Alexander Konstantinopolsky
Encyclopedia
Alexander Markovich Konstantinopolsky ' onMouseout='HidePop("70762")' href="/topics/Russian_Empire">Russian Empire
, now Ukraine
– 21 September 1990, Moscow
, USSR) was a Soviet International Master (IM) of chess, chess coach
and trainer, and a chess author. He was a five-time Kiev
champion, and trained the world title challenger David Bronstein
from a young age. He earned the IM title in 1950, won the first Soviet Correspondence Chess
Championship in 1951, earned the IM title at correspondence in 1966, and was awarded an Honorary Grandmaster title in 1983.
championships five consecutive times from 1932 to 1936. He played in seven Ukrainian SSR championships. In 1931, he tied for 3rd-5th in Kharkov (6th UKR-ch). In 1933, he took 3rd in Kharkov (7th UKR-ch). In 1936, he took 4th in Kiev (8th UKR-ch). In 1937, he tied for 3rd-4th in Kiev (9th UKR-ch), which was won by Fedor Bohatirchuk. In 1938, he took 3rd in Kiev (10th UKR-ch), which was won by Isaac Boleslavsky
. In 1939, he took 3rd in Dnepropetrovsk (11th UKR-ch). In 1940, he tied for 8th-9th in Kiev (12th UKR-ch). Boleslavsky also won in both 1939 and 1940. Konstantinopolsky's early games from this period are largely missing from games databases. (portrait photo from his later years at bidmonta.com under Konstantinopolsky heading)
In 1936, Konstantinopolsky played in a Leningrad
Young Masters' tournament, scoring 7.5/14 in a strong field which played a double round robin format.
Konstantinopolsky played several times in Soviet Chess Championships. In 1931, he tied for 3rd-5th (7th URS-ch semifinal), in Moscow
. In 1934, he tied for 11th-13th in Tbilisi
(9th URS-ch sf). In April/May 1937, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Viacheslav Ragozin
, behind Grigory Levenfish
, in Tbilisi (10th URS-ch), with a score of 12/19. In 1938, he tied for 11th-12th in Kiev (URS-ch sf). In 1940, he tied for 4th-7th in Kiev (URS-ch sf), with a score of 9.5/16. In September/October 1940, he tied for 13th-16th in Moscow (12th URS-ch), with a score of 8/19.
, who eventually challenged for the World Championship title in 1951, drawing the match against Mikhail Botvinnik
. Konstantinopolsky and Bronstein were close friends, and Konstantinopolsky served as Bronstein's second for the 1950 Candidates' playoff match in Moscow, against Isaac Boleslavsky, which Bronstein won by 7.5-6.5.
He was one of the Ukrainian pioneers who developed the King's Indian Defence
into prominence, along with Boleslavsky and Bronstein. The variation had been considered suspect until the mid-1930s. During this time, he played one of the earliest games in the Yugoslav Attack against the Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defence
, a line which would become very popular about 20 years later. He also defended the Dutch Defence
with success at a time when it was rarely played by top players. Konstantinopolsky had a very wide opening repertoire with both colours, a very valuable attribute which he passed on to his prize pupil Bronstein. He was also a formidable strategist and tactician, as the games selection shows.
, he played in national tournaments. In 1940, he took 3rd in Lvov (Lviv, Lwów, Lemberg), which was won by Abram Khavin
. The war then seems to have stopped his chess activity for about three years. In February 1943, he won in Kuibyshev
. In April/May 1943, he took 6th in Sverdlovsk
, a very strong tournament, with 6.5/14; the event was won by Botvinnik. In August/September 1943, he took 2nd, behind Boleslavsky, in Kuibyshev. In 1943, he won a match against Yakov Rokhlin (+7 –0 =1). In 1944, he won a match against Lev Aronin
(+6 –1 =5). In 1944, he moved to stay in Moscow. He played in the 1945 Moscow City Championship, probably on average the strongest such event in the world, scoring 9/16.
