Kira Zvorykina
When Kira Zvorykina was 16 she won first place in one of the tournaments the members of her family held from time to time. This victory over her constant rivals filled her with confidence, and she decided to enter school tournaments. To her surprise, she found she could make a good showing against her school champions and in inter-school tournaments. She learned a great deal from classes at the chess club of the Leningrad Palace of Young Pioneers. Lectures by Pyotr Romanov-sky cleared up many...
Valentina Borisenko
Valentina Borisenko nee Belova was born in the town of Cherepovets in 1920. Her father was a doctor. She learned chess while a high-school student in Leningrad, and in 1937 made her debut in the semi-final of the city tournament for the women's championship. She showed exceptional persistence in studying theory and playing in strong tournaments she acquired valuable experience from the defeats she sustained at the beginning. A fearless, industrious player, she won second-category rating in a...
Vasily Smyslov
When it was announced that Vasily Smyslov, then a 17-year-old schoolboy, would compete in the Moscow Championship of 1938, the news did not arouse a stir. None of the masters considered him a dangerous rival. But as the tournament progressed, increasing attention was focussed on Smyslov. What was surprising was not only his victories over strong and experienced opponents, but his style. He plunged confidently into combinational and positional play, was proficient in the technique of exploiting...
Pqr
More energet ic here is 8 . . . R Ktl, also preparing for P QKt4 and removing the Black has to preserve his King Bishop from being exchanged after 11 B R6 , for it plays an important part in the defence of his King and in the organization of offensive operations on the Q-side. Black counters White's swift attack on the K-side by pushing ahead on the Q-side. Positions of this type are always very acute and demand great precision. A cool defence. 18 . . . PxP is weaker, for then 19 Kt Q5 and...