International Master ( IM )
Which title was conferred to Ratmir Kholmov in 1954?
Ratmir Kholmov Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov ( Russian : Ратмир Дмитриевич Холмов ) ( 13 May 1925 in Shenkursk – 18 February 2006 in Moscow ) was a Russian chess Grandmaster . He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his career , and tied for the Soviet Championship title in 1963 , but lost the playoff . Kholmov was not well known in the West , since he never competed there during his career peak , being confined to events in socialist countries . His chess results were impressive , so this may have been for security reasons , as Kholmov had been a wartime sailor . But he was one of the strongest Soviet players from the mid-1950s well into the 1970s , and was ranked as high as No . 8 in the world by Chessmetrics.com from August 1960 to March 1961 . Kholmov stayed active in competitive chess right to the end of his life , and maintained a high standard . Early years . Kholmov learned chess at age 12 , and was near Master strength within three years . He served as a sailor in the Soviet merchant marine during World War II , sailing mainly the Northern Arctic route . In 1945 , he took 5th in Tula . In 1946 , he won in Zhdanovichi ( Belarus ) . In 1947 , he took 4th in the 13th Belarusian championship . Later that year , he made his first high-level appearance at the Mikhail Chigorin Memorial , Moscow 1947 , scoring 5½/15 against a powerful international field . In 1948 , Kholmov won the next BLR-ch in 1948 , unbeaten , with 11½/13 . Kholmov qualified for his first Soviet final in 1948 , Moscow URS-ch16 , scoring 8½/18 for 12th place , where the winners were David Bronstein and Alexander Kotov . He had to return to the Soviet semifinal level at Tbilisi 1949 , where he placed 3rd with 10½/17 to advance . At Moscow URS-ch17 , 1949 , he showed solid improvement , finishing tied 9th–10th with 10/19 , as Bronstein and Vasily Smyslov won . In 1950 , he took 3rd in Pärnu , 7th in Tbilisi , and tied 4th–5th in the Spartak Club Championship . He missed Finals qualifying at Tartu 1950 ( URS-ch18sf ) with 9½/15 for fifth place . In 1954 , he took 2nd , behind Vladas Mikėnas in Vilnius ( Quadrangular ) . Kholmov won , or tied for 1st , in the Lithuanian championships in 1949 , 1950 , 1951 , 1952 , 1953 , 1955 , 1957 , 1958 , 1959 , and 1960 , making a total of ten outright or shared Lithuanian titles . This consistent success meant that he could be a full-time chess professional . International debut . Kholmov made his international debut at Bucharest 1954 with a tied 3rd–4th place , on 11/17 , as Viktor Korchnoi won . He placed 6th at Kiev 1954 in the URS-ch21 with 10½/19 , with Yuri Averbakh winning ; this heralded his arrival in the Soviet elite . FIDE awarded Kholmov the International Master ( IM ) title in 1954 . He tied for 3rd–6th places at Leningrad 1955–56 with 10½/18 , as Vladimir Antoshin won . Kholmov tied for 1st–2nd places at Dresden 1956 with Averbakh on 12/15 . He earned the International Master title for this . A very solid tied 5th–7th place at URS-ch23 in Leningrad 1956 , with 10½/17 , reinforced his high-echelon status . He maintained this standard at the next Soviet final , URS-ch24 at Moscow 1957 , with 6th place on 12½/21 . He placed 2nd at Szczawno-Zdrój 1957 with 11/15 behind winner Efim Geller . Kholmov won the Soviet semifinal at Tashkent 1958 with 11½/15 , ahead of Korchnoi and Geller . His first clear international title was at Balatonfüred 1959 , where he scored 10/13 to edge Wolfgang Uhlmann . In the URS-ch26 at Tbilisi 1959 , Kholmov continued his improvement at the top Soviet level with a tied 4th–5th place , with 12/19 , as Tigran Petrosian won . Grandmaster . Kholmov scored one of the best results of his career with a tied 1st–2nd , along with Smyslov , at the Moscow International 1960 with 8½/11 . The same year FIDE awarded him the Grandmaster ( GM ) title . He won the Soviet semifinal at Novgorod 1961 with 13/16 . In Baku , at URS-ch29 ( December 1961 ) , he scored 11/20 to tie for 8th–11th