Lev Aronin
Encyclopedia
Lev Aronin was a Soviet International Master of chess
. He was a meteorologist by profession.
. Aronin played in eight USSR Chess Championships, which were the strongest tournaments in the world during his era, and placed as high as a tie for 2nd-4th places in 1950 at Moscow.
He was the youngest of three brothers, with Gregory (1913–2007) being the eldest, and Efim (1915–1989) being the second. Gregory taught him chess at the age of 8, and he could recall that at the age of 14, Lev beat him and Efim simultaneously without looking at the boards while they were making the moves over the chessboards for Lev and themselves. "He was lying on the couch at another room and shouted the moves to us, for each board, and we were making them over the boards and shouting back our respective moves. It was amazing. Both games lasted for no longer than around 30 moves each, which is not trivial given both me and Efim were quite strong chess players" -Gregory later told.
, by +1 -6 =5. In an All-USSR First Category tournament at Gorky
, 1945, Aronin could only manage 5/15, for 14th place out of 16 players. However, he then achieved a very fine win in a tournament (likely a USSR Championship quarter-final) at Erevan 1945, scoring an unbeaten 12/15. He then scored 7.5/15 in the Soviet Championship semi-final, Moscow
1945, tying for 8th-9th places. In a Candidate Masters' tournament at Kaunas
, 1946, Aronin won clear first place with 11/14, losing only one game. This earned him the Soviet Master title, and marked a big improvement in his play in just two years.
, in the USSR Championship semi-final, Aronin made an excellent tie for second place, with 11/17. This earned him a place in his first Soviet final, held in Leningrad
1947 (15th URS-ch), and he performed creditably in super-strong company with 7/19, in a tie for 17th-18th places.
Aronin won the 1947 Championship of Moscow
Region (Oblast) with an unbeaten score of 8.5/10. He then tied for sixth place in the Moscow championship
of 1947 with a score of 7.5/14. He placed second in the Russia
n Championship at Kuibyshev
with 7.5/13, behind only Nikolay Novotelnov
.
Then, at Leningrad
1947, the Soviet qualifying semi-final for the next final, he tied for first place with Mark Taimanov
, scoring 10.5/15, and qualified for his second Soviet final. The next year saw the Soviet Championship (16th URS-ch) held in Moscow
, and Aronin scored 6/18, for 18th position.
Aronin again won the Championship of Moscow
Region (Oblast) in 1948 with an unbeaten score of 11.5/13. He played in the Russian Championship at Saratov
1948, tying for 5th-6th places, with a score of 8.5/15.
He had to return to qualifying for the next national championship, but came through the gauntlet of the semi-final, with a fine 11/16 in Moscow
1949, tying for 2nd-3rd places, to advance. The final (17th URS-ch) was also held in Moscow
, and this marked Aronin's arrival at the elite level, as he posted a strong 10/19, good for a tie for 9th-10th places, and a 2636 performance rating, according to chessmetrics
.com. This was his first Grandmaster-level result (assuming a GM result as 2600+).
1950, which worked out much better than his 1945 visit there. He scored 10.5/15, for clear first place. Aronin also played the Russian Championship at Gorky
that same year; he tied for 2nd-4th places, with 7.5/12, behind only Rashid Nezhmetdinov
.
Moving on to Moscow 1950 (18th URS-ch), this tournament marked the high point of his career, as he scored 11/17 for a tie of 2nd-4th places, behind only Paul Keres
, and a 2733 performance rating. He was exempt from qualifying the next year. Although not quite as strong the next year, Aronin scored 9/17 at Moscow 1951 (19th URS-ch), good for a 2683 performance rating, and a tie for 9th-10th places.
Aronin had to go back to the semi-final stage to qualify for the next final, however, and he qualified successfully at Sochi
1951. The 20th URS-ch was held at Moscow
1952, and Aronin dropped a bit from previous championships, managing only 9/19, for 12th place, which was still good enough for a 2617 performance.
Aronin was awarded the International Master title in 1950 by FIDE, the World Chess Federation.
