From behind the Iron Curtain and out of the deep freezer of the Cold War emerged a cold-blooded chess assassin, a man of iron will, iron discipline, iron technique: Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, World Champion 1948-1957, 1958-1960, and 1961-61, dominated the chess world after WWII in a way that no doubt made his political and ideological mentor, Josef Stalin, proud as a Triple Crown owner. Botvinnik had officially challenged champion Alexander Alekhine shortly after the end of WWII; with the latter’s death in 1946, newly-formed FIDE organized the Hague-Moscow match-tournament. Botvinnik won decisively, and became the first FIDE World Champion. Arguably, no other champion fought so hard, or against such formidable opposition, as Botvinnik during his tenures as champ. In 1951, he drew a title defense against Bronstein, and in 1954 did the same against Smyslov. Then came the astonishing rounds of defeats and title reclamations: losing the crown to Smyslov in 1957 and regaining it in the return match of ’58; losing it to Tal in 1959 and taking it back in 1960. After losing the title a third time to Petrosian in 1962, along with the right to an automatic rematch, Botvinnik finally withdrew from the World Championship chase, and retired from competitive chess in 1970. Described as aloof, humorless, and suspicious, Botvinnik seemed to be an iconic product of Stalin’s Soviet Union. The game below comes from late in his career. Watch him drop a “Big One” in the win column by nuking Lajos Portisch clean off the board.

[Click HERE for floating game board.]