Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik was a Russian International Grandmaster and long-time World Champion of chess.
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- Chess is the art of analysis.
- The boy doesn't have a clue about chess, and there's no future at all for him in this profession.
- On the young Anatoly Karpov
- Everything is in a state of flux, and this includes the world of chess.
About Botvinnik
- Botvinnik grew up in an assimilated family, but encountered antisemitism in daily life. He displayed courage in the dark years of Stalin and after, and published warm words about Israel, Pinhas Rutenberg, and the kibbutz, defending the right of the Jews to live in their ancient homeland. In contrast to other Jewish cultural activists, he never signed letters condemning Israel.
- Encyclopaedia Judaica, art. "Botvinnik, Mikhail," by Gerald Abrahams