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◼️ #about_Keres

▪️ Paul Keres
▪️ Estonian chess grandmaster
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◼️ Today is the death-day of Paul Keres
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♦️ Paul Keres was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s. Keres narrowly missed a chance at a world championship match on five occasions.

🔘 Full name: Paul Keres
🔘 Country: Estonia
Soviet Union
🔘 Born: January 7, 1916
Narva, Russian Empire
🔘 Died: June 5, 1975 (aged 59)
Helsinki, Finland
🔘 Title: Grandmaster
🔘 Peak rating: 2615 (July 1971)

♦️ Paul Keres participated in the 1948 World Championship tournament, arranged to determine the world champion after Alekhine's death in 1946, his performance was far from his best. Held jointly in The Hague and Moscow, the tournament was limited to five participants: Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, Paul Keres, Samuel Reshevsky, and Max Euwe. (Reuben Fine had also been invited but declined.) The event was played as a quintuple round-robin. Keres finished joint third, with 10½ out of 20 points. In his individual match with the winner, Botvinnik, he lost four of five games, winning only in the last round when the tournament's result was already determined.

Since Keres lost his first four games against Botvinnik in the 1948 tournament, suspicions are sometimes raised that Keres was forced to "throw" games to allow Botvinnik to win the championship. Chess historian Taylor Kingston investigated all the available evidence and arguments, and concluded that: Soviet chess officials gave Keres strong hints that he should not hinder Botvinnik's attempt to win the World Championship; Botvinnik only discovered this about halfway though the tournament and protested so strongly that he angered Soviet officials; Keres probably did not deliberately lose games to Botvinnik or anyone else in the tournament.

Keres finished second or equal second in four straight Candidates' tournaments (1953, 1956, 1959, 1962), making him the player with the most runner-up finishes in that event. (He was therefore occasionally nicknamed "Paul II".) Keres participated in a total of six Candidates' Tournaments.

♦️ A memorable game by Keress which has won by tactical move and sacrificing his Queen against Boris Spassky!!
This game known "Keres on My Wayward Son" in chessgames.com site!👇🏼
🔸 Paul Keres vs Boris Spassky
🔸 Gothenburg Interzonal (1955), Gothenburg SWE, rd 4, Aug-19
🔸 Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System (E14)

♦️ Review and download PGN file👇🏼

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