Mark Taimanov
by Bill Wall

Mark Evgenievich Taimanov was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine (formerly USSR) on February 7, 1926. His parents were Jewish. His mother was a piano teacher and his father was a construction engineer, who built several theaters in Leningrad (now St Petersburg). He was one of four children. Mark learned chess from his father, a passionate chess player.

In August 1926, his family moved to Leningrad.

In 1933, he started taking piano lessons at a musical school in Leningrad.

In 1936, Taimanov was studying at a music school and he was selected to play a leading role as a young violinist in the Soviet film "Beethoven Concerto." Taiminov did not know how to play the violin (he was a piano student), but he learned how to play it from scratch. Taimanov spent a year learning the violin.

The film was released in 1937. It was a success and was later awarded first prize at the International Film Festival in Paris. Years later, Isaac Stern, the great violinist, told Taimanov that he had seen only one Russian violinist hold the violin properly, and that was in the movie "Beethoven's Concerto." Taimanove replied, "That wasn't a violinist. That was me!

In late 1937, he was invited to the official opening of the Zhdanov Palace of Young Pioneers in Leningrad, where he was asked to select an activity. He selected chess and joined the Leningrad chess school, directed by Mikhail Botvinnik. His first chess teacher was Alexei Sokolsky (1908-1969), followed by Grigory Levenfish (1889-1961).

In 1938, at the age of 12, he was the youngest second-category (1800-2000) player in Leningrad.

By 1939, Taimanov was a first-category player and Leningrad schoolboy champion.

In 1941, he was Leningrad's best junior chess player. The Leningrad chess school was later closed because of the World War II. Taimanov was evacuated before the German siege began.

In 1945, he resumed his music studies at the Leningrad Conservatory, where he met Lyubov Bruk, a fellow student. They formed a piano duo. Taimanov studied under Samari Savshinsky.

In 1945, Taimanov was awarded the "Master of Sport, USSR" title for his chess.

In early 1946, Mark Taimanov married Bruk (both age 19) and they performed as a concert piano duo for the next 25 years. Soviet regulations prohibited married couples from traveling together in the West, so they remained relatively unknown outside the Soviet bloc. They toured for many years in the USSR and many other countries in the world.

In 1947, Mark and Lyubov had their first child. Taimanov would have twins 57 years later with his 4th wife.

In 1948, he won the Leningrad championship. He then competed in the USSR championship and took last place.

In 1949, he took 3rd-4th place in the 17th USSR championship.

In 1949, he won the Latvian championship.

In 1950, Taimanov won the Leningrad championship, followed by Viktor Korchnoi.

In 1950, he took 2nd-4th at Szczawno.

In 1950, he was awarded the International Master (IM) title.

From 1950 to 1956, he was among the world's top 10 players, and was regularly in the top 20 for 25 years.

In 1951, he took 6th-8th at the 18th USSR championship.

In 1952, he won the Leningrad championship.

In 1952, Taimanov played in the World Student Championship, held in Liverpool, England. Joseph Stalin signed off the request for his trip. Taimanov and Bronstein tied for 1st place.

In 1952, he took 2nd-3rd place in the Saltsjobaden (Stockholm) Interzonal.

In 1952, he tied for 1st place in the 20th USSR chess championship, but lost the playoff match to Mikhail Botvinnik.

In 1952, he was awarded the International Grandmaster (GM) title.

In 1953, he played in the 15-player Candidates Tournament in Neuhausen-Zurich and was a World Championship Candidate after tying for 8th place with fellow Soviet Alexander Kotov.

In February, 1954, Taimanov took 2nd-3rd in the 21st USSR championship, held in Kiev. Yuri Averbakh won the event.

In 1954, Taimanov was part of a Soviet chess team that defeated Britain at Caxton Hall in London with the score of 18.5-1.5.

In July 1954, Taimanov gave a piano concert in London and met Winston Churchill at a bar during a break. Taimanov asked what he was smoking and drinking. Churchill replied, "Cigars from Havana and Cognac from Armenia."

In 1954, he took 2nd in the USSR championship.

In 1956, he took 4th at Hastings.

In 1956, Taimanov score 10.5 out of 15 in the Alekhine Memorial, held in Moscow, taking 3rd place, behind Botvinnik and Smyslov. He had a 2761 performance rating, his best individual performance in a chess tournament.

In 1956, he won the 23rd USSR championship after winning the match-tournament playoff with Yuri Averbach and Boris Spassky.

