24 November 2022

Mark Dvoretsky's Card-file Added to Chess Museum's Exhibits

Leonid Dvoretsky handed it over to the CFR President Andrey Filatov.


Legendary Mark Dvoretsky's card-file added itself to the CFR Chess Museum's exhibits as Mark Dvoretsky's son Leonid gifted it to the Museum on 24 November. Andrey Filatov, President of the Chess Federation of Russia, thanked him for the gift and said that he had enjoyed solving chess problems from this card-file when studying at the chess section of the Moscow sports boarding school. His coach, Mikhail Yudovich Jr., collaborated with M. Dvoretsky and had access to this invaluable knowledge database. 

Mark Dvoretsky (1947-2016), a merited coach of the USSR, was collecting, repeatedly checking and double-checking chess problems for his card-files for about half a century. In the 1970-1980s, positions used to be stamped on ordinary cards using special stamping devices (well-remembered by the older generation of chess fans), and the card's reverse side has Mark Dvoretsky's answer in neat handwriting with notes as to which of his students had already solved the problem. Having added all positions to computer databases and double-checked them with analytical engines, these positions went on to form the basis of all of M. Dvoretsky's textbooks. 

Leonid Dvoretsky also gifted the Federation with a crystal cup awarded to Mark Dvoretsky in 1973 after winning the International tournament in Polanica-Zdrój (Poland). Now, this prize becomes a floating trophy to be awarded to the winners of the Mark Dvoretsky Memorials.

Pictures by Vladimir Barsky