, in his acclaimed 1995 book The Sorcerer's Apprentice (co-authored with Tom Furstenberg) is one writer who has something to say. Bronstein wrote that he had played several games with Aronin, and knew him quite well. Bronstein's first encounter with Aronin,
In fact, Aronin did not play in the 1955 Soviet Championship final, referred to by Bronstein, with the game against Smyslov. Likely Bronstein means the 1951 Championship, in which Smyslov and Aronin both played. And for the 1952 qualification situation with Kotov, referred to by Bronstein, Aronin had finished with 9/17 in the 1951 Championship, the Soviet qualifying event for the 1952 Interzonal, while Kotov had 8/17 in that event. Several players who had finished ahead of Aronin in that 1951 event were otherwise exempt past the 1952 Interzonal stage: Botvinnik as World Champion, and Paul Keres
, Smyslov, and Bronstein, based on their earlier strong performances from previous World Championship cycles. Taimanov, Efim Geller
, Yuri Averbakh
, and Tigran Petrosian
all finished ahead of Aronin in the 1951 Soviet final, and those four played in the 1952 Interzonal, along with Kotov; all five Soviets also played well enough to move on from Stockholm
to the 1953 Candidates' Tournament at Zurich
.
1954. There, he scored 6.5/10, good for a 2705 performance rating. Then, at Leningrad 1956, he was again in form, with a fine 11.5/19, good for a first-place tie, along with Abraham Khasin, Alexander Tolush
, Konstantin Klaman, and Boris Spassky
. This was a 2625 performance.
He went back to the semi-final stage for the 1957 Soviet final, and he qualified through with a fine 14/19 at the semi-final in Tbilisi
1957, second place behind Taimanov, and advanced to the final. Then, at the 1957 Soviet Championship in Moscow (24th URS-ch), Aronin scored 11/21 to tie for 10th-11th places, and a 2663 performance. In an International tournament in Leningrad later in 1957, Aronin scored 12/19, good for a tie for third-fourth places, behind Spassky and Alexander Tolush
, and tied with Taimanov. This was a 2635 performance.
Aronin was selected for the Soviet team for the first European Team Championship, Vienna
1957, and scored 1.5/3 on the second reserve board. The Soviets won team gold, and in an utterly dominant performance, captured individual gold medals on each of the top nine boards.
In the Alekhine
Memorial, Moscow 1959, Aronin had a minus score of 5/11, and tied for 7th-9th places, but this was still a 2616 performance. In the Moscow Championship of 1961, he tied for 3rd-5th places with 11/17, good for a 2629 performance. He played in an International tournament at Moscow
1961, and finished fourth, with 6.5/11, good for a 2628 performance. He trailed only winners Evgeni Vasiukov
and Vasily Smyslov
, and third-placed Friðrik Ólafsson
, while finishing ahead of several Grandmasters.
For the next Soviet final, he had to qualify, and did so at Riga
1962. Then, in the 1962 Soviet Championship at Erevan (30th URS-ch), Aronin scored 10.5/19, good for a 2628 performance rating. He had a poor tournament at the Moscow
1962 International, scoring just 5/15. He won the Moscow
Championship in 1965.
were not introduced by FIDE until 1970, well after Aronin's peak years. If one considers a 2600+ performance against a high-quality field as a Grandmaster result, which is the current definition used by the World Chess Federation to determine Grandmaster norms, Aronin scored at least a dozen in this category (documented above), including two of the Super-Grandmaster level of 2700+ (18th URS-ch, Moscow 1950, where he made 2733; and Riga 1954, URS-ch-T, where he made 2705).
Aronin never got the chance to compete internationally, outside the Soviet Union, in an individual tournament. It is entirely possible that his career as a meteorologist worked against him in this respect; defection
s of several very strong Soviet players, including as Alexander Alekhine
, Efim Bogolyubov, and Fedor Bohatirchuk to the West following the Soviet takeover in 1917 may have made the Soviet chess organization wary of allowing Aronin to travel outside the USSR with his important (and possibly secret) scientific knowledge. His only international chances came in a team event in 1957, and in a team match against Bulgaria
that same year, where he played two games. In every Soviet tournament he played, he had to face a number of very strong compatriots. Stuck behind the incredibly deep Soviet vanguard, which in 1957 had 15 of the world's top 20 players, Aronin's chances to go abroad never came, since he was 37 by this time, and international opportunities were reserved for proven winners and younger players. Chessmetrics
.com places Aronin at #18 in the world from December 1952 to March 1953, and his highest historical rating was 2674, in March, 1952, 22nd in the world.