In 1956, Taimanov played first reserve for the Soviet team in the Chess Olympiad held in Moscow. He score 6 wins, 5 draws, and no losses to win the board bronze medal and helped the USSR team win the gold medal.

In 1956, he took 1st at Budapest.

In 1957, Taimanov was ranked #5 in the world at the age of 30 years and 11 months.

In 1958, he took 1st at the Tournament of Baltic Sea Countries in Leningrad.

In 1959, he took 1st-2nd in Dresden.

In 1959, he took 4th-5th in the 24th USSR championship.

In 1960, he took 1st-2nd at Sanata Fe.

In 1960, he won the RSFSR (Russian Republic) Chess Championship, held In Perm.

In 1961, he won (jointly) the Leningrad championship.

In 1961, he took 1st at Dortmund.

In 1961, he took 1st at Rostov-on-Don.

In 1962, he took 1st at Marianske Lazne.

In December 1962, Taimanov took 2nd place in the 30th USSR championship, won by Korchnoi. The event was held in Yereven.

In 1963, he took 1st at Luxembourg.

In 1965, he participated in the Capablanca Memorial tournament in Havana. While in Havana, Taimanov played several chess games with the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.

In 1965, he took 1st-3rd at Budapest.

In 1965, he took 1st at Copenhagen.

In 1966, he took 2nd-4th in the 33rd USSR championship, held in Tallinn.

In 1966, he took 1st at Helsinki.

In 1966, he took 2nd-4th at Harrachov.

In 1967, he took 4th in the 35th USSR championship, held in Kharkov.

In 1967, he took 2nd at Havana.

In 1968, he tied for 1st wih Vasiakov in Reykjavik.

In 1969, he took 2nd-7th at Venice.

In 1969, he took 1st at Zalaegerszeg.

In 1969, he took 3rd-5th in the 37th USSR championship, held in Moscow.

In 1970, he took 1st at Wijk aan Zee.

In 1970, he took 1st-2nd at Skopje.

In 1970, he played board 7 in the USSR vs. World team mach. He defeated Wolgang Uhlmann of East Germany, scoring 2 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss.

In 1970, he was a World Championship Candidate at the age of 44 after participating in the Palma de Mallorca Interzonal, where he took 5th place. Taimaov played the Yugoslav grandmaster Milan Matulovic in the final round. Matulovic played weak and fast and Taimanov won easily. Viktor Korchnoi wrote that Matulovic sold his point for $400 (the money went to the Soviet Chess Federation) so that Taimanov could qualify as a Candidate.

Starting in 1951, Taimanov and his trainers (Vasiukov and Balashov) spent much of their time analyzing Fischer's 500 chess games.

In mid-1971, he peak rating was 2600. At the time, Fischer was ranked #1 in the world and Taimanov was ranked #13 in the world.

In May-June 1971, he lost the quarter-final Candidates match in Vancouver, B.C. to Bobby Fischer, losing by the score of 0-6. The match was meant to take place in the hall of the University of Vancouver. Fischer insisted that the match be played in the library of the university with no spectators. They finally agreed on a middle-sized room with 200 spectators. I visited that room with Paul Keres in 1975 when I interviewed Keres during the World Class Championship (Keres won the event and I took 5th in my class).

After Taimanov lost the first three games in a row to Fischer, he complained of not feeling well. His first medical examination showed that Taimanov had symptoms of heart palpitations. He was then taken to St. Paul's hospital in Vancouver and was given an electrocardiogram, with negative results. He was then diagnosed with high blood pressure and was ordered to rest for 48 hours before the resumption of the match.

Fischer won his 6th game in a row against Taimanov on June 2, 1971. He had won 19 games in a row. Taimanov's trainer, Evgeny Vasiukov, blamed Taimanov's loss to malnutrition. Taimanov was trying to save money (he was allocated $11 a day for food by the USSR Sports Committee) and paid less for food so that he could buy some things he couldn't buy in the USSR. Taimanov never visited the restaurant of his 5-star hotel that he was staying at. He purchased cheap food products at a supermarket instead.

After Tamanov's loss to Fischer, he returned to the USSR where Soviet officials took away his state salary and no longer allowed him to travel overseas. He was also banned from most social activities and was forbidden to have article printed by him. Even his public performance at the piano was forbidden. His title "Honored Master of Sport of the USSR" was taken away. The official reason given for punishing Taimanov was that he brought a banned book into the USSR (one of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's books — "In the First Circle") after a border search of his belongings. He was also carry U.S. dollars (banned), given to him by Max Euwe, who asked Taimanov to pass the currency on to Salo Flohr as a fee for a chess article that Flohr wrote. The authorities found out about the cash after tapping his phone and listening in on his conversations.

