Talk:Paul Keres

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Did Keres die in Helsinki or in Vancouver? I have heard that the reason that Vancouver has the Paul Keres Memorial is because Keres died there while walking to his Hotel in Vancouver after playing a tournament. I can't find any more detailed information than this, however.

Nowhere have I read that he died in Finland, although he frequented the country as is typical for an Estonian.

I think what happened is that he died en route to Estonia from Vancouver after playing in the Vancouver 1975.

reqphoto --Ioannes Pragensis 07:55, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

Photo added!!!!

Thank you --Ioannes Pragensis 12:05, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

Thanks to whoever added the game that relates to the quote that I added. Beautiful game. Keres is god ;)

Contents 1 Forced to throw games? 2 Defeated record 9 champions? 3 It wasn't until later that he found out the puzzles came from an actual game. 4 Introduction 5 Political remarks in the article

[edit] Forced to throw games?

I've added {{Fact}} to the comment that KGB files reveal he was forced to throw games. While there are strong rumours of this (especially caused by his 4 consecutive losses to Botvinnik in the 1948 tournament), and I suspect they are true, I am not aware of any documentary evidence of it, KGB or otherwise. So I think a citation is required. If there is no citation, I think it should be reworded to say that there are strong suspicions of thrown games, especially in 1948.

I'm a college student writing a thesis about Soviet Chess, and I must say there have never been any KGB files opened up that have proved this. Larry Evans and James Schroder claim they exist but have never been willing to prove that. A chess researcher named Taylor Kingston wrote an interesting article about the Keres/Botvinnik controversy and I share his opinion, that there isn't enough current information that supports a fix. I feel this whole line should be removed from the article. In fact I believe the war may have also had something to do with Keres’ play. Below are Keres' results against Botvinnik and Alekhine. Notice that his score dips during foreign occupations, against Alekhine under German occupation, then twice vs. Botvinnik under Russian occupation, finally recovering years later. Similar situations exist for other players too, including Salo Flohr, whose poor play at AVRO 1938 probably had a lot to do with the Nazi invasion of Czechoslavakia.

Keres vs. Alekhine/Botvinnik

1935-39 +1 -2 =7 (Both)

1940-41 +0 -1 =4 (Botvinnik only)

1942-43 +0 -3 =3 (Alekhine only)

1947-48 +1 -5 =0 (Botvinnik only)

1951-56 +2 -1 =2 (Botvinnik only)

Keres was also highly inconsistent. After sharing 1st with Alekhine at Bad Nauheim 1936, he placed in a tie for eighth at Dresden. After beating the world’s best players at AVRO 1938, he placed in a tie for twelfth against a much lesser field. Hague-Moscow 1948 may have been a similar downswing for Keres. Botvinnik’s triumph at Groningen in 1946, ahead of most of the world’s best players (including many un-coercible non-Russians) should prove that Botvinnik could succeed without a fix. These facts do not disprove coercion, but they do show that many simpler, non-conspiracy explanations are plausible. The5thHorseman 00:44, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

You write "Larry Evans and James Schroder claim they exist but have never been willing to prove that." If it's not asking too much, can you provide a cite for that? Not because I don't believe you, but because it would be a useful addition to the article. I agree the entire sentence should be deleted, or rewritten to begin "Larry Evans claims..." BTW, Taylor Kingston's very good articles are in the External Links. Rocksong 06:16, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Kingston says that right in his articles! That would be the site, but wait about a year and I'll be able to cite myself. Besides, I've read Larry Evans' columns; most people in the chess world don't think that highly of him as far as providing non-biased historical accounts. Kingston is one of those people. I mean, as far as these KGB documents are concerned...if they really existed, everyone in the chess world would have known about it by now. I'm fine if someone wants to leave the sentence as "Larry Evans claims...", but if you read a lot about the history of chess, many people are going to have an issue with Evans. The5thHorseman 08:00, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Defeated record 9 champions?

