Vasily Smyslov – The Master of Harmony

Vasily Smyslov (1921–2010) was the 7th World Chess Champion. He was known for his calm demeanor, his red hair, and his ability to make chess look incredibly easy.

His endgame technique was flawless. He famously said, "The endgame is not a separate phase of the game, but the goal of the opening and middlegame." His Rook endings are textbook material.

Astonishingly long. He won the Candidates Tournament in 1953 (at age 32) and reached the Candidates Final again in 1984 (at age 63), playing Kasparov for a shot at the title.

He was an expert in the Ruy Lopez and the English Opening. He also revived the fianchetto lines in the Ruy Lopez which bear his name today (The Smyslov Variation).

He defeated the patriarch Mikhail Botvinnik by a score of 12.5–9.5 to become the 7th World Champion.

He won the most famous tournament in history, the Zurich Candidates, ahead of Bronstein, Keres, and Reshevsky.

In 1984, he reached the final match of the Candidates cycle, defeating Robert Huebner and Zoltan Ribli, before finally losing to the young Garry Kasparov.

His intuition was so precise that grandmasters joked his hand would simply move to the right square on its own.

He was a professional-level baritone singer. He once performed on stage at the Bolshoi Theatre and released recordings of classical arias.

He won 9 team Gold medals with the USSR at Chess Olympiads, one of the most decorated team players in history.

His system involving ...g6 in the Ruy Lopez is a solid, positional way to handle the Spanish game with Black.

He introduced the quiet move ...Bg4 in the King's Indian, trading the bishop to ease Black's cramped position.

His book *Smyslov's Best Games* focuses heavily on the transition to the endgame, teaching that small advantages are enough to win.

He played over 100 games against Botvinnik, including three World Championship matches, with an almost equal lifetime score.

In 1991, at age 70, he won the inaugural World Senior Chess Championship.

He believed that pieces should flow together like notes in a chord. He rarely created "ugly" positions.

He was a pioneer of 1.c4 (The English Opening), using it to reach technical positions where he could outplay opponents.

He tied for first place in the Interzonal tournament, showing he was still a world title threat in the 1960s.

Karpov described Smyslov as the "most universal player," capable of playing sharp tactics or dry endgames equally well.

He won the USSR Championship in 1949 (shared with Bronstein) and 1955 (shared with Geller).

Later in life, he became interested in mysticism and believed chess was a battle of cosmic energies.

Known for his politeness and calm, he rarely engaged in the psychological warfare common among his peers.

Vladimir Kramnik studied Smyslov's games deeply, adopting his "do no harm" positional style.

He remained a strong Grandmaster into his 80s, playing his final tournament game at age 81 (the "Ladies vs Veterans" match).