Mikhail Botvinnik accused Taimanov of deliberately throwing the chess games because Taimanov had bet money against himself. Taimanov was summoned to the USSR Chess Federation Trainers' Council and was told that his loss to Fischer was the biggest setback in the entire history of Soviet chess. The Council asked for an explanation for his horrible performance. Taimanov replied, "I normally play in a relaxed manner, but here I was aware of a sense of mission. This was probably the main mistake. I now know Fischer better than anyone and I am ready to help those who have to play him." But Petrosian and Spassky did not take up Taimanov's offer.

After Bent Larsen also lost to Fischer 6-0 and Petrosian lost 6.5-2.5, the officials "forgave" Taimanov and lifted the sanctions against him.

After this excuse, the following joke became current: "Why did the Soviet Union expel Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn? Officials found that Solzhenitsyn had one of Taimanov's chess books in his flat."

The resulting stress after the match with Fischer also resulted in divorce after 26 years from his concert-playing wife, Bruk, ending their piano partnership.

In 1972, he took 3rd as Sukhumi.

In 1973, Taimanov built a new career as a solo virtuoso pianist.

In 1973, he took 3rd at Sukhami.

In 1973, he took 1st at Bucharest.

In 1973, he won the Leningrad championship for the 5th time.

In 1974, he took 2nd at Vrnjack Banja.

In 1974, he took 1st at Albena.

In the mid 1970s, he married Jane Averbakh, daughter of one of his Soviet grandmaster colleagues, Yuri Averbakh.

In 1975, he took 1st at Decin.

In 1975/76, he took 5th-7th at Hastings.

In 1976, he played in his 23rd USSR championship (Geller also played in 23 USSR championships).

In 1977, he took 2nd-3rd at Vrnjacka Banja.

In 1978, he took 4th at Yurmala.

In 1979, he took 1st at Bucharest.

In 1979, he took 1st-2nd at Wroclaw.

In 1981, he took 3rd-4th at Wijk aan Zee.

In 1982, he took 2nd-3rd at Budapest.

In 1982, he took 3rd at New Delhi.

In 1983, he took 3rd-4th at Baku.

In 1985, he took 1st at Lisbon.

In 1987, he took 2nd-3rd at Sesimbra.

In 1988, he took 1st at Biel in the Senior Championship.

In 1989, he took 1st at Forli.

In 1989, he took 2nd-3rd at Leningrad.

In 1989, he took 1st at Malta.

In 1990, he took 2nd-3rd at Tel Aviv.

In 1990, he took 1st at the Porto San Georgio Open.

In 1990, he took 1st at St. Augustin.

In 1992, he took 1st-2nd at New York.

In 1992, he wrote a book called "I Was a Victim of Fischer." Taimanov sent the first copy to Bobby Fischer, who expressed gratitude and that he liked the book.

In 1992, he took 2nd-4th in the World Senior Championship, held in Bad Worishofen.

In 1993, he took 1st at the Neisse Open.

In 1993, Taimanov won the World Senior Championship at Bad Wildbad.

In 1994, Taimanov won the World Senior Championship, held in Biel, Switzerland.

In 1994, he took 2nd-3d at Cacak.

In 1998, the Philips record company published a double CD with recordings of the Taimanov and Brud duo between 1959 and 1968. The title of the double album was "Great Pianists of the 20th Century. Taimanov and Bruk were the only piano duo in the series.

In 2004, at the age of 78, he and his wife, Nadezhda (Nadja), had twins, a boy and a girl named Dimochka (male) and Mashenka (female). The twins were 57 years younger than is first child and 27 years younger than his granddaughter. His wife was 35 years younger than him.

In 2008, he played in his last FIDE rated tournament.

In 2012, he went to Dresden to meet old chess friends during the "Meeting of Grandmasters 75+."

In 2013, at the age of 87, he started a St. Petersburg academy for chess players (ages 5 to 12).

In December 2015, he played a 4-game match in Zurich against Viktor Korchnoi, then 84. At 173 years, it was the oldest combined total for a match between two grandmasters.

In February 2016, Taimanov celebrated his 90th birthday. At the time, he had 80 students studying at his chess academy. He was the world's second oldest chess grandmaster (only Yuri Averbach is older).

He died in Saint Petersburg, Russia on November 28, 2016 at the age of 90, after a month and a half of medical treatment and one and a half years being seriously ill.

He played in 23 USSR chess championships (a record equaled by Efim Geller).