After the war, he played in several more Soviet championships. In 1945, he tied for 1st-3rd in Baku
(URS-ch sf), with Alexander Kotov
and Iosif Rudakovsky
, each scoring 10.5/15. In June 1945, he tied for 4th-6th in Moscow (14th URS-ch), with 10.5/18; the tournament was won by Botvinnik. In 1947, he tied for 3rd-4th in Moscow (URS-ch sf). In 1948, he tied for 6th-9th in Moscow (16th URS-ch), with 9.5/17; the tournament was won jointly by Bronstein and Alexander Kotov
. In 1950, he tied for 2nd-4th in Tartu
(URS-ch sf), with a score of 10/15. In 1950, he tied for 5th-6th in Moscow (18th URS-ch), with 7.5/14; the tournament was won by Paul Keres
. In 1952, he took 16th in Moscow (20th URS-ch), with 7/19; the tournament was won jointly by Botvinnik and Mark Taimanov
. He played in the Soviet Team Championship, Riga
1954, scoring 5.5/10; this was his last really strong performance. His over-the-board play seems to have largely stopped about 1955, as he concentrated more on correspondence chess and on his job as a trainer and coach. He did play occasionally over-the-board in later years.
So, his best results in the Soviet national championships, which during that period were the strongest tournaments in the world, were four times in the top six (1937, 1945, 1948, 1950). In any virtually other nation in the world during that period, he would have been its national champion, and an almost certain Grandmaster. Because the Soviet chess talent was so deep, he never earned the highest chess title. His best games show he could hold his own with anyone in the USSR, with victories over Botvinnik, Keres, Kotov, Boleslavsky, Grigory Levenfish
, Vasily Smyslov
, Salo Flohr
, Alexander Tolush
, Viacheslav Ragozin
, Andor Lilienthal
, Viktor Korchnoi
, Yuri Averbakh
, Ratmir Kholmov
, Boris Verlinsky
, and others.
The site chessmetrics
.com, which endeavours to provide historical ratings while taking account of different methods of calculation, ranks Konstantinopolsky as #11 in the world in July 1945, at 2669, following his 7.5/13 (2684 performance) in the 14th Soviet Championship earlier that year. This is clear Grandmaster territory, which is generally regarded as 2600 or higher for events of at least nine games against rated players. Other Grandmaster-level (or near) performances include 2593 at Leningrad 1936, 2635 at Tbilisi 1937 (10th URS-ch), 2631 at Leningrad / Moscow 1939, 2622 (against rated players) at Kiev 1940 (URS-ch sf), 2566 at Moscow 1940 (12th URS-ch), 2625 at Sverdlovsk 1943, 2564 at the 1945 Moscow City Championship, 2678 at Moscow 1948 (16th URS-ch), 2655 at Moscow 1950 (18th URS-ch), and 2571 at Moscow 1952 (20th URS-ch). It is important to understand that international ratings as calculated by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, only began in 1970. The United States
and Canada
had introduced ratings for their own national play in the 1950s. So these older events are being rated retroactively, by chessmetrics, using similar mathematical algorithms, in order to compare the strength of players from those eras to those of today and of the years in between.
Championship. He was awarded the International Master (IM) title in 1950, the International Master of Correspondence Chess (IMC) title in 1966, and the Honorary Grandmaster (HGM) title in 1983. According to his game files, he only had one chance to play over-the-board in an international tournament outside the Soviet Union, the 'B' section of Amsterdam
1966, when he was well past his prime at age 56. Even so, he scored a creditable 5/9. He continued to work as one of the Soviet Union's most respected trainers well into his 70s.
He introduced an opening which is named for him as the Konstantinopolsky Opening
(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3), against Viacheslav Ragozin
at Moscow 1956. He published two chess books after age 70.
Konstantinopolsky died in Moscow, September 21, 1990, at age 80.
Konstantinopolsky defeats that year's Soviet champion.
An exchange sacrifice sets up a very deep trap winning White's Queen; interestingly, this line was eventually jointly named for Konstantinopolsky's pupil Bronstein.
Lilienthal was one of the world's strongest players during the 1940s.
