“USSR” still stronger than “Yugoslavia”

Some other chess news got priority, but of course we haven’t missed the very special event that was held at the Central Chess Club in Moscow last Friday and Saturday. A friendly chess match was organised between the “Soviet-Union” and “Yugoslavia”, and big names that we know from the old times, such as Ivkov, Averbakh, Velimirovic and Taimanov, were playing in Moscow. The USSR won 11-9 after scoring 6-4 on day one and a 5-5 tie on day two.

Friendy matches between these two countries used to be a tradition (throughout the 1950s to 1980s, these matches were organized almost every year) and this 2007 edition was actually already the 22nd time it was organized. In all those years, Yugoslavia never managed to beat the USSR, and this week they didn’t succeed either.

The first match was held in Belgrade, 1956, and from that moment matches were held almost every year for two and a half decades, alternating between the USSR and Yugoslavia. During the turbulent last years of the 1980s, the tradition came to an end, and eventually the two countries suffered the same fate. But gradually life has become more stable, and the time has come to revive the tradition.

In the match, the USSR had Viktor Korchnoi playing for board one. Apparently the match was friendly enough for the legendary Viktor to act two more days of his long life as a Soviet! He played his two games against Svetozar Gligorić, who was the leading Yugoslav player for decades. Other famous names in the match included Ivkov, Vasiukov, Matanovic, Taimanov, Velimirovic, Balashov, Zaitsev and Averbakh.

1st Round, 8 November 2007

Yugoslavia      - USSR            4-6
S. Gligorić     - V. Kortchnoi    0-1
B. Ivkov        - E. Vasiukov     ½-½
A. Matanovic    - M. Taimanov     ½-½
D. Velimirovic  - Y. Balashov     1-0
N. Karaklaic    - I. Zaitsev      ½-½
S. Vlahovic     - Y. Averbakh     ½-½
Z. Spasojevic   - V. Vorotnikov   ½-½
A. Savic        - A. Machulsky    ½-½
M. Lazarevic    - E. Fatalibekova 0-1
K. Blagojevic   - L. Zaitseva     0-1

2nd Round, 9 November 2007

USSR            - Yugoslavia      5-5
V. Kortchnoi    - S. Gligorić     ½-½
E. Vasiukov     - B. Ivkov        ½-½
M. Taimanov     - A. Matanovic    ½-½
Y. Balashov     - D. Velimirovic  ½-½
I. Zaitsev      - N. Karaklaic    ½-½
Y. Averbakh     - S. Vlahovic     0-1
V. Vorotnikov   - Z. Spasojevic   1-0
A. Machulsky    - A. Savic        ½-½
E. Fatalibekova - M. Lazarevic    ½-½
L. Zaitseva     - K. Blagojevic   ½-½

All the games in PGN here.

Guests Andor Lilienthal (l.) & Boris Postovsky

Svetozar Gligoric (l.) & Viktor Korchnoi

Yuri Averbakh

Aleksandar Matanović (l.) & Mark Taimanov