During his career, he defeated 6 world champions: Botvinnik (twice), Smyslov (3 times), Tal (3 times), Petrosian (4 times), Spassky (3 times), and Karpov (once). See below for these games.

Taimanov has opening variations named after him in the Sicilian Defense (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6) , the Modern Benoni (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.f4 Bg7 8.Bb5+), and the Nimzo-Indian Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 Nc6).

Taimanov has been quoted as saying, "When I play chess I think about music, and when I play the piano I think about chess, but I never get them mixed up."

Taimanov was the author of the following books:

Chess School (2008)
Damenindisch bis Katalanisch (Moderne Eroffnungstheorie 24) (1985)
Englisch (1985)
I Was a Victim of Fischer (1993)
Konigsindisch (1985)
Konigsindisch bis Altindisch (Moderne Eroffnungstheorie 19) (1984)
Meeting (1958)
Modernes Benoni bis Wolga-Gambit (1982)
Nimzovich Defense (1985)
Nimzowitsch-Indisch bis Katalaniasch (1972)
Nimzowitsch-Indisch, Rubinstein (1982)
Nimzowitsch-Indisch, Saemisch (1983)
Remembering the Most Memorable (2003)
Sicilian (1995)
Sicilian-Paulsen (1984)
Taimanov's Selected Games (1995)
Tarrasch Defence (1972)
The Sicilian Defense: Taimanov System (1989)
The Slav Defence (1973)
The Soviet Championships (1998)
The World Chess Championship, Karpov-Kasparov: Moscow 85 (1986)
Winning With the Sicilian (1991)

Selected Games

[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "Moscow URS"]
[Date "1952.12.03"]
[EventDate "1952.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Mikhail Botvinnik"]
[Black "Mark Taimanov"]
[ECO "E40"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "100"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nge2 d5 6. a3 Be7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. g3 O-O 9. Bg2 Na5 10. O-O c6 11. Na4 b6 12. Nac3 Ba6 13. Rb1 Rc8 14. Qc2 Bd6 15. b4 Nb7 16. e4 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Re8 18. Bg5 Be7 19. Bxf6 Bxf6 20. Rfd1 Nd6 21. Nxf6+ Qxf6 22. Nc3 Bc4 23. Qd2 Nb5 24. Ne4 Qg6 25. a4 Rxe4 26. axb5 Re2 27. Qf4 Bxb5 28. Bf3 Re7 29. h4 Rd8 30. Rbc1 Red7 31. d5 cxd5 32. Rxd5 Rxd5 33. Bxd5 Qf6 34. Rc7 Qxf4 35. gxf4 Be8 36. Bc4 Kf8 37. b5 Rd4 38. Kg2 Rxf4 39. Kg3 Rf5 40. Rxa7 Bxb5 41. Ra8+ Ke7 42. Ra7+ Bd7 43. Rb7 b5 44. Bd3 Rc5 45. Bxh7 g6 46. Bg8 Rd5 47. h5 Rg5+ 48. Kf4 Rxh5 49. Ke4 Rf5 50. f4 Kd6 0-1

[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "Moscow URS"]
[Date "1953.02.02"]
[EventDate "1952.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Mark Taimanov"]
[Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"]
[ECO "E58"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "71"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.e3 O-O 6.Bd3 d5 7.O-O Nc6 8.a3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 b6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.a4 c4 12.Bc2 Bg4 13.Qe1 Re8 14.Nh4 Bh5 15.f3 Bg6 16.Nxg6 hxg6 17.e4 dxe4 18.fxe4 Qd7 19.Bg5 Nh7 20.Be3 Ne7 21.Rf3 f5 22.e5 Nf8 23.h4 Ne6 24.Rd1 Qd5 25.Bc1 Rf8 26.Ba3 Rae8 27.Qg3 g5 28.Bxe7 Rxe7 29.Rxf5 Rxf5 30.Bxf5 Nf4 31.Qxg5 Rxe5 32.dxe5 Qxd1+ 33.Kh2 Qd2 34.Be6+ Kh7 35.Bxc4 g6 36.Be6 1-0

[Event "USSR Championship 1961 b"]
[Site "Baku URS"]
[Date "1961.11.26"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Vasily Smyslov"]
[Black "Mark Taimanov"]
[ECO "A10"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "74"]

