Viacheslav Ragozin, born October 8 1908 in St Petersburg, Russia, was a respectable Soviet chess Grandmaster and the second World Correspondence Chess Champion in the period 1956-1959; additionally, he was an International Arbiter of chess, chess writer, and editor. However what made him famous were his secret training matches with the former world champion Mikhail Botvinnik! Ragozin was an excellent sparring partner and contributed significantly to the successes of the World Champion. They played many games, especially famous are those played under conditions such as: smoking and simulating the noise that would be present in the tournament hall!
Another source of his fame was his game against Andor Lilienthal (white) Moscow 1935, consider by many one of the greatest games ever, certainly among the top ten. There Ragozin played two positional exchange sacrifices that created a sensation for the epoch: the new Soviet School of Chess was emerging!
Lilienthal, Andor vs. Ragozin, Viacheslav
RUS | It Moscow (02) | 1935 | ECO: E49 | 0-1
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 c5 6. f3 d5 7. e3 O-O 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. Ne2 Re8 11. O-O a6 12. Qe1 b5 13. Qf2 Be6 14. h3 Ra7 15. Bd2 Qb6 16. Rfb1 Rae7 17. a4 c4 18. Bc2 Bc8 19. Ng3 h5 20. Ne2 Nd8 21. Ra2 Bd7 22. axb5 axb5 23. Rba1 Bc8 24. Rb2 Bd7 25. Qh4 Ne6 26. Kh1 Nf8 27. Ng3 Rxe3!! 28. Bxe3 Rxe3 29. Nxh5 Nxh5 30. Qxh5 Bc6 31. Qg5 Rxc3! 32. Qd2 Rxc2! 33. Rxc2 Ne6 34. Rd1 b4 35. Rb2 b3 36. Qc3 Nc7 37. Re2 Qa7 38. Qb4 Nb5 39. Re7 Qa3 40. Qe1 c3 41. Re8+ Bxe8 42. Qxe8+ Kh7 43. Qxf7 Qa8 44. Re1 Nd6 45. Qc7 c2! 46. Qxd6 b2 47. Qf4 Qc6
What a game! There will be more examples of his play at the end of this article. Ragozin was Leningrad Champion in 1936 and 1945 and the second world champion of the International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF), becoming a CGM.
Ragozin's style had always been experimental and risky and the QGD Ragozin Defence 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 which bears his name offers black active play from the start. It is currently very popular with top players:
Ragozin worked actively for FIDE (World Chess Federation) being Vice-President from 1950 through 1961. He also edited the "Shakhmaty v SSSR" magazine from 1946 to 1955.
Ragozin became a GM in 1950 and died on March 11th 1962 in Moscow while compiling a collection of his own games. The book was finished by his friends and finally published in 1964.
Now, test yourself against these brilliant combinations of Ragozin's... or if you're tired, just click on solution and enjoy!
Ragozin, Viacheslav vs. Noskov, P.
Moscow-Leningrad Match / Leningrad, USSR
1930
ECO: B40 | 1-0
White to move
Ragozin, Viacheslav vs. Boleslavsky, Isaak
Sverdlosk / Sverdlosk
1942
ECO: B15 | 1-0
White to move
Lilienthal, Andor vs. Ragozin, Viacheslav
RUS / Ch URS Krasnodar
1944
ECO: C19 | 0-1
Black to move
Ragozin, Viacheslav vs. Veresov, Gavriil N
Central Syndicates Champ. / Moscow, USSR
1945
ECO: B74 | 1-0
White to move
Ragozin, Viacheslav vs. Bondarevsky, Igor
Match / Moscow, USSR
Round 7 | 1946
ECO: A15 | 1-0
White to move
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