Yuri Averbakh Passes Away in Moscow

Mr.Yuri Lvovich Averbakh, one of the world’s best and oldest chess players for a decade passed away at the age of 100. The cause of the death was not given. He was the first grandmaster to reach 100 years of age.

The Russian chess grandmaster Yuri Lvovich Averbakh was born on February 1922, in Kaluga town near Moscow. In earlier days, he worked in a missile research institute and wrote a doctoral thesis in engineering.

He became a master in chess in 1944 and trained world champions and was the last surviving participant of the Candidates Tournament which was held in Zurich in 1953. This tournament is the final step in the cycle to select a challenger for the world championship. The tournament was notable not only for the participants but also for the quality of the games played.

He missed playing in the 1959 Candidates Tournament by finishing in a tie for seventh in the previous stage of the world championship. Only the top six players in the Interzonal qualified for the Candidates. In 1954, Averbakh won the Soviet Championship.

He wrote an autobiography ‘Centre-Stage and Behind the Scenes: The Personal Memoir of a Soviet Chess Legend’ which was released in 2011.

   Important points for the exam:

• One of the world’s best chess players for a decade Mr.Yuri Lvovich Averbakh passed away at the age of 100.
• He was the first grandmaster to reach 100 years of age.
• The Russian chess grandmaster Yuri Lvovich Averbakh was born in February 1922, in Kaluga town near Moscow. In earlier days, he worked in a missile research institute and wrote a doctoral thesis in engineering.
• He became a master in chess in 1944 and trained world champions and was the last surviving participant of the Candidates Tournament which was held in Zurich in 1953. 
• He wrote an autobiography ‘Centre-Stage and Behind the Scenes: The Personal Memoir of a Soviet Chess Legend’ which was released in 2011.

   Facts to know:

• International Chess Federation (FIDE) was established in 1924.
• Headquarters of FIDE: Lausanne, Switzerland.
• President of FIDE: Mr.Arkady Dvorkovich.
• FIDE acts as the governing body of international chess competitions.