Aronin's style tended to be positional in nature, with the tactics arising naturally out of the position rather than being forced, and he was one of the leading lights with the King's Indian Defence from the mid-1940s, as this defence became very popular. He was a fine theoretician who was dangerous for virtually everyone he met; during his career he scored wins over almost all the top Soviet players, excepting Mikhail Botvinnik
and Vasily Smyslov
. Chessgames.com has 201 of his games; chessworld.net has 316 of his games; and chessbase.com has 430 games listed by him. Many of these games would be duplicated between sites. A photo of Aronin can be found at the site: www.bidmonfa.com/aronin_lev.htm.
One of the mainline variations in the Orthodox King's Indian Defence
is named the Aronin - Taimanov Variation, in honour of him and of GM Mark Taimanov
. The variation runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1.
Aronin died at age 63 in Moscow on October 3, 1983.
Konstantinopolsky had been Bronstein's youth coach, and was a near-GM strength player himself.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
. He was a meteorologist by profession.
Early years
Lev Solomonovich Aronin was one of the strongest chess players, since the end of World War II, never to be awarded the Grandmaster title, which he almost certainly deserved, according to 1951 World finalist 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...
. Aronin played in eight USSR Chess Championships, which were the strongest tournaments in the world during his era, and placed as high as a tie for 2nd-4th places in 1950 at Moscow.
He was the youngest of three brothers, with Gregory (1913–2007) being the eldest, and Efim (1915–1989) being the second. Gregory taught him chess at the age of 8, and he could recall that at the age of 14, Lev beat him and Efim simultaneously without looking at the boards while they were making the moves over the chessboards for Lev and themselves. "He was lying on the couch at another room and shouted the moves to us, for each board, and we were making them over the boards and shouting back our respective moves. It was amazing. Both games lasted for no longer than around 30 moves each, which is not trivial given both me and Efim were quite strong chess players" -Gregory later told.
Early competitive results
Aronin lost a match quite badly in 1944, to the strong, experienced Master Alexander KonstantinopolskyAlexander Konstantinopolsky
Alexander Markovich Konstantinopolsky was a Soviet International Master 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...
, by +1 -6 =5. In an All-USSR First Category tournament at Gorky
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
, 1945, Aronin could only manage 5/15, for 14th place out of 16 players. However, he then achieved a very fine win in a tournament (likely a USSR Championship quarter-final) at Erevan 1945, scoring an unbeaten 12/15. He then scored 7.5/15 in the Soviet Championship semi-final, 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...
1945, tying for 8th-9th places. In a Candidate Masters' tournament at Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
, 1946, Aronin won clear first place with 11/14, losing only one game. This earned him the Soviet Master title, and marked a big improvement in his play in just two years.
Soviet Master
In 1946 at TbilisiTbilisi
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...
, in the USSR Championship semi-final, Aronin made an excellent tie for second place, with 11/17. This earned him a place in his first Soviet final, held in 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...
1947 (15th URS-ch), and he performed creditably in super-strong company with 7/19, in a tie for 17th-18th places.
Aronin won the 1947 Championship of 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...
Region (Oblast) with an unbeaten score of 8.5/10. He then tied for sixth place in the Moscow championship
Moscow City Chess Championship
-References: ****** from chessbase.com...
of 1947 with a score of 7.5/14. He placed second in the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Championship at 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...
with 7.5/13, behind only Nikolay Novotelnov
Nikolay Novotelnov
Nikolay Novotelnov was Russian chess International Master and author.He was champion of Leningrad and won Russian Federated Republics championship in 1947. He was 6th at the Chigorin Memorial Tournament in 1947.-Notable games:***-External links:...
.
Then, at 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...
1947, the Soviet qualifying semi-final for the next final, he tied for first place with 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...
, scoring 10.5/15, and qualified for his second Soviet final. The next year saw the Soviet Championship (16th URS-ch) held 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...
, and Aronin scored 6/18, for 18th position.
Aronin again won the Championship of 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...