Searching at chessbase.com, I think Korchnoi has defeated 10: 8 "classical" champions (Botvinnik, Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov), plus two FIDE champions in Ponomariov and Topalov. So Keres has defeated a record 9 Classical world chamions (a record he'll share with Korchnoi if Topalov wins the upcoming match against Kramnik). Chessbase.com includes rapid games, but I think the Topalov win (1991) would have been at normal time controls. Not sure about the Ponomariov wins. Rocksong 06:45, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

Correction. I searched their records at ChessGames.com, not chessbase.com Rocksong 00:15, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

In fact, if you count the 5 FIDE champions in the last 8 years, Kasparov has beaten 11 world champions (everyone since Smyslov except himself and Fischer). Maybe Karpov too. Rocksong 09:06, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

You're right, Rocksong. It occurred to me this morning in the shower that Korchnoi had more, given the two lines of world champions now. I didn't think of Kasparov. Thanks for the correction. Krakatoa 14:36, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

Maybe it would be best to simply remove the "No other player has ..." line and leave it at defeating 9 world champions. The feat is impressive enough without having to try to find a carefully worded qualification that makes the achievment unique. 165.189.91.148 15:43, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

I am inclined to agree, and have removed it. I was responsible for the original (erroneous, as Rocksong pointed out) claim that Keres was the only player to beat 9 World Champions. I appreciate Rocksong's effort to save my sentence, but saying that Keres is the only player to beat nine "Classical World Champions" now sounds a little silly, almost like saying "X is the only player to beat three left-handed World Champions." Krakatoa 16:09, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] It wasn't until later that he found out the puzzles came from an actual game.

"It wasn't until later that he found out the puzzles came from an actual game."

I thought that statement was inaccurate and a little misleading.

Here's a quote from Keres' book "Grandmaster of Chess":

"I made my acquaintance with the game of chess very early, round about the age of 4 to 5 years, when, together with my elder brother, I watched the games my father played with his friends. In this way we learned the moves and the elementary rules of chess, and then naturally there followed the first tries one against another. How slowly, however, one penetrates into the secrets of the art of chess in this way is shown by the fact that for many a year we were quite unaware that the games of chess could be written down.Only after we discovered in the daily newspapers some mysterious inscriptions together with diagrams did we eventually arrive at the knowledge that these imported written games of chess."

So anyhow, I've updated the article and I sincerely hope that nobody is offended by the change. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 216.119.145.168 (talk) 23:58, 27 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Introduction

The article says ...one of the strongest chess players of all time. Many claim him to be the strongest player never to become World Chess Champion. He was dubbed "The Crown Prince of Chess".

For one, this employs weasel words. Who claims he was the strongest layer never to become world champion, and when did that happen? And who dubbed him the crown prince of chess?

Similar claims have been made about Akiba Rubinstein, for instance. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, and the aim is objectivity. If we adapt chessmetrics, Keres' 3-year-peak is among the top 30, and his 20-year peak is on place 7 (but e.g. Viktor Korchnoi is always doing better than him). So, I propose that either a measure like this is used (or pointing out how often he finished on second place in the Candidates), or the intro is cut down to that he was one of the strongest players of his era. -- Zz 13:47, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I've seen an interview where Kasparov said he was the best ever not to win the championship. Alas, it was an Internet Chess Club interview which carried a big sign saying not for use outside ICC. Perhaps someone can find a more definitive ref. I don't disagree that the Weasel Words need to go, I'm just pointing out that refs do exist but it just might take time to find them. Rocksong 23:44, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

The trouble with Wikipedia's popularity is that when you Google to check a Wikipedia phrase, mostly all you get is sites which have copied Wikipedia. However I've found "Crown Prince" at an Amazon review from 2001 that predates this article: http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Keres-Road-Top/dp/1879479354 Perhaps the phrase is used in that book? Rocksong 07:45, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Political remarks in the article

I love communism about as much as Ronald Reagan did but I don't think passages such as this:

Even after he resumed a relatively normal life and chess career, however, his play at the highest level appears to have been affected by his outsider status within the Soviet Union, which at a minimum must have aggravated the stress of playing under the watchful eye and tight control of the Soviet chess hierarchy.

belong to an encyclopedia. This should either be supported with some sort of memoirs or omitted altogether. 216.57.91.34 (talk) 13:53, 19 May 2008 (UTC)