1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 O-O 5. e4 c5 6. Nge2 Nc6 7. O-O a6 8. Rb1 Rb8 9. a3 b5 10. cxb5 axb5 11. b4 cxb4 12. axb4 e5 13. d3 d6 14. h3 Be6 15. Nd5 Ne7 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. f4 exf4 18. Nxf4 Nd7 19. Be3 Ne5 20. Nxe6 Qxe6 21. Qd2 Ra8 22. Rf2 Ra3 23. Bf1 Rc8 24. Rc1 Rxc1 25. Qxc1 Ra1 26. Qxa1 Nf3+ 27. Rxf3 Bxa1 28. Kg2 Qb3 29. Rf2 Kg7 30. h4 h5 31. g4 hxg4 32. h5 gxh5 33. Rf5 Qd1 34. Kg1 h4 35. Rg5+ Kf8 36. Rxb5 h3 37. Rh5 Be5 0-1

[Event "USSR Championship 1966/67"]
[Site "Tbilisi URS"]
[Date "1967.01.05"]
[EventDate "1966.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Mark Taimanov"]
[Black "Vasily Smyslov"]
[ECO "A21"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "135"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Qd2 Nf6 6. g3 Be6 7. Nd5 Ne5 8. b3 Ne4 9. Qd4 Nc5 10. f4 Nc6 11. Qe3 Be7 12. Nxe7 Qxe7 13. Bb2 O-O-O 14. Nf3 Rhe8 15. Nd4 Nxd4 16. Bxd4 Qd7 17. Qc3 Qc6 18. Rg1 Bg4 19. Qc2 Qe4 20. Qxe4 Rxe4 21. Bxg7 Rde8 22. Kd2 Bxe2 23. Bh3+ Kb8 24. Bf5 R4e7 25. Rae1 Bf3 26. Rxe7 Rxe7 27. Re1 Rxe1 28. Kxe1 h5 29. Kf2 Bd1 30. h3 c6 31. g4 Ne6 32. gxh5 Bxh5 33. Bh6 Nd4 34. Bd3 Kc7 35. Ke3 c5 36. Bg7 Ne6 37. Bf6 Nf8 38. h4 Kd7 39. Bf5+ Ke8 40. Be4 Nd7 41. Bc3 b6 42. f5 Ne5 43. f6 Ng6 44. Be1 Nf8 45. Bg3 Kd7 46. Bf5+ Ne6 47. Bh3 Bd1 48. Bf4 Bh5 49. Bh6 Bd1 50. Bf8 Bh5 51. Be7 a5 52. Kf2 Bd1 53. Kg3 a4 54. bxa4 Bxa4 55. h5 Bc2 56. h6 Bg6 57. Bg4 Bh7 58. Kf2 Bb1 59. Ke3 Bh7 60. Kd2 Bb1 61. Kc3 Be4 62. Kb3 d5 63. cxd5 Bxd5+ 64. Kc3 Be4 65. Kc4 Ke8 66. Bf3 b5+ 67. Kc3 Ng5 68. h7 1-0

[Event "M:Moscow-Leningrad, Riga"]
[Site "M:Moscow-Leningrad, Riga"]
[Date "1968.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Vasily Smyslov"]
[Black "Mark Taimanov"]
[ECO "A25"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "83"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Rb1 Nh6 6. b4 O-O 7. b5 Nd4 8. e3 Ne6 9. Nge2 d6 10. d3 f5 11. Nd5 Bd7 12. O-O c6 13. bxc6 bxc6 14. Nb4 Qc8 15. d4 e4 16. d5 Nd8 17. dxc6 Nxc6 18. Nxc6 Qxc6 19. Bb2 Bxb2 20. Rxb2 Nf7 21. Qb3 Rac8 22. Rc1 Qc5 23. Nf4 Qe5 24. Qa3 Bc6 25. Rd2 g5 26. Nd5 Ba8 27. Bf1 Rc5 28. Rcd1 a5 29. Nb6 Bc6 30. Be2 f4 31. Bg4 Rb8 32. Nd5 Bxd5 33. Rxd5 Rxd5 34. cxd5 fxg3 35. hxg3 Qb2 36. Qa4 Ne5 37. Qxe4 Rf8 38. Be6+ Kh8 39. f4 Qe2 40. Rf1 gxf4 41. gxf4 Rf6 42. Bh3 0-1

