Smyslov

Vasily Smyslov first reached a world-title match in 1954 after winning the Candidates cycle. He drew with Mikhail Botvinnik, who kept the crown under the rules then in force. Smyslov qualified again and defeated him in 1957 to become the seventh world champion. Botvinnik regained the title in their 1958 rematch.

His style is often called harmonious because his pieces seemed to coordinate without wasted moves. He was a great positional player, improving piece placement step by step, and an endgame specialist. The endgame is the phase with relatively few pieces, when every square and every tempo can become critical. This clarity did not exclude tactics: when the position demanded it, Smyslov calculated concrete blows accurately.

His longevity was exceptional. In 1984, at 63, he played the final match that determined the next challenger for the world champion, and he appeared in the Candidates again in 1985. At seventy he won the International Chess Federation's first Senior World Championship in 1991. Away from the board, he was also an operatic baritone.