places . He was clear first at Bucharest 1962 with 11½/15 , ahead of Vladislav Shianovsky . He tied for 2nd–4th places in the Spartak Championship at Minsk 1962 with 11/17 , behind Anatoly Bannik . Kholmov won at Kecskemét 1962 with 11/15 , ahead of Lajos Portisch and László Szabó , who tied for 2nd–3rd places . He placed 4th in the URS-ch30 at Yerevan 1962 with 13/19 , a point behind champion Korchnoi . In 1963 he shared 1st–3rd , with Boris Spassky and Leonid Stein , at Leningrad at the 31st Soviet Chess Championships . Stein prevailed in the three man playoff . Consequently , Kholmov is arguably the strongest player of the era ranging from the 1940s through the 1960s to never hold the title of Soviet Champion . ( Isaac Boleslavsky is the only other player of Kholmovs strength in that period to never hold the title. ) At Sochi 1964 , Kholmov tied 2nd–3rd places with 10/15 , behind winner Nikolai Krogius . Then Kholmov suffered perhaps his greatest career disappointment in the Soviet Zonal tournament , Moscow 1964 , where he scored 6/12 for 4th in a super-strong field , but fell one place short of advancing to the Interzonal stage . At Kiev in the URS-ch32 ( 1964/65 ) , Kholmov tied 5th–6th places with 11½/19 , as Korchnoi won . He made a notable result at Havana 1965 with 5th place on 14½/21 , as Smyslov won , but Kholmov defeated Bobby Fischer and finished undefeated in the tournament . At Tbilisi 1966/67 for URS-ch34 , he scored 10/20 to tie for 10th–12th places , as Stein won again . Kholmov moved to Moscow in 1967 and lived there for the rest of his life . He won at Belgrade 1967 with 6½/9 . One of his best career results was 2nd in a very strong field at Leningrad 1967 with 12/16 , behind Korchnoi . He was 4th in an excellent field at Skopje 1967 with 11½/17 , as Fischer won . Kholmov won at Havana 1968 with a powerful 12/14 , ahead of Stein and Alexey Suetin . His play in the next four Soviet finals continued to be strong . At Alma-Ata 1968/69 for URS-ch36 , he placed 6th–9th with 10½/19 , as Lev Polugaevsky and Alexander Zaitsev won . The next Interzonal qualifier was URS-ch37 at Moscow 1969 , and he finished tied 7th–9th with 12½/22 , with Polugaevsky and Petrosian winning ; this was a point short of advancing to the Interzonal . At Riga 1970 for URS-ch38 , he dropped a bit with just 10/21 for a tied 13th–14th , as Korchnoi won . Then in Baku 1972 for URS-ch40 , he had 10½/21 for a tied 10th–11th place , with Tal winning . This was his last Soviet final . His form in his late 40s had substantially fallen from his best years , and a new generation of Soviet players would earn most of the top tournament places and international opportunities . Kholmov got just one chance to represent the USSR in a team event at full international level when he played board ten at the European Team Championships , Kapfenberg 1970 . He won the board gold medal with 4½/6 and helped his side to team gold . Kholmov did play in many national matches , such as against Hungary and Yugoslavia , generally scoring well . The Chessmetrics website statistically estimates his retroactive ranking at a minimum of Top 25 in the world from 1956 to 1970 , with his peak ranking being 8th in 1960–61 . They further estimate that his peak rating was 2736 , also in 1961 . Later years . Kholmov continued to stay very active in competitive play , and he was generally quite successful . At Luhacovice 1973 , he tied for 4th–5th places with 9/15 , with Andras Adorjan and Jan Smejkal winning . At Sochi 1974 , he scored 8½/15 for a tied 4th–6th place , with Polugaevsky winning . He placed 2nd at Kecskemét 1975 with 8½/13 behind winner Karolyi Honfi . One of Kholmovs best late-career results was his tied 3rd–5th place in a very strong Moscow 1975 tournament , with 9½/15 , as Geller won . He tied for 1st–2nd at Budapest 1976 on 10½/15 with László Vadász . He placed 2nd at Zalaegerszeg 1977 with 7½/12 behind Evgeni Vasiukov . At age 63 , Kholmov tied 3rd–6th at Sochi 1988 with 7/13 , as Sergey Dolmatov won . At Voskresensk 1990 , Kholmov tied 3rd–6th on 6½/11 behind