Region (Oblast) in 1948 with an unbeaten score of 11.5/13. He played in the Russian Championship at Saratov
Saratov
-Modern Saratov:The Saratov region is highly industrialized, due in part to the rich in natural and industrial resources of the area. The region is also one of the more important and largest cultural and scientific centres in Russia...
1948, tying for 5th-6th places, with a score of 8.5/15.
He had to return to qualifying for the next national championship, but came through the gauntlet of the semi-final, with a fine 11/16 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...
1949, tying for 2nd-3rd places, to advance. The final (17th URS-ch) was also held 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...
, and this marked Aronin's arrival at the elite level, as he posted a strong 10/19, good for a tie for 9th-10th places, and a 2636 performance rating, according to 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. This was his first Grandmaster-level result (assuming a GM result as 2600+).
Reaches the Soviet elite
Despite his solid finish in 1949, Aronin was not exempt into the next Soviet final. To qualify, he played the semi-final at GorkyNizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
1950, which worked out much better than his 1945 visit there. He scored 10.5/15, for clear first place. Aronin also played the Russian Championship at Gorky
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
that same year; he tied for 2nd-4th places, with 7.5/12, behind only Rashid Nezhmetdinov
Rashid Nezhmetdinov
Rashid Gibiatovich Nezhmetdinov was an eminent Soviet chess player, chess writer, and Checkers player.-Early life:Nezhmetdinov was born in Aktubinsk, Russian Empire, in what is now Aqtöbe, Kazakhstan, of Tatar ethnicity. His parents died when he was very young, leaving him and two other siblings...
.
Moving on to Moscow 1950 (18th URS-ch), this tournament marked the high point of his career, as he scored 11/17 for a tie of 2nd-4th places, behind only 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....
, and a 2733 performance rating. He was exempt from qualifying the next year. Although not quite as strong the next year, Aronin scored 9/17 at Moscow 1951 (19th URS-ch), good for a 2683 performance rating, and a tie for 9th-10th places.
Aronin had to go back to the semi-final stage to qualify for the next final, however, and he qualified successfully at Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
1951. The 20th URS-ch was held at 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...
1952, and Aronin dropped a bit from previous championships, managing only 9/19, for 12th place, which was still good enough for a 2617 performance.
Aronin was awarded the International Master title in 1950 by FIDE, the World Chess Federation.
International chance denied
Very little about Aronin's chess can be found in English-language sources. However, GM 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...
, in his acclaimed 1995 book The Sorcerer's Apprentice (co-authored with Tom Furstenberg) is one writer who has something to say. Bronstein wrote that he had played several games with Aronin, and knew him quite well. Bronstein's first encounter with Aronin,
In fact, Aronin did not play in the 1955 Soviet Championship final, referred to by Bronstein, with the game against Smyslov. Likely Bronstein means the 1951 Championship, in which Smyslov and Aronin both played. And for the 1952 qualification situation with Kotov, referred to by Bronstein, Aronin had finished with 9/17 in the 1951 Championship, the Soviet qualifying event for the 1952 Interzonal, while Kotov had 8/17 in that event. Several players who had finished ahead of Aronin in that 1951 event were otherwise exempt past the 1952 Interzonal stage: Botvinnik as World Champion, and 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....
, Smyslov, and Bronstein, based on their earlier strong performances from previous World Championship cycles. Taimanov, Efim Geller
Efim Geller
Efim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions...
, 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:...
, and Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
all finished ahead of Aronin in the 1951 Soviet final, and those four played in the 1952 Interzonal, along with Kotov; all five Soviets also played well enough to move on from Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
to the 1953 Candidates' Tournament at Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
.
Grandmaster without the Title
Aronin's next strong performance took place in the Soviet Team Championship, RigaRiga
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. There, he scored 6.5/10, good for a 2705 performance rating. Then, at Leningrad 1956, he was again in form, with a fine 11.5/19, good for a first-place tie, along with Abraham Khasin, 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...
, Konstantin Klaman, and Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
. This was a 2625 performance.
He went back to the semi-final stage for the 1957 Soviet final, and he qualified through with a fine 14/19 at the semi-final 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...
1957, second place behind Taimanov, and advanced to the final. Then, at the 1957 Soviet Championship in Moscow (24th URS-ch), Aronin scored 11/21 to tie for 10th-11th places, and a 2663 performance. In an International tournament in Leningrad later in 1957, Aronin scored 12/19, good for a tie for third-fourth places, behind Spassky and 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...
