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Malbase · 07-10-2009, 09:14 PM

Schaakhamster comments is what I read also.

Lillenthal who played in the Absolute is still alive, smokes, and drives and is over 95 years old.

My Great Predecessors, Volume II, pages 134-136
"12th USSR Championship. The tournament gave rise to a new intrigue: who was stronger- Keres or Botvinnik? Or, expressing it in the words of
the latter, 'who now, given the changed circumstances, should represent the Soviet Union in a Contest for the world championship with Alexander Alekhine? The Championship did not give an answer to this question.....
4 Keres 5 & 6 Boleslavsky and Botvinnik. ....... In order to clarify who was who, early in the spring of `941 Botvinnik's influential patrons arranged an unprecedented four-cycle event of six grandmasters called the match tournament for the title of Absolute USSR Champion."

Note that the tournament was played in the spring of 1941.
The German invasion of the Soviet Union occurred on May 4th in 1941.

Again Kasparov, page 137:
"Two months later Hitler attacked the Soviet Union, and the paths of the two contenders for the chess throne did not cross for more than six years."
The reference above was concerned about Keres and Botvinnik.

07-10-2009, 09:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
Malbase Forum King Posts: 1,080 Thanked 70 Times in 68 Posts Chess Profile	Schaakhamster comments is what I read also. Lillenthal who played in the Absolute is still alive, smokes, and drives and is over 95 years old. My Great Predecessors, Volume II, pages 134-136 "12th USSR Championship. The tournament gave rise to a new intrigue: who was stronger- Keres or Botvinnik? Or, expressing it in the words of the latter, 'who now, given the changed circumstances, should represent the Soviet Union in a Contest for the world championship with Alexander Alekhine? The Championship did not give an answer to this question..... 4 Keres 5 & 6 Boleslavsky and Botvinnik. ....... In order to clarify who was who, early in the spring of `941 Botvinnik's influential patrons arranged an unprecedented four-cycle event of six grandmasters called the match tournament for the title of Absolute USSR Champion." Note that the tournament was played in the spring of 1941. The German invasion of the Soviet Union occurred on May 4th in 1941. Again Kasparov, page 137: "Two months later Hitler attacked the Soviet Union, and the paths of the two contenders for the chess throne did not cross for more than six years." The reference above was concerned about Keres and Botvinnik. Last edited by Malbase; 07-10-2009 at 09:42 PM..