USA vs USSR radio match, 1945

by Bill Wall

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From September 1 to September 4, 1945 one of the most historic chess matches took place. It was the USA vs USSR radio chess match. The 10 leading masters of the United States played the 10 leading master of the USSR for chess supremacy.

The match was announced in August 1945 for the benefit of Russian war relief.  It was to be a four days’ radio match between 10 selected chess players in the United States and the Soviet Union.  The chairman of the organizing committee was investment banker and chess patron Maurice Wertheim (1886-1950).  W.W. Lancaster served as vice chairman.  Joseph E. Davies (1876-1958), former Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1937-1938), was one of the major sponsors of the event.  Other sponsors included New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia (1882-1947) and New York senator James Mead (1885-1964).

J.N. Derbyshire, head of the British Chess Federation, acted as official referee for the match.  The Soviet match committee proposed Derbyshire as the referee, who was accepted by the USA team.

The match was played by radio (using the Mackay Radio & Telegraph Company) starting at 10 am EST, and was a double round robin. The time limit was 40 moves in 2 1/2 hours and 16 moves per hour after that. The Udeman Code was used for transmitting the move messages. It took an average of 5 minutes to transmit a move.

The US team played in the ballroom of the Henry Hudson Hotel in New York, using giant wallboards to reproduce the play for the spectators. The Soviet team met at the Central Club of Art Masters in Moscow, 5000 miles away. Mayor LaGuardia made the opening move for the USA team. US Ambassador Averill Harriman officiated at the Moscow end. Fred Reinfeld and Edward Lasker announced the moves to the audiences. Ken Harkness was the match director.

The match was historic in that it was the first international sports event since the outbreak of World War II. Also, never before had teams representing the USA and the USSR competed against each other. It was the first match to be played by radio telegraphy. Up to that time it was the most widely publicized event and the greatest spectacle in the chess history of the United States. This was also the debut of the USSR in a sport. Never before had the USSR play another country in any form of sport.

All records for attendance were broken by both sides. In the US, over 1000 spectators watched the match from the Grand Ballroom of the Henry Hudson Hotel.  The spectators were also entertained with exhibition games, lectures, demonstrations and other features.

The same numbers of spectators watched the match in Moscow. Movie audiences in every theater of the Soviet Union saw films of the match.

During the match 2,163 messages were sent by radio telegraphy.

USSR won the match by the overwhelming score of 15 1/2 points to 4 1/2 points.

The matchup and results looked like this. On board 1, Mikhail Botvinnik (USSR champion) won both games against Arnold Denker (US champion). On board 2, Vassily Smyslov won both games from Samuel Reshevsky. On board 3, Isaac Boleslavsky drew his first game and won his second game against Reuben Fine. On board 4, Salo Flohr won his first game and lost his second game to Al Horowitz. On board 5, Alexander Kotov won both games from Isaac Kashdan. On board 6, Igor Bondarevsky lost his first game and drew his second game from Herman Steiner. On board 7, Andrea Lilienthal drew both games with Albert Pinkus. On board 8, V. Ragozin won both games from Herbert Seidman. On board 9, V. Makogonov won the first game and drew the second game with Abraham Kupchik. On board 10, David Bronstein won both games from Anthony Santasiere.

All the procees of the event went for therapy equipment used in the treatment of wounded Russian and American soldiers.

In the first round, USSR won by a score of 8-2. In the second round they scored 7 1/2 - 2 1/2.

Steiner and Horowitz were the only Americans to win a game. Steiner was the only player to have a plus score. Pinkus was the only US player to have two draws.

The second day of the match, September 2, was officially declared V-J day by President Truman. World War II had ended.

Reshevsky spent over an hour and a half on the first 22 moves. His opponent, Smyslov, at spent only 8 minutes. It was a prepared opening by the USSR team.

The first game over was when Botvinnik defeated Denker in 25 moves. An hour later Reshevsky resigned to Smyslov. Smyslov had used an hour and Reshevsky used 2 1/2 hours for 41 moves.

It took 14 hours to play the first round before all the games were adjourned.

Round 2 took place on September 3, 1945 on Labor Day.

At the conclusion of the match, a plaque was formally presented by Chairman Wertheim to the Soviet Consul General, Pavel Mikhailov (who doubled as the controller of military intelligence for the NKVD).  The concluding ceremonies were opened by Grace Moore (1898-1947) of the Metropolitan Opera Company singing “The Star Spangled Banner.”  Others on the program included actor Sam Jaffee (1891-1984) and Pulitzer Prize journalist Leland Stowe (1899-1994).

After the radio match, a suggestion was made at a reception sponsored by the Society for Cultural Relations celebrating the victory of the Soviet team over American players to introduce baseball to the Soviet Union and organize an annual Russian-American match.  The suggestion was made by a U.S. congressman.