, and tied with Taimanov. This was a 2635 performance.
Aronin was selected for the Soviet team for the first European Team Championship, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
1957, and scored 1.5/3 on the second reserve board. The Soviets won team gold, and in an utterly dominant performance, captured individual gold medals on each of the top nine boards.
In the Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
Memorial, Moscow 1959, Aronin had a minus score of 5/11, and tied for 7th-9th places, but this was still a 2616 performance. In the Moscow Championship of 1961, he tied for 3rd-5th places with 11/17, good for a 2629 performance. He played in an International tournament at 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...
1961, and finished fourth, with 6.5/11, good for a 2628 performance. He trailed only winners Evgeni Vasiukov
Evgeni Vasiukov
Evgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov is a Russian chess Grandmaster. During his career, he won the Championship of Moscow on six occasions and scored many victories in international tournaments, such as Belgrade Open 1961, Moscow International 1961, East Berlin 1962, and Manila 1974...
and 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...
, and third-placed Friðrik Ólafsson
Friðrik Ólafsson
Friðrik Ólafsson is an Icelandic chess Grandmaster and former president of FIDE.Friðrik was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. A first-time winner of the Icelandic Championship in 1952 and of the Scandinavian Championship a year later, he rapidly became recognised as the strongest Icelandic player of his...
, while finishing ahead of several Grandmasters.
For the next Soviet final, he had to qualify, and did so at 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,...
1962. Then, in the 1962 Soviet Championship at Erevan (30th URS-ch), Aronin scored 10.5/19, good for a 2628 performance rating. He had a poor tournament at the 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...
1962 International, scoring just 5/15. He won the 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...
Championship in 1965.
Legacy and style
International ratingsElo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
were not introduced by FIDE until 1970, well after Aronin's peak years. If one considers a 2600+ performance against a high-quality field as a Grandmaster result, which is the current definition used by the World Chess Federation to determine Grandmaster norms, Aronin scored at least a dozen in this category (documented above), including two of the Super-Grandmaster level of 2700+ (18th URS-ch, Moscow 1950, where he made 2733; and Riga 1954, URS-ch-T, where he made 2705).
Aronin never got the chance to compete internationally, outside the Soviet Union, in an individual tournament. It is entirely possible that his career as a meteorologist worked against him in this respect; defection
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
s of several very strong Soviet players, including as Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
, Efim Bogolyubov, and Fedor Bohatirchuk to the West following the Soviet takeover in 1917 may have made the Soviet chess organization wary of allowing Aronin to travel outside the USSR with his important (and possibly secret) scientific knowledge. His only international chances came in a team event in 1957, and in a team match against Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
that same year, where he played two games. In every Soviet tournament he played, he had to face a number of very strong compatriots. Stuck behind the incredibly deep Soviet vanguard, which in 1957 had 15 of the world's top 20 players, Aronin's chances to go abroad never came, since he was 37 by this time, and international opportunities were reserved for proven winners and younger players. 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 places Aronin at #18 in the world from December 1952 to March 1953, and his highest historical rating was 2674, in March, 1952, 22nd in the world.
Aronin's style tended to be positional in nature, with the tactics arising naturally out of the position rather than being forced, and he was one of the leading lights with the King's Indian Defence from the mid-1940s, as this defence became very popular. He was a fine theoretician who was dangerous for virtually everyone he met; during his career he scored wins over almost all the top Soviet players, excepting 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...
and 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...
. Chessgames.com has 201 of his games; chessworld.net has 316 of his games; and chessbase.com has 430 games listed by him. Many of these games would be duplicated between sites. A photo of Aronin can be found at the site: www.bidmonfa.com/aronin_lev.htm.
One of the mainline variations in the Orthodox 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...
is named the Aronin - Taimanov Variation, in honour of him and of GM 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...
. The variation runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1.
Aronin died at age 63 in Moscow on October 3, 1983.
Notable chess games
- Boris Verlinsky vs Lev Aronin, USSR Championship semi-final, Moscow 1945, Reti Opening / Nimzo-Larsen Attack (A06), 0-1 Aronin knocks off the veteran Verlinsky, 1929 Soviet Champion.
