(Hat
tip to Canadian GM Spraggett)
Now
an interview from one of my all-time favorite players - Svetozar Gligorich [pic] (born 1923), also known (affectionately) as Gligo.
An
amazingly talented player, for decades he dominated European chess. Gligorich’s
games in my opinion, rank as some of the most beautiful examples of how chess
should be played, much like my other hero Tigran Petrosian.
In
his prime, there was hardly a player that he did not beat! His score against
some of the world champions says it all:
he
won 4 games against Fischer;
5
games against Smyslov;
8
games against Petrosian;
2
games against each of Botvinnik, and Tal.
When I am asked by chess amateurs, interested in improving
the level of their play, what player’s games they should study, I have never
hesitated in recommending the games of Svetozar Gligorich!
Let
us listen to the man himself:
I started much
later than many to-be-chessplayers, learning how to play the game at the age of
eleven. As I discovered shortly thereafter, chess came easy to me. In 1939, at
the age of sixteen, I became a master, this from the era when there were
relatively few masters, and at a relatively young age.
Unfortunately, coinciding with
my becoming a master in 1939, World War II broke out, and for the subsequent
six years I fought as a member of a partisan unit against the Nazi-led Axis
powers, and I was forced to put on hold the studying chess until 1945. At that
point in time, I started to play chess again, and in 1951, I became a GM.
Although I was
far removed from the latest goings-on about the game, chess actually saved my
life three times. Those stories are probably too lengthy to get into now, maybe
we can discuss those later on. (Your
humble scribe will research these stories!)
On Tigran Petrosian:
Yes, we played
each other a total of 27 times, with 17 of the games decisive. I won eight of
the encounters and Tigran came out on top nine times. Ten of the games were
drawn.
As I said earlier, we were very similar to each other philosophically and stylistically. We both preferred to play chess according to strict logic, as it is called, correct chess. For me it was not important who the opponent was sitting across from me, it was important that I play correct and active chess. Maybe I was, relatively speaking of course, a more unpleasant opponent for Petrosian for the reason that I was both logical in my approach and active in my style. Regardless, we were close friends away from the board despite our competitive struggles during our games.
What is amazing is that in many respects, Tigran and I were so similar. We both were simple men and not saddled by ego problems. We both enjoyed music, humor, and we understood the intricacies of the game of chess. Possibly most interesting is that neither of us had pretenses that we must become champions. Regardless, nature and talent combined in Tigran and carried him to the greatest of heights.
Let me share some of my personal insights in the form of a story: In 1963 he was playing Botvinnik for the World Championship, and he confided in me that he couldn’t believe that he is playing Botvinnik for the title. Petrosian lamented that he was unable to concentrate and focus on the task at hand to compete for the title.
As a result, I think he was unable to collect himself and he lost. But then after gathering his energy and focusing on the task at hand through three stabilizing draws, Tigran struck back in game 5 and won a beautiful game with a king invasion; at this point, the impossible was already possible. It was a fantastic display of understanding, intuition, and skill all fused into one.
The standard question was put to Gligoric: How did you digest your defeats? How did you overcome failure?
To be honest I don’t think that I took it all that badly. This is the nature of sport. Defeat should be a motivation for you to improve, work harder, and do better the next time. As Capablanca said, the best teacher is defeat. You simply need the will and strength to be able to turn the experience into something positive.
These
are great words for your humble scribe to re-read. My response is either to tip
over the chessboard or drop kick my computer! Neither response seems to improve
my play.
I
think Gligoric and Capablanca have a more enlightened response to losing.