Round 1

Denker - Botvinnik, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.exf6 Bb7 12.Be2 Qb6 13.O-O O-O-O 14.a4 (14.b3) b4 15.Ne4 c5 16.Qb1 (16.a5) Qc7 17.Ng3 (17.h4; 17.g3) cxd4 18.Bxc4 (18.Rc1) Qc6 19.f3 d3 20.Qc1 Bc5+ 21.Kh1 Qd6 22.Qf4? (22.Bf4) Rxh2+! 23.Kxh2 Rh8+ 24.Qh4 Rxh4+ 25.Bxh4 Qf4 0-1

Smyslov - Reshevsky, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Bc5 10.Nbd2 O-O 11.Bc2 f5 12.Nb3 Bb6 13.Nbd4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 Bxd4 15.cxd4 f4 16.f3 Ng3!? 17.hxg3 fxg3 18.Qd3 Bf5 19.Qxf5! Rxf5 20.Bxf5 Qh4 21.Bh3 Qxd4+ 22.Kh1 Qxe5 23.Bd2 Qxb2 24.Bf4 c5 25.Be6+ Kh8 26.Bxd5 Rd8 27.Rad1 c4 28.Bxg3 c3 (28...Qxa2 29.Bxc4) 29.Be5 b4 30.Bb3 Rd2 31.f4 h5 32.Rb1 Rf2 (32...Qa3) 33.Rfe1 (33.Rxb2? Rxf1+ 34.Kh2 cxb2 35.Bxb2 Rxf4) Qd2 34.Rbd1 Qb2 35.Rd8+ Kh7 36.Bg8+ Kg6 37.Rd6+ Kf5 38.Be6+ Kg6 39.Bd5+ Kh7 40.Be4+ Kg8 41.Bg6 (threatening 42.Rd8 mate) 1-0

Fine - Boleslavsky, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.e4 O-O 6.Ne2 e5 7.O-O exd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Nc2 Be6 10.Ne3 Ne5 11.Na3 Nfg4 12.Nd5 c6 13.Nf4 Bc8 14.Bd2 f5 15.Qb3 fxe4 16.Bxe4 Nf6 17.Bg2 Qc7 18.Rad1 Bg4 19.f3 Bf5 20.Bb4 Nf7 21.g4 Bd7 22.Nc2 a5 23.Be1 a4 24.Qb4 b5 25.cxb5 Qb6+ 26.Bf2 c5 27.Rfe1 Rfb8 28.Qd2 Bxb5 29.g5 Nxg5 30.Nxg6 hxg6 31.Qxg5 Be8 32.f4 Ra7 33.Ne3 Bf7 34.f5 Nh7 35.Qg4 g5 36.Nd5 Qd8 37.h4 Rxb2 38.Be3 gxh4 39.Bh6 Bxd5 40.Bxd5 Kh8 41.Bc1 Rb4 42.Qh5 Be5 43.Kh1 Rd4 (43...Qf6) 44.Rxd4 cxd4 45.Bf4 d3 46.f6 d2 47.Bxd2 Qxf6 48.Rc1 Qf8 49.Qxh4 Rc7 50.Rg1 Rg7 51.Rxg7 1/2-1/2

Flohr - Horowitz, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.O-O a6 7.Qe2 Nc6 8.Rd1 b5 9.dxc5 Qc7 10.Bd3 Bxc5 11.a4 b4 12.Nbd2 O-O 13.b3 Ne5 14.Ne4 Nxd3 15.Nxf6+ gxf6 16.Qxd3 e5 (16...Bb7) 17.Bb2 Be6 18.Bxe5! fxe5 19.Ng5 Kg7 [19...Rfc8 20.Qxh7+ Kf8 21.Nxe6+ fxe6 22.Rd7; 19...Rfe8 20.Qxh7+ Kf8 21.Nxe6+ Rxe6 22.Qh8] 20.Qxh7+ Kf6 21.Ne4+ Ke7 22.Qh4+ f6 23.Rdc1 Rac8 24.Rxc5 Qb8 25.f4 Rxc5 26.Nxc5 Qb6 27.Nxe6 Qxe3+ 28.Kh1 Kxe6 29.fxe5 fxe5 30.Qg4+ Rf5 31.Qg6+ Rf6 32.Qg8+ Kf5?? (32...Ke7) 33.Rf1+ 1-0

Kashdan - Kotov, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 Qc7 7.O-O e6 8.f4 Nc6 9.Kh1 Be7 10.Bf3 O-O 11.Nb3 b5 12.Be3 Bb7 13.Qe1 Rac8 14.Qf2 Nd7 15.Rad1 Na5 16.Nxa5 Qxa5 17.a3 b4 18.axb4 Qxb4 19.Bc1 Nc5 20.e5 Bxf3 21.Qxf3 Qb8 22.Qg3 dxe5 23.fxe5 f5 24.Rd4 Rfd8 25.Rfd1 Rxd4 26.Rxd4 Rd8 27.Qe3 Nd7 28.Qe2 Nc5 29.Rxd8+ Qxd8 30.Be3 Qb8 31.Bxc5 Bxc5 32.Qxa6 Qxe5 33.Qe2 (33.Qc8+) Qd6 34.Qd1 (34.Qb5) Qf4 35.Ne2 (35.Qd8+) Qf2 36.Nc1 (36.h3; 36.Qd8+) Bd6 37.Qe2?? (37.g3; 37.Nd3) Qf4 38.Qxe6+ (38.g3 Qxc1+) Kf8 0-1