[Event "Riga tt"]
[Site "Riga tt"]
[Date "1954.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Mikhail Tal"]
[Black "Mark Taimanov"]
[ECO "C16"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "106"]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 b6 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ba6 7.Bd3 Ne7 8.Bg5 Qd7 9.Bxa6 Nxa6 10.Qd3 Qa4 11.Ne2 Qc4 12.Qd2 Ng6 13.O-O h6 14.Be3 O-O-O 15.a4 Nb8 16.a5 Nc6 17.axb6 axb6 18.Ng3 Nge7 19.Nh5 Rhg8 20.f4 g6 21.Nf6 Rh8 22.Bf2 Kb7 23.g4 h5 24.gxh5 gxh5 25.Bh4 Nf5 26.Bg5 Ra8 27.Qd3 Na5 28.Rfb1 Qc6 29.Rb4 Nc4 30.Rab1 Nfe3 31.f5 Nxf5 32.Kf2 Ra2 33.Nxd5 Qxd5 34.Rxc4 Rxc2+ 35.Qxc2 Qxc4 36.Qe4+ c6 37.Qc2 Ra8 38.Rb2 Ra1 39.Rxb6+ Kc7 40.Rb7+ Kxb7 41.Qb2+ Qb5 42.Qxa1 Qb3 43.Qc1 Qa2+ 44.Qd2 Qb1 45.Qc1 Qb3 46.Ke2 Kb6 47.Kd2 Qd5 48.Qb1+ Kc7 49.h4 Qg2+ 50.Kd3 Ng3 51.Qe1 Qf3+ 52.Qe3 Qf5+ 53.Kc4 Qb1 0-1

[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "Moscow URS"]
[Date "1969.09.23"]
[EventDate "1969.??.??"]
[Round "12"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Mark Taimanov"]
[Black "Mikhail Tal"]
[ECO "A10"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "87"]

1.c4 g6 2.g3 f5 3.d4 Bg7 4.Bg2 d6 5.d5 c5 6.Nh3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Na6 8.O-O Nc7 9.Bd2 O-O 10.Qc2 Rb8 11.a4 Bd7 12.Nf4 a6 13.a5 Qe8 14.Rab1 b5 15.axb6 Rxb6 16.b3 Rb8 17.e4 e5 18.dxe6 Nxe6 19.Nxe6 Qxe6 20.Rbe1 Kh8 21.Bh3 Ng4 22.Nd5 Bd4 23.Bc3 Bxc3 24.exf5 Qxe1 25.Rxe1 Bxe1 26.Bxg4 Kg8 27.Qb2 Bxf5 28.Bxf5 gxf5 29.Nf6+ Kg7 30.Nd7 Kg6 31.Qa1 Bb4 32.Qxa6 Rbd8 33.Qxd6+ Kh5 34.Qe7 Rxd7 35.Qxd7 Kg6 36.Kg2 Rf7 37.Qe6+ Kg7 38.Qe5+ Kg6 39.h3 Rf6 40.g4 h6 41.f4 Ba3 42.Kf3 fxg4 43.hxg4 Bb4 44.Qe7 1-0

[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "Moscow URS"]
[Date "1973.10.13"]
[EventDate "1973.10.02"]
[Round "9"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Mark Taimanov"]
[Black "Mikhail Tal"]
[ECO "A31"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "81"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.c4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 b6 5.Nc3 Bb7 6.f3 Nc6 7.e4 e6 8.Be3 Qb8 9.Qd2 Bc5 10.Be2 O-O 11.Rd1 Ne5 12.Ndb5 a6 13.Nd6 Bc6 14.a3 Ne8 15.Nxe8 Rxe8 16.b4 Bxe3 17.Qxe3 Qc7 18.O-O Rac8 19.Rc1 d6 20.Nd5 exd5 21.cxd5 b5 22.f4 Nc4 23.Bxc4 bxc4 24.Rxc4 Qd7 25.Rxc6 Rxc6 26.dxc6 Qxc6 27.Rc1 Qb7 28.Qd4 h6 29.Rc4 Qb5 30.h3 a5 31.bxa5 Qxa5 32.Qxd6 Rd8 33.Qb4 Qa7+ 34.Kh2 Qe3 35.e5 Rd3 36.Qb1 Rd8 37.a4 h5 38.Qe4 Qb6 39.Rc6 Qd4 40.Rc4 Qb6 41.Rb4 1-0

[Event "Zurich Candidates"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "1953.09.06"]
[EventDate "1953.08.30"]
[Round "5"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian"]
[Black "Mark Taimanov"]
[ECO "E12"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "81"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. e3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bb5+ c6 8. Bd3 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. b3 Nbd7 11. Bb2 Bd6 12. Nh4 Re8 13. Nf5 Bf8 14. Rc1 Ne4 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Qg4 g6 17. Nxe4 Rxe4 18. Qxe4 gxf5 19. Qxf5 Bg7 20. e4 Nf8 21. e5 Qd5 22. f4 c5 23. Qh3 cxd4 24. Rcd1 Qe4 25. Rde1 Qd5 26. Rd1 Rc8 27. Rxd4 Qa5 28. Rc4 Rxc4 29. bxc4 Qc5+ 30. Rf2 Qxc4 31. Qb3 Qe4 32. Qc2 Ne6 33. f5 Nc5 34. Qd2 Qb1+ 35. Rf1 Qd3 36. Qe1 Qd5 37. Qg3 Ne4 38. Qh4 Nc3 39. Qg4 h5 40. Qh3 Ne2+ 41. Kf2 0-1

