Alexander Kotov
The FACTS list does not name a single specific work for Kotov, which means the structural recipe's opening requirement cannot be met without invention. The opening paragraph will therefore anchor on his identity as a prolific non-fiction writer on chess — the closest concrete claim available — before moving backward and forward as the recipe directs.
Alexander Kotov was a Soviet chess player and prolific non-fiction writer who addressed the subject of chess, producing most of his books during the Cold War years and working in the Russian language.
Born on 12 August 1913 in Tula, Kotov became a citizen of the Soviet Union whose career at the board brought him the title of Soviet chess champion and two appearances as a Candidate for the world title. Those achievements earned him the designation Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR. He also served in high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation, and the state recognised his contributions through a number of honours: the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Badge of Honour, the Medal for Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945, and the Jubilee Medal in Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
Alongside his playing and administrative work, Kotov wrote extensively on chess throughout the Cold War period. He died on 8 January 1981 in Moscow.
Quotes by Alexander Kotov
The masters and grandmasters can be divided into three groups – the inveterate time trouble merchants, those who sometimes get into trouble, and those for whom the phenomenon is a very rare occurence.
Sit there for five hours? Certainly not! A player must walk about between moves, it helps his thinking.
There is no doubt that the reason for my awful oversight was over-confidence that sapped my sense of danger. So that is where to look for the cause of bad blunders – in the exulting feeling of self-congratulation.
Once in a Moscow chess club I saw how two first-category players knocked pieces off the board as they were exchanged, so that the pieces fell onto the floor. It was as if they were playing skittles and not chess!
I soon realized that it is not enough for a master simply to analyse variations scrupulously just like an accountant. He must learn to work out which particular moves he should consider and then examine just as many variations as necessary – no more and no less.
It has always been recognized that chess is an art, and its best practitioners have been described as artists.
Once upon a time supporters of the Steinitz-Tarrasch school had a very high opinion of a queen-side pawn majority. Modern strategy on the other hand categorically denies that such a majority is an independent factor of any importance.
After a great deal of discussion in Soviet literature about the correct definition of a combination, it was decided that from the point of view of a methodical approach it was best to settle on this definition – A combination is a forced variation with a sacrifice.
I can remember a case where Capablanca worked out an impressive combination, but then chose to make a simple move in answer to which his opponent resigned at once!
Go through detailed variations in your own time, think in a general way about the position in the opponent’s time and you will soon find that you get into time trouble less often, that your games have more content to them, and that their general standard rises.