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, now Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
– 21 September 1990, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, USSR) was a Soviet International Master (IM) of chess, chess coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
and trainer, and a chess author. He was a five-time Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
champion, and trained the world title challenger David Bronstein
David Bronstein
David Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
from a young age. He earned the IM title in 1950, won the first Soviet Correspondence Chess
Correspondence chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon...
Championship in 1951, earned the IM title at correspondence in 1966, and was awarded an Honorary Grandmaster title in 1983.
An Ukrainian Master
At the beginning of his career, Konstantinopolsky won the KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
championships five consecutive times from 1932 to 1936. He played in seven Ukrainian SSR championships. In 1931, he tied for 3rd-5th in Kharkov (6th UKR-ch). In 1933, he took 3rd in Kharkov (7th UKR-ch). In 1936, he took 4th in Kiev (8th UKR-ch). In 1937, he tied for 3rd-4th in Kiev (9th UKR-ch), which was won by Fedor Bohatirchuk. In 1938, he took 3rd in Kiev (10th UKR-ch), which was won by Isaac Boleslavsky
Isaac Boleslavsky
Isaac Yefremovich Boleslavsky was a Soviet–Jewish chess Grandmaster.-Early career:Boleslavsky taught himself chess at age 9...
. In 1939, he took 3rd in Dnepropetrovsk (11th UKR-ch). In 1940, he tied for 8th-9th in Kiev (12th UKR-ch). Boleslavsky also won in both 1939 and 1940. Konstantinopolsky's early games from this period are largely missing from games databases. (portrait photo from his later years at bidmonta.com under Konstantinopolsky heading)
In 1936, Konstantinopolsky played in a Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
Young Masters' tournament, scoring 7.5/14 in a strong field which played a double round robin format.
Konstantinopolsky played several times in Soviet Chess Championships. In 1931, he tied for 3rd-5th (7th URS-ch semifinal), in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. In 1934, he tied for 11th-13th in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
(9th URS-ch sf). In April/May 1937, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Viacheslav Ragozin
Viacheslav Ragozin
Viacheslav Vasilyevich Ragozin was a Soviet chess Grandmaster, an International Arbiter of chess, and a World Correspondence Chess Champion. He was also a chess writer and editor.- Biography :...
, behind Grigory Levenfish
Grigory Levenfish
Grigory Yakovlevich Levenfish was a leading Jewish Russian chess grandmaster of the 1920s and 1930s. He was twice Soviet champion - in 1934 and 1937. In 1937 he tied a match against future world champion Mikhail Botvinnik...
, in Tbilisi (10th URS-ch), with a score of 12/19. In 1938, he tied for 11th-12th in Kiev (URS-ch sf). In 1940, he tied for 4th-7th in Kiev (URS-ch sf), with a score of 9.5/16. In September/October 1940, he tied for 13th-16th in Moscow (12th URS-ch), with a score of 8/19.
Theorist and trainer
During the late 1930s, Konstantinopolsky trained young players and amateurs in Kiev, at the Palace of Young Pioneers. He was widely regarded as a friendly and kindly man. His prize pupil was the young David BronsteinDavid Bronstein
David Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
, who eventually challenged for the World Championship title in 1951, drawing the match against Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
. Konstantinopolsky and Bronstein were close friends, and Konstantinopolsky served as Bronstein's second for the 1950 Candidates' playoff match in Moscow, against Isaac Boleslavsky, which Bronstein won by 7.5-6.5.
He was one of the Ukrainian pioneers who developed the King's Indian Defence
King's Indian Defence
The King's Indian Defence is a common chess opening. It arises after the moves:Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6.The Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead, and is considered a separate opening...
into prominence, along with Boleslavsky and Bronstein. The variation had been considered suspect until the mid-1930s. During this time, he played one of the earliest games in the Yugoslav Attack against the Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
, a line which would become very popular about 20 years later. He also defended the Dutch Defence
Dutch Defence
The Dutch Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:Elias Stein , an Alsatian who settled in The Hague, recommended the defence as the best reply to 1.d4 in his 1789 book Nouvel essai sur le jeu des échecs, avec des réflexions militaires relatives à ce jeu.-Theory:Black's 1.....
with success at a time when it was rarely played by top players. Konstantinopolsky had a very wide opening repertoire with both colours, a very valuable attribute which he passed on to his prize pupil Bronstein. He was also a formidable strategist and tactician, as the games selection shows.
