A Short History Of The Candidates Tournament

The video presents an incredible game from the 1948 FIDE World Chess Championship tournament between Mikhail Botvinnik and Paul Keres, while also providing a historical overview of the Candidates Tournament and its origins. The host explains that this historical context is being shared because the 2026 Candidates Tournament is set to begin soon. The historical journey begins with the 1858 match between Adolf Anderssen and Paul Morphy, where Morphy was victorious and is considered the first unofficial world champion. The host notes that even the Steinitz versus Johannes Zukertort match was not officially a world championship match. Wilhelm Steinitz is recognized as the first official world champion because after defeating Zukertort in 1886, he famously declared himself "champion of chess, champion of the world." However, FIDE did not exist at that time, so there was no official body to confer the title. In 1894, Emanuel Lasker became world champion by defeating Steinitz and held the title for 27 years. Lasker then faced Jose Raul Capablanca. According to the host, Lasker effectively conceded the title to Capablanca without a full fight, recognizing Capablanca's strength, stating, "You are now the world champion." Although they played a few games, Lasker resigned early. Capablanca held the title until 1927 when he lost to Alexander Alekhine. A significant event in this timeline is the foundation of FIDE on July 20th, 1924. Before this date, world champions like Lasker could choose their opponents without a governing body overseeing the matches. After FIDE's establishment, all subsequent matches, including the 1927 Capablanca-Alekhine match, were organized under its supervision. Alekhine briefly lost his title to Max Euwe in 1935 but regained it in a rematch in 1937. The narrative takes a crucial turn with Alekhine's death on March 24th, 1946. This event presented FIDE with a unique challenge as there was no living world champion to challenge. To resolve this, FIDE organized a World Chess Championship tournament in 1948, held partly in The Hague and partly in Moscow. This tournament was modeled after the 1938 AVRO tournament, which featured eight of the world's strongest players. Botvinnik and Keres both participated in the 1938 AVRO tournament, with Keres finishing first and Botvinnik third, both ahead of three former world champions (Euwe, Capablanca, and Alekhine). The 1948 tournament was a quintuple round-robin, meaning each player faced every other player five times—an unheard-of format today. It was originally planned for eight players but ended up with five: Mikhail Botvinnik, Paul Keres, Vasily Smyslov (who replaced Salo Flohr), Samuel Reshevsky, and former world champion Max Euwe. Reuben Fine was also supposed to play but did not. Mikhail Botvinnik won this tournament, becoming the first world champion to emerge from a tournament format rather than a match against a reigning champion. The host clarifies that while this was a world championship tournament, it essentially served as a "pre-candidates" event, as its winner became the champion directly. The first official Candidates Tournament was held in Budapest in 1950, two years after Botvinnik became world champion. The winner of this tournament challenged Botvinnik for the title. The host uses a quiz function to ask viewers to identify the winner of the 1950 Candidates Tournament, who then challenged Botvinnik. The video then transitions to the game itself, highlighting that Botvinnik, known for his later, more measured style, played a very different kind of chess in his younger years. The game opens with Botvinnik playing D4 against Keres's F6, leading to a Nimzo-Indian Defense. After standard moves and castling, the position reaches a critical point. Botvinnik plays E3, Keres castles, and after A3 and exchanges, the position is set. Keres plays Rook E8, a move considered less strong than alternatives like C5 or B6 today. Botvinnik plays Knight E2, and Keres strikes in the center with E5. Botvinnik castles, and Keres responds with C5, aiming to exploit the center. Botvinnik counters with F3 to control the E4 square. After exchanges on D4, Keres plays Knight B6, and Botvinnik responds with B2. Keres then captures on D4, playing E4, and Bishop E6, attacking the C4 pawn. Botvinnik plays Rook C1 to defend the pawn and prepare for Knight A4. Keres plays Rook E7, and Botvinnik captures on D4 with his queen. Keres responds with Queen C7. Botvinnik advances with C5, opening lines for his rook. After D captures C5, Botvinnik captures with his rook, attacking the queen. Keres plays Queen F4, and Botvinnik is now completely winning. The host pauses for a "positive video moment" for viewers to find Botvinnik's winning move. The move is Bishop C1, which Botvinnik played. The host also mentions Bishop B5 as an engine move, which prepares for a knight H5 attack and stops the knight from coming to D7. Botvinnik's Bishop C1 leads to Queen B8, then Rook G5, followed by Knight BD7 from Keres. The host then asks what Botvinnik's next move was, revealing it to be Rook captures G7. Keres could have resigned here but played King captures G7. Botvinnik continues with Knight H5 check. If King H8, Bishop B2 leads to a massacre. Keres plays King G6. Botvinnik plays Queen E3 (Queen D2 is more precise but Queen E3 also forces checkmate). In this position, on move 23, Paul Keres resigned. The host details the forced checkmate lines if Keres had continued, demonstrating Botvinnik's decisive victory in a mere 23 moves. Botvinnik's win in the 1948 tournament made him world champion, and he was subsequently challenged by David Bronstein, the winner of the first FIDE Candidates Tournament in 1950. The host concludes by thanking contributors and encouraging viewers to watch previous videos.