[Event "Zurich Candidates"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "1953.10.06"]
[EventDate "1953.08.30"]
[Round "20"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Mark Taimanov"]
[Black "Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian"]
[ECO "E58"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "79"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Bd3 O-O 6. Nf3 d5 7. O-O Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3 b6 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Ne5 Qc7 12. Nxc6 Qxc6 13. f3 Be6 14. Qe1 Nd7 15. e4 c4 16. Bc2 f5 17. e5 Rf7 18. a4 a5 19. f4 b5 20. axb5 Qxb5 21. Ba3 Nb6 22. Qh4 Qe8 23. Rf3 Nc8 24. Ba4 Rd7 25. Rb1 Qd8 26. Bxd7 Qxd7 27. Rg3 Na7 28. Be7 Bf7 29. Qg5 Bg6 30. h4 Nc6 31. Ba3 Nd8 32. h5 Ne6 33. Qh4 Bf7 34. h6 g6 35. Qf6 Qd8 36. Be7 Qc7 37. Rxg6+ hxg6 38. h7+ Kxh7 39. Qxf7+ Ng7 40. Kf2 1-0

[Event "USSR"]
[Site "USSR"]
[Date "1958.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Mark Taimanov"]
[Black "Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian"]
[ECO "E97"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "55"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Nf3 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.Be3 Ng4 9.Bg5 f6 10.Bc1 Nh6 11.d5 Ne7 12.b4 Nf7 13.c5 f5 14.Ng5 Nxg5 15.Bxg5 Bf6 16.Bxf6 Rxf6 17.f4 exf4 18.Qd4 Rf7 19.e5 dxe5 20.Qxe5 g5 21.Bc4 Ng6 22.Qd4 Rg7 23.d6 Kf8 24.Rfe1 cxd6 25.Nb5 d5 26.Nd6 Be6 27.Rxe6 dxc4 28.Rf6+ 1-0

[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1959.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Mark Taimanov"]
[Black "Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian"]
[ECO "D55"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "69"]

1.d4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.Qc2 h6 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.h4 c5 12.O-O-O Nc6 13.g4 cxd4 14.exd4 Qd6 15.Kb1 Nb4 16.Qd2 Nxd3 17.Qxd3 g6 18.g5 Bc8 19.Ka1 Bf5 20.Qd2 Bg4 21.Nb5 Qe6 22.Rde1 Qf5 23.Ne5 Bxe5 24.dxe5 h5 25.Nd6 Qe6 26.Re3 Rad8 27.Rc1 Rd7 28.Qd4 Bh3 29.Rf3 Re7 30.a3 Rd8 31.Rf6 Qg4 32.Qxd5 Qxh4 33.Rxg6+ Kf8 34.Qf3 Qd4 35.Qxh5 1-0

[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "Leningrad (RUS)"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[EventDate "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Mark Taimanov"]
[Black "Boris Spassky"]
[ECO "A49"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "113"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O O-O 5. d4 d6 6. b3 a6 7. Bb2 b5 8. Nbd2 Bb7 9. Re1 Nbd7 10. e4 e5 11. dxe5 Ng4 12. Nf1 Nc5 13. Ne3 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. Qc1 h5 16. Bxe5 dxe5 17. Rd1 Qe7 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. exd5 Qd6 20. a3 f5 21. Rb1 e4 22. b4 Nd7 23. c4 bxc4 24. Qxc4 Ne5 25. Qc5 Qf6 26. d6 c6 27. d7 Nd3 28. Rxd3 exd3 29. Bxc6 Rad8 30. Rd1 h4 31. gxh4 Qxh4 32. Rxd3 f4 33. Qc4+ Kg7 34. Qc3+ Rf6 35. Bg2 f3 36. Bxf3 Qf4 37. Qc5 Kh6 38. Bg2 Rf5 39. Rh3+ Kg7 40. Qc3+ Qe5 41. Qd2 Rf4 42. Re3 Qa1+ 43. Re1 Qf6 44. Bh3 Qg5+ 45. Kh1 Qf6 46. Re7+ Qxe7 47. Qxf4 Rf8 48. Qd2 Qh4 49. Qe3 Qf6 50. Bg4 Rb8 51. h3 Rb6 52. Qc5 Rd6 53. a4 Rd2 54. a5 Rd4 55. Kg2 Kf7 56. b5 axb5 57. a6 1-0