Grandmastership denied
He played in the tournament Leningrad / Moscow 1939, scoring an excellent 8.5/17 against an exceptionally strong field. During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he played in national tournaments. In 1940, he took 3rd in Lvov (Lviv, Lwów, Lemberg), which was won by Abram Khavin
Abram Khavin
Abram Leonidovich Khavin was a Ukrainian chess master.In 1937, he took 6th in Kiev .In 1938, he tied for 4-6th in Kiev ....
. The war then seems to have stopped his chess activity for about three years. In February 1943, he won in Kuibyshev
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
. In April/May 1943, he took 6th in Sverdlovsk
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
, a very strong tournament, with 6.5/14; the event was won by Botvinnik. In August/September 1943, he took 2nd, behind Boleslavsky, in Kuibyshev. In 1943, he won a match against Yakov Rokhlin (+7 –0 =1). In 1944, he won a match against Lev Aronin
Lev Aronin
Lev Aronin was a Soviet International Master of chess. He was a meteorologist by profession.- Early years :...
(+6 –1 =5). In 1944, he moved to stay in Moscow. He played in the 1945 Moscow City Championship, probably on average the strongest such event in the world, scoring 9/16.
After the war, he played in several more Soviet championships. In 1945, he tied for 1st-3rd in Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
(URS-ch sf), with Alexander Kotov
Alexander Kotov
Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov was a Soviet chess grandmaster and author. He was a Soviet champion, a two-time world title Candidate, and a prolific chess author. Kotov served in high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation and most of his books were written during the period of Cold War between the...
and Iosif Rudakovsky
Iosif Rudakovsky
Iosif Iosifovich Rudakovsky was a Ukrainian chess master.He took 8th at Moscow 1936, won at Rostov-on-Don 1939, shared 3rd at Kiev 1940 , tied for 4-7th at Kiev 1940 , took 20th at Moscow 1940 , and...
, each scoring 10.5/15. In June 1945, he tied for 4th-6th in Moscow (14th URS-ch), with 10.5/18; the tournament was won by Botvinnik. In 1947, he tied for 3rd-4th in Moscow (URS-ch sf). In 1948, he tied for 6th-9th in Moscow (16th URS-ch), with 9.5/17; the tournament was won jointly by Bronstein and Alexander Kotov
Alexander Kotov
Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov was a Soviet chess grandmaster and author. He was a Soviet champion, a two-time world title Candidate, and a prolific chess author. Kotov served in high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation and most of his books were written during the period of Cold War between the...
. In 1950, he tied for 2nd-4th in Tartu
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...
(URS-ch sf), with a score of 10/15. In 1950, he tied for 5th-6th in Moscow (18th URS-ch), with 7.5/14; the tournament was won by Paul Keres
Paul Keres
Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
. In 1952, he took 16th in Moscow (20th URS-ch), with 7/19; the tournament was won jointly by Botvinnik and Mark Taimanov
Mark Taimanov
Mark Evgenievich Taimanov is a leading Soviet and Russian chess player and concert pianist.-Chess:He was awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1952 and played in the Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953, where he tied for eighth place. From 1946 to 1956, he was among the world's top...
. He played in the Soviet Team Championship, Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
1954, scoring 5.5/10; this was his last really strong performance. His over-the-board play seems to have largely stopped about 1955, as he concentrated more on correspondence chess and on his job as a trainer and coach. He did play occasionally over-the-board in later years.
So, his best results in the Soviet national championships, which during that period were the strongest tournaments in the world, were four times in the top six (1937, 1945, 1948, 1950). In any virtually other nation in the world during that period, he would have been its national champion, and an almost certain Grandmaster. Because the Soviet chess talent was so deep, he never earned the highest chess title. His best games show he could hold his own with anyone in the USSR, with victories over Botvinnik, Keres, Kotov, Boleslavsky, Grigory Levenfish
Grigory Levenfish
Grigory Yakovlevich Levenfish was a leading Jewish Russian chess grandmaster of the 1920s and 1930s. He was twice Soviet champion - in 1934 and 1937. In 1937 he tied a match against future world champion Mikhail Botvinnik...
, Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
, Salo Flohr
Salo Flohr
Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...
, Alexander Tolush
Alexander Tolush
Alexander Kazimirovich Tolush was a Soviet Russian chess grandmaster. He was one of Boris Spassky's mentors. Tolush was born and died in Saint Petersburg...
, Viacheslav Ragozin
Viacheslav Ragozin
Viacheslav Vasilyevich Ragozin was a Soviet chess Grandmaster, an International Arbiter of chess, and a World Correspondence Chess Champion. He was also a chess writer and editor.- Biography :...
, Andor Lilienthal
Andor Lilienthal
Andor Arnoldovich Lilienthal was a Hungarian and Soviet chess Grandmaster. In his long career, he played against ten male and female world champions, beating Emanuel Lasker, José Raúl Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, and Vera Menchik...
, Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
, Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Lvovich Averbakh is a Soviet and Russian chess player and author. He is currently the oldest living chess grandmaster.-Life and career:...
, Ratmir Kholmov
Ratmir Kholmov
Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov was a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his career, and tied for the Soviet Championship title in 1963, but lost the playoff...
, Boris Verlinsky
Boris Verlinsky
Boris Markovich Verlinsky was a Ukrainian-Russian International Master of chess. He was one of the top Soviet players of the 1920s, and was in the top 20 in the world in 1926, clearly of Grandmaster strength at that time...
, and others.
The site chessmetrics
Chessmetrics
Chessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. It is intended as an improvement over the Elo rating system.-Implementation:...
.com, which endeavours to provide historical ratings while taking account of different methods of calculation, ranks Konstantinopolsky as #11 in the world in July 1945, at 2669, following his 7.5/13 (2684 performance) in the 14th Soviet Championship earlier that year. This is clear Grandmaster territory, which is generally regarded as 2600 or higher for events of at least nine games against rated players. Other Grandmaster-level (or near) performances include 2593 at Leningrad 1936, 2635 at Tbilisi 1937 (10th URS-ch), 2631 at Leningrad / Moscow 1939, 2622 (against rated players) at Kiev 1940 (URS-ch sf), 2566 at Moscow 1940 (12th URS-ch), 2625 at Sverdlovsk 1943, 2564 at the 1945 Moscow City Championship, 2678 at Moscow 1948 (16th URS-ch), 2655 at Moscow 1950 (18th URS-ch), and 2571 at Moscow 1952 (20th URS-ch). It is important to understand that international ratings as calculated by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, only began in 1970. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
had introduced ratings for their own national play in the 1950s. So these older events are being rated retroactively, by chessmetrics, using similar mathematical algorithms, in order to compare the strength of players from those eras to those of today and of the years in between.
Later years
In 1948–1951, Konstantinopolsky won the 1st Soviet Correspondence ChessCorrespondence chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon...
Championship. He was awarded the International Master (IM) title in 1950, the International Master of Correspondence Chess (IMC) title in 1966, and the Honorary Grandmaster (HGM) title in 1983. According to his game files, he only had one chance to play over-the-board in an international tournament outside the Soviet Union, the 'B' section of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
1966, when he was well past his prime at age 56. Even so, he scored a creditable 5/9. He continued to work as one of the Soviet Union's most respected trainers well into his 70s.
He introduced an opening which is named for him as the Konstantinopolsky Opening
Konstantinopolsky Opening
The Konstantinopolsky Opening is a rarely played chess opening that begins with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3.It was introduced in the game Konstantinopolsky–Ragozin, Moscow 1956....
(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3), against Viacheslav Ragozin
Viacheslav Ragozin
Viacheslav Vasilyevich Ragozin was a Soviet chess Grandmaster, an International Arbiter of chess, and a World Correspondence Chess Champion. He was also a chess writer and editor.- Biography :...
at Moscow 1956. He published two chess books after age 70.
Konstantinopolsky died in Moscow, September 21, 1990, at age 80.
Notable chess games
Konstantinopolsky defeats that year's Soviet champion.
