Smyslov-Reshevsky, World Championship Tournament, The Hague/Moscow 1948
Following the death of the previous champion Alexander Alekhine in 1946, five of the strongest players in the world met in a tournament in 1948 to determine the new World Champion. The venue was split: half the tournament was held in The Hague, Netherlands, and half in Moscow, Soviet Union. Each participant played 20 games, five against each opponent. The tournament was won by Mikhail Botvinnik, second place was occupied by the 27-year-old Vasily Smyslov. Six years later Smyslov challenged Botvinnik in a match that finished 12:12. Botvinnik kept his title, but in the next cycle Smyslov qualified again and at the second attempt in 1957 he defeated Botvinnik with the score 12,5:9,5 to become the 7th World Champion.
The presented game Smyslov-Reshevsky from the Moscow part of the tournament in 1948 is typical for Smyslov's crystal clear positional style. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" as a wise person once said. It is impressive to see how White increases their advantage from a position with a symmetrical pawn structure by apparently doing nothing special. But a closer look reveals the fact that Smyslov's moves are very precise, constantly creating threats and putting pressure on their opponent’s position. Reshevsky is close to consolidating, but at the right moment, Smyslov makes things clear with a surprising decision, after which Black is defenceless. It is instructive to watch until the end Smyslov's perfectly played technical phase of the game.