Bronstein, David

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BRONSTEIN, DAVID

BRONSTEIN, DAVID (1924– ), Russian chess grand master. Born in Belaya Tserkov (Ukraine), Bronstein established his place by victories gained in Moscow in 1946, 1948, and 1949, and in Stockholm in 1948. At Budapest in 1950 he shared first place in the Candidates' Tournament with Isaac *Boleslavski, whom he defeated in the play-off. This victory qualified him to play a match of 24 games with Mikhail *Botvinnik, only to draw the match, which left Botvinnik the world champion. He did not win a Candidates' Tournament after 1950 though he was highly placed more than once. He played exceptionally well in the Interzone Tournament in Goteborg in 1955. Bronstein owed his successes to his exceptional originality. His tremendous efforts of thought in the middlegame often left him too exhausted to do justice to the endgame. He contributed much to chess theory, especially regarding openings. His book Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 (1979), annotating all the games in that famous competition, was published in several editions and translated into many languages. In the 1980s he visited Israel twice.

[Gerald Abrahams /

Shmuel Spector (2nd ed.)]

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