- Ilia Kan vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, USSR Young Masters tournament, Leningrad 1936, Dutch Defence, Stonewall Variation (A95), 0-1 Another Dutch game shows a definite flair for this sharp defence.
- Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Viacheslav Ragozin, USSR Young Masters tournament, Leningrad 1936, King's Indian Attack / Reversed Grunfeld (A07), 1-0 Black goes for complications and gets outcombined.
- Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Alexander Tolush, Moscow 1936, Queen's Pawn Game (A47), 1-0 Tolush gets too greedy, grabs material with his King in the centre, and gets demolished.
- Vladimir Alatortsev vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, USSR Championship, Tbilisi 1937, Dutch Defence, Stonewall Variation (A91), 0-1 Konstantinopolsky again shows his virtuosity with the Dutch.
- Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Ilia Kan, USSR Championship, Tbilisi 1937, Sicilian Defence, Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack (B76), 1-0 One of the very first games with this dangerous plan of long castling by White.
- Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Samuel Reshevsky, Leningrad / Moscow 1939, Neo-Grunfeld Defence (D78), 1-0 Reshevsky was one of the very top players outside the USSR; this was one of the few games where Konstantinopolsky got the chance to meet a non-Soviet player.
- Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Salo Flohr, USSR Championship, Moscow 1945, Caro-Kann Defence, Two Knights' Variation (B10), 1-0 Flohr was a guru with the Caro-Kann, but meets his match here.
- Boris Verlinsky vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, Moscow Championship 1945, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E67), 0-1 One of the influential games using the King's Indian Defence from this period, as the line was rising in popularity.
- Grigory Levenfish vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, Leningrad 1947, Caro-Kann Defence, Bronstein-Larsen Variation (B16), 0-1
An exchange sacrifice sets up a very deep trap winning White's Queen; interestingly, this line was eventually jointly named for Konstantinopolsky's pupil Bronstein.
- Paul Keres vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, USSR Championship, Moscow 1948, Caro-Kann Defence, Panov-Botvinnik Attack (B14), 0-1 Black's strong Kingside attack outwits the formidable tactician Keres, the #3 player in the world at the time.
- Alexander Kotov vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, USSR Championship, Moscow 1948, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E67), 0-1 Another dandy with the King's Indian to defeat that year's Soviet co-champion.
- Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Andor Lilienthal, USSR Championship, Moscow 1948, Grunfeld Defence, Exchange Variation (D85), 1-0
Lilienthal was one of the world's strongest players during the 1940s.
- Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Vasily Smyslov, USSR Championship, Moscow 1948, Semi-Slav / Grunfeld-Schlechter Defence (D30), 1-0 Smyslov had finished second in the World Championship tournament earlier that year.
- Ratmir Kholmov vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, USSR Championship, Moscow 1948, Queen's Pawn Game / London System / King's Indian Defence (A46), 0-1 White avoids main-line King's Indian theory to no avail.
- Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Isaac Boleslavsky, USSR Championship, Moscow 1950, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E68), 1-0 This game has Konstantinopolsky on the White side of the King's Indian scoring a win over the world's #3 player that year!
- Yuri Averbakh vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, USSR Championship, Moscow 1950, Ruy Lopez, Closed (C92), 0-1 Future Soviet Champion Averbakh gets deposed here.
- Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Viktor Korchnoi, USSR Championship, Moscow 1952, Queen's Pawn Game (D03), 1-0 By some accounts, Korchnoi is the #6-ranked player of all time, so any win over him is noteworthy.
- Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Alexei Suetin, USSR Championship, Moscow 1952, Grunfeld Defence, Russian Variation (D95), 1-0 This method of play in the opening was just being developed then, so this was one of the important early games.
Writings and further reading
- The Caro-Kann Defence by Alexander Konstantinopolsky and Weiz, Hamburg (Schmaus 1982), ISBN .......... (in German)
- Vienna Game, by Alexander Konstantinopolsky, London (Batsford 1986), ISBN 0-7134-3615-8
- The Sorcerer's Apprentice by David Bronstein and Tom Furstenberg, London (Cadogan 1995), ISBN 1-85744-151-6