Bondarevsky - Steiner, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.d4 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.g3 O-O 6.Bg2 d5 7.a3 Bxd2+ 8.Nbxd2 Nbd7 9.O-O Ne4 10.Qc2 Nxd2 11.Nxd2 c6 12.Qc3 Re8 13.b4 dxc4 14.f4 Nb6 15.e4 Rd8 16.a4 Bd7 17.a5 Nc8 18.Qxc4 Be8 19.e5 Qd7 20.Nb3 Ne7 21.Rfd1 Nd5 22.Nc5 Qe7 23.Kf2 b6 24.Nd3 Rab8 25.axb6 Rxb6 26.Qc5 Qb7 27.Bxd5 cxd5 28.Qa5 Ra8 29.Nc5 Qc8 30.Rdc1 Bb5 31.Ke3 Bc4 32.Rc3 Qe8 33.Qa3 f6 34.h4 Qh5 35.Rc2 fxe5 36.dxe5 Qg6 37.Kd2 h5 38.Qc3 Qg4 39.Kc1 Rb5 40.Ra5 Rab8 (40...Rxa5) 41.Rb2 (41.Rxb5) Rxa5 42.bxa5 Rc8 43.Qe3 Qh3! 44.Kd2 (44.Qg1) Qg2+ 45.Kc3 Qf1! 46.f5 Qa1 47.Kc2 Bd3+! 48.Qxd3 Rxc5+ 49.Kb3 Rxa5 50.Kc2 Rc5+ 51.Kb3 a5 (52.Ra2 Qxe5) 0-1

Pinkus - Lilienthal, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Be7 (9...Bc5) 10.Nbd2 Nc5 11.Bc2 Bg4 12.Re1 Qd7 13.Nf1 Rd8 14.h3 Bh5 15.Ng3 Bg6 16.Nd4 Nxd4 17.cxd4 Ne6 18.Be3 c5 19.Bf5 Qa7 20.Bxe6 fxe6 21.Qg4 cxd4 22.Bxd4 Qd7 23.Rec1 O-O 24.h4 Rc8 25.h5 Bf5 26.Nxf5 Rxf5 27.g3 Rff8 (27...Rg5) 28.Kg2 Rc4 29.b3 Rcc8 30.a4 Rxc1 31.Rxc1 Rc8 (31...Rf5; 31...bxa4) 32.Rxc8+ Qxc8 33.axb5 axb5 34.Qe2 Qd7 35.Qd3 Qe8 36.g4 Bg5 37.Qc2 g6 37.hxg6 hxg6 1/2-1/2

Ragozin - Seidman, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Nge2 Bb7 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.Nxc3 d5 8.Be2 O-O 9.O-O Nbd7 10.b4 dxc4 11.Bb2 c5 12.Bxc4 Qe7 13.Qe2 Rfd8 14.Rfd1 cxb4 15.axb4 Qxb4 16.Nb5 Rdc8 17.Bd3 Be4 18.Bxe4 Nxe4 19.Nxa7 Nc3 20.Bxc3 Rxc3 21.Qf3 Rf8 22.Qb7 Nf6 23.Nc6 Qd6 24.Ne7+ Kh8 25.Ra8 Re8 (25...Ne8) 26.Rxe8+ Nxe8 27.Nc8 Qa3 (27...Qc6 28.Qxf7) 28.Qd7 Qf8 29.Qd8 g6 30.Nxb6 Kg7 31.Nd7 Qa3 32.h3! (32.Qxe8? Rc1 33.Rf1 Rxf1+ 34.Kxf1 Qc1+ 35.Ke2 Qc2+ 36.Kf3 Qf5+ draws) Rc1 33.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 34.Kh2 Qc7+ 35.Qxc7 Nxc7 36.Kg3 f6 (36...Nd5) 37.Kf3 Kf7 (47...g5) 38.Nb6 Ke7 39.e4 Nb5 40.Ke3 Nc3 41.Kd3 Nb5 (41...Nd1 42.f3) 42.f3 Nd6 (42...f5) 43.Kc3 h5 (43...Nb5+) 44.Kb4 g5 (44...f5) 45.Nc4 Nf7 (45...h4) 46.Kc5 f5 (46...h4; 46...Kd7 47.Nb6+ Kc7 48.d5 e5 49.Nc4 Kd7 50.d6) 47.Kc6 fxe4 (47...Nd8+) 48.fxe4 g4 49.h4 (49...Kd8 50.Ne5 Nxe5+ 51.dxe5; 49...Nh6 50.Ne5) 1-0

Kupchik - Makogonov, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.g3 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bg2 c6 8.O-O O-O 9.Qd3 Re8 10.h3 Bd6 11.Nd2 Nb6