Requiem for the Pioneer

As reported by TV Channel “Saint Petersburg”, chess Grandmaster Mark Evgenievich Taimanov was died last night in Saint Petersburg, Russia, at the age of 90. Taimanov was born February 7, 1926 in Kharkhiv, then Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, to Jewish parents. His mother, a piano teacher, introduced him to music. His family moved to Saint Petersburg (them renamed Leningrad) when he was 6 months old. He studied and practised chess at the Leningrad Palace of Pioneers, and music at the the Leningrad State Conservatoire named after Rimsky-Korsakov. In fact, he also was well-known as a top concert pianist in the Soviet Union. With his first wife, Lyubov Aleksandrovna Bruk, he formed a piano duo, some of whose recordings were included in the Philips and Steinway series Great Pianists of the 20th Century. Taimanov is unjustly remembered for his 6–0 loss to Robert James “Bobby” Fischer in the 1971 World Championship Candidates match. However, few players have beaten six World Champions (Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov, Mikhail Nechemevich Tal, Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian, Boris Vasilievich Spassky, and Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov) as he has.

Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (left) and Boris Vasilievich Spassky (right) were habitués of the Leningrad Palace of Pioneers. Photo: eg.ru.