- Lev Aronin vs David Bronstein, Moscow Championship 1947, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation (B92), 1-0 Bronstein was on his way up to challenge for the world title.
- Salo Flohr vs Lev Aronin, USSR Championship, Leningrad 1947, King's Indian Defence, Classical Variation (E94), 0-1 Aronin was one of the leading practitioners of the King's Indian Defence, during its development in the 1940s.
- Mark Taimanov vs Lev Aronin, USSR Championship, Moscow 1948, Sicilian Defence (B56), 0-1 Aronin was getting dangerous with the Black pieces against top players, and this was one of the keys to his rise.
- Grigory Levenfish vs Lev Aronin, USSR Championship, Moscow 1948, Neo-Grunfeld Defence (D77), 0-1 Devastating tactical victory over a former Soviet Champion.
- Salo Flohr vs Lev Aronin, USSR Championship, Moscow 1948, King's Indian Defence, Classical Variation (E92), 0-1 Another triumph for Black in the King's Indian.
- Vladas Mikenas vs Lev Aronin, USSR Championship, Moscow 1949, King's Indian Defence, Classical Variation (E90), 0-1 Mikenas was a perennial Lithuanian Champion who was also of near GM strength.
- Lev Aronin vs Alexander Kotov, USSR Championship, Moscow 1949, Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation (B85), 1-0 Kotov had been joint Soviet Champion the year before.
- Tigran V. Petrosian vs Lev Aronin, USSR Championship, Moscow 1950, Queen's Gambit, Semi-Slav Defence (D43), 0-1 Aronin shows he can also play excellent chess in the classical style.
- Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Lev Aronin, USSR Championship, Moscow 1950, Sicilian Defence, Richter-Rauzer Variation (B66), 0-1
Konstantinopolsky had been Bronstein's youth coach, and was a near-GM strength player himself.
- Lev Aronin vs David Bronstein, USSR Championship, Moscow 1951, Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Dragon Variation / Maroczy Bind (B38), 1-0 Bronstein had drawn a match for the World Championship earlier in the year.
- Lev Aronin vs Tigran V. Petrosian, USSR Championship, Moscow 1951, Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation (C91), 1-0 Petrosian was gradually working his way towards the World Championship, which he would win in 1963.
- Lev Aronin vs Alexander Tolush, USSR Championship, Moscow 1952, Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation, Chigorin Defence (C99), 1-0 Aronin was a good theoretician, and he notches a win in one of the most heavily analysed variations.
- Lev Aronin vs Isaac Boleslavsky, USSR Championship, Moscow 1952, Sicilian Defence, Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack (B76), 1-0 Boleslavsky had been the joint winner of the Candidates' tournament two years earlier.
- Mikhail Tal vs Lev Aronin, USSR Team Championship, Riga 1954, Caro-Kann Defence, Two Knights' Variation (B10), 0-1 This event was one of Aronin's peak performances, and he takes care of the 17-year-old Tal in fine style.
- Lev Aronin vs Ratimir Kholmov, USSR Championship, Moscow 1957, Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation (C92), 1-0 Kholmov was on his way towards becoming virtually unbeatable during this era.
- Lev Aronin vs Viktor Korchnoi, USSR Championship, Moscow 1957, Grunfeld Defence (D91), 1-0 Korchnoi was a rising star, but he had to fight his way through a cadre of veteran masters like Aronin.
- Lev Aronin vs Nikolay Minev, USSR vs Bulgaria team match, Sofia 1957, Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation (C92), 1-0 Aronin scores on his first trip outside the USSR.
- Lev Aronin vs Vladimir Simagin, Moscow Championship 1961, Caro-Kann Defence, Advance Variation (B12), 1-0 Simagin was a crafty veteran GM with a creative bent in the openings.
- Mikhail Tal vs Lev Aronin, USSR Championship, Erevan 1962, Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Dragon Variation (B37), 0-1 Aronin defeats a former World Champion who was one of the most dangerous attacking players of all time.
- Lev Aronin vs Aron Reshko, USSR Team Championship, Moscow 1966, Scandinavian Defence (B01), 1-0 One of Aronin's last notable wins.