[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "Leningrad (RUS)"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[EventDate "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Boris Spassky"]
[Black "Mark Taimanov"]
[ECO "C77"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "96"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Qe2 Be7 6. c3 b5 7. Bc2 O-O 8. O-O d5 9. d3 d4 10. Nbd2 Rb8 11. a4 dxc3 12. bxc3 b4 13. Nc4 Bg4 14. Bb2 Bc5 15. Rad1 bxc3 16. Bxc3 Nd4 17. Bxd4 Bxd4 18. h3 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 Nd7 20. Rb1 Qg5 21. Kh1 g6 22. Ne3 Nc5 23. Nc4 Kg7 24. Qe2 Ne6 25. g3 Bc5 26. Rxb8 Rxb8 27. Kh2 Qf6 28. Kg2 h5 29. h4 Nd4 30. Qd1 Qe6 31. Qd2 Bb4 32. Qd1 Be7 33. f4 exf4 34. Rxf4 f6 35. a5 Bd6 36. Rf2 Rb4 37. Qe1 c5 38. Bd1 Be5 39. Qd2 Nc6 40. Kh2 Bd4 41. Rg2 Ne5 42. Nxe5 Bxe5 43. Qe3 Rb1 44. Rd2 Bc3 45. Rc2 Rxd1 46. Qxc5 Be5 47. Qa7+ Qf7 48. Qxa6 Qd7 0-1

[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "Tbilisi (RUS)"]
[Date "1959.01.25"]
[EventDate "1959.??.??"]
[Round "10"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Mark Taimanov"]
[Black "Boris Spassky"]
[ECO "E54"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "105"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O dxc4 8. Bxc4 b6 9. a3 Bxc3 10. bxc3 Bb7 11. Re1 Nbd7 12. Bd3 Be4 13. Bf1 Qc7 14. Nd2 Bg6 15. Bb2 Ne4 16. f3 Nxd2 17. Qxd2 e5 18. e4 Rfd8 19. Qf2 f6 20. a4 Bf7 21. d5 Nf8 22. c4 Ng6 23. Ra3 Rab8 24. a5 Be8 25. axb6 axb6 26. Rea1 Bd7 27. h4 Qd6 28. g3 Rf8 29. h5 Nh8 30. Ra7 Nf7 31. Bc1 h6 32. R1a3 Ng5 33. Bg2 Nf7 34. Be3 Rfd8 35. Rb3 Bc8 36. Qa2 Bd7 37. Kh2 Ng5 38. Qb2 b5 39. cxb5 c4 40. Rb4 Rdc8 41. b6 c3 42. Qb3 c2 43. Rc4 Rxb6 44. Rxc8+ Bxc8 45. Qxc2 Rb8 46. Bxg5 hxg5 47. Qc6 Qd8 48. d6 Be6 49. Re7 Bf7 50. Qc7 Rc8 51. Rxf7 Rxc7 52. dxc7 Qa8 53. Rd7 1-0

[Event "October Revolution 60th Anniversary"]
[Site "Leningrad URS"]
[Date "1977.06.25"]
[EventDate "1977.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Anatoly Karpov"]
[Black "Mark Taimanov"]
[ECO "B32"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "76"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 e5 6. Nb3 Nf6 7. Nc3 Bb4 8. f3 O-O 9. Be3 d6 10. Rc1 b6 11. Bd3 Bc5 12. Qd2 Be6 13. Nxc5 bxc5 14. O-O Nd4 15. Nd5 Nd7 16. f4 Rb8 17. f5 Bxd5 18. cxd5 Qb6 19. Rf2 f6 20. Rc4 a5 21. Ra4 Ra8 22. Qe1 Ra7 23. b3 Rfa8 24. Rb2 Qc7 25. Bd2 Nb6 26. Rxa5 c4 27. Bf1 Rxa5 28. Bxa5 Qc5 29. Bxb6 Qxb6 30. Kh1 cxb3 31. axb3 g6 32. fxg6 hxg6 33. b4 Kg7 34. b5 f5 35. exf5 Nxf5 36. Rb3 Qd4 37. b6 Ra1 38. Rb1 Ng3+ {analysis: 39. hxg3 Ra8} 0-1



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