winners Igor Naumkin and Valery Neverov . He had an excellent 2nd place at Moscow 1991 with 8½/11 behind winner Mikhail Ivanov . At age 72 , Kholmov tied for 1st–3rd at Moscow 1997 on 7½/11 with Igor Zaitsev and Andrey Rychagov . World Senior Champion . Kholmov tied for the title in the 2000 World Senior Championship at Rowy , on 8/11 with Mark Taimanov , Jānis Klovāns , and Alexander Chernikov . Then he placed 2nd–4th in the same event the next year at Arco , again with 8/11 , tied with Klovans and Vladimir Karasev , behind champion Vladimir Bukal , Sr. . Kholmov played competitive chess virtually right up until his death in early 2006 at age 80 . He appeared in a Senior event in Dresden , 50 years after he won a tournament there . Legacy . Kholmov was known as The Central Defender in Soviet chess circles , because of his great skill at repulsing enemy aggression . But he was also a very dangerous attacker , as most of the leading Soviet players learned . During his peak years , Kholmov was difficult to defeat , even at the top levels . He qualified for 16 Soviet finals between 1949 and 1972 , with an aggregate well over 50 per cent . He scored wins over World Champions Petrosian , Spassky , Fischer , and Garry Kasparov . Kholmov was comfortable as White with both and , could play excellent classical chess with both colours , and had an occasional fondness for unusual openings , with which he had good success , as the game selection shows . Notable chess games . - Efim Geller vs . Ratmir Kholmov , USSR Championship , Moscow 1949 , Ruy Lopez , Birds Defence ( C61 ) , 0–1 Two rising stars battle for position late in the tournament , and Kholmov scores with an offbeat variation , unleashing a lovely rook sacrifice in the endgame . - Tigran Petrosian vs . Ratmir Kholmov , USSR Championship , Moscow 1957 , Blumenfeld Gambit ( E10 ) , 0–1 Another unusual defensive choice takes off the future World Champion . - Viktor Korchnoi vs . Ratmir Kholmov , USSR Championship semifinal , Tashkent 1958 , Modern Benoni Defence ( A64 ) , 0–1 The Modern Benoni was just coming into fashion around this time . - Ratmir Kholmov vs . Paul Keres , USSR Championship , Tbilisi 1959 , Sicilian Defence , Rossolimo Variation ( B30 ) , 1–0 Its highly unusual to see the powerful tactician Keres get knocked off so quickly . - Ratmir Kholmov vs . Laszlo Szabo , Kecskemet 1962 , Slav Defence , Czech Variation ( D19 ) , 1–0 Kholmov overcomes the nine-time Hungarian champion . - Ratmir Kholmov vs . Leonid Stein , USSR Championship , Yerevan 1962 , Sicilian Defence , Moscow Variation ( B52 ) , 1–0 Kholmov again scores with this unusual Sicilian line against one of his great rivals from this period . - Mark Taimanov vs . Ratmir Kholmov , USSR Championship , Leningrad 1963 , Nimzo-Indian Defence , Rubinstein / Gligoric Variation ( E54 ) , 0–1 Taimanov was a recognized expert on both sides of this defence . - Ratmir Kholmov vs . Boris Spassky , USSR Zonal Tournament , Moscow 1964 , Sicilian Defence , Scheveningen Variation ( B84 ) , 1–0 Spassky was the tournament winner and a future World Champion . - Ratmir Kholmov vs . David Bronstein , USSR Championship , Kiev 1964–65 , Sicilian Defence , Najdorf Variation ( B99 ) , 1–0 Kholmov outplays the creative attacker Bronstein for one of his most memorable victories . - Robert Fischer vs . Ratmir Kholmov , Havana 1965 , Ruy Lopez , Closed / Chigorin Variation ( C98 ) , 0–1 Fischer lost exceptionally rarely on the White side of the Ruy Lopez , so this win was quite an achievement . - Ratmir Kholmov vs . Garry Kasparov , USSR Championship Qualifying Tournament , Daugavpils 1978 , Caro–Kann Defence , Classical Variation ( B18 ) , 1–0 Kasparov , just 15 at the time , was the tournament winner and a future World Champion . Opening theory . A couple of opening variations have been named after Kholmov . - ECO C92 : Ruy Lopez , Closed , Kholmov Variation - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Be6 - Russian Game , Damiano Variation , Kholmov Gambit ( C42 ) - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4 4.Qe2 Qe7