2. Rashid Nezhmetdinov (1912 – 1974) Nezhmetdinov is considered by many Grandmasters to be the greatest tactician who ever played the game. Of him, Botvinnik said, "nobody sees combinations like Rashid Nezhmetdinov". He defeated many strong players during his career, including World Champions. At one point, Nezhmetdinov simultaneously held the Russian championship titles in both chess and checkers. His 1958 game vs. Grandmaster Lev Polugaevsky is considered by many to be among the top ten most beautiful and creative games in all of chess history. [More] Games

	3. David Bronstein (born 1924) David I. Bronstein drew with Mikhail Botvinnik in their 1951 World Champion title match, but Botvinnik retained the title by virtue of 'draw odds'. Bronstein is known for his unconventional ideas and for his deep love of the game. Bronstein's legacy to chess will include not only many beautiful games, but also his contributions to the literature of chess, most notably his deeply annotated first hand account of the 1953 Zurich World Championship Candidate's tournament, 'Zurich:1953'. Games

	4. Efim Geller (03/02/1925 - 11/17/1998 ) He achieve the title of International Master in 1951, became a Grandmaster the following year. He was amongst the top ten players in the world for twenty years and took part in 23 USSR chess championships, a record equaled only by Mark Taimanov. Geller was always amongst the contenders and won the USSR Champion title in 1955 and 1979. Amongst his best international results were equal first with Mikhail Botvinnik at Wijk aan Zee 1969 (ahead of Paul Keres), first at Moscow 1975 (ahead of Boris Spassky, Viktor Korchnoi and Tigran Petrosian) and equal first with Vassily Smyslov at Wijk aan Zee 1977. He reached the late stages of the World Championship several times, most notably finishing just half a point short of playing in the final match when he scored 17/27 at the 1962 Candidates Tournament in Curacao (the event was won by Tigran Petrosian who went on to win the title). Geller is best remembered for his tactical brilliance and ferocious attacking style, especially during the earlier part of his career. He was a recognized openings expert and worked as second to Boris Spassky in the World Championship match of 1972 against Bobby Fischer. Games

	5. Bent Larsen (born 1935) Bent Larsen, 'The Great Dane', was a several-time world champion candidate. Although Larsen never succeeded in winning the highest title, he was considered the strongest western chess player during the 1960's, even stronger than Fischer at that time. Larsen was known for playing unorthodox opening systems and for his willingness to take significant risks in order to play for a win in even the most uncomfortable and difficult positions. That he frequently succeeded is a testament to his original style and extraordinary talent. Games

	6. Milan Vukcevich (03/11/1937 - 05/10/2003) Milan Radoje Vukcevich was a scientist and chess problem composer.Vukcevich was born in Belgrade. In 1955 he won the Yugoslav Junior Championship, drawing a six game match with Bent Larsen in the same year. He became a chess International Master in 1958, and in 1960 played for Yugoslavia at the Chess Olympiad in Leipzig and had the second best overall score at the Student Chess Olympiad in Leningrad. Vukcevich is better known as an author of chess problems than as a player, however, being the first American resident to be awarded the title of International Composition Grandmaster by FIDE. In 1981 he published ''Chess by Milan: Problems and Games of Dr. Milan R. Vukcevich'' and in 1998 was inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame, becoming only the second person (after Sam Loyd) to be primarily inducted for their achievements in problem composition. Vukcevich's compositions were gathered together in ''My Chess Compositions'' (2003). He composed in all genres, including directmates, selfmates, helpmates, problems with fairy pieces and a small number of endgame studies. [More] Games

	7. Judit Polgar (born 1976) She was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and was the greatest female player of her generation. She won the world championship title in 1962 and defended it three times. Gaprindashvili played in men's tournaments, winning amongst others Hastings 1963/64 and and tied for first at Lone Price 1977. In 1978 she came second and earned a full male GM title. Games

Other Famous Players