13 Facts About Alexander Kotov

Alexander Kotov was a Soviet chess champion, a two-time world title Candidate, and a prolific writer on the subject of chess.

Alexander Kotov was born in Tula, which was part of the Russian Empire, to a large working class family.

Alexander Kotov moved to Moscow in 1939 to study engineering, and during this time studied chess a great deal.

Alexander Kotov won the Soviet title jointly with David Bronstein in 1948, and won at Venice in 1950, ahead of Vasily Smyslov.

Alexander Kotov was granted the title of International Grandmaster in 1950 by the World Chess Federation, and held posts in the Soviet Chess Federation at the time.

Alexander Kotov played for the USSR at the Chess Olympiads of 1952 and 1954, contributing to team gold medal victories.

Alexander Kotov played in very few tournaments in his later years.

Alexander Kotov frequently praised the Soviet political system in his books.

Alexander Kotov was even described as a KGB agent by Fedir Bohatyrchuk, in his 1978 book My Way to General Vlasov.

Alexander Kotov often made his points by citing first-hand stories of incidents involving famous grandmasters, most of whom he knew personally.

Alexander Kotov contributed to the Yugoslav series Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, which began in 1974, and to the associated games book series Chess Informant as an analyst.

Alexander Kotov developed a sharp style, was definitely not afraid of complications on the chessboard, and willingly entered into them against even the greatest of opponents.

Alexander Kotov favoured the closed openings with White, and was very successful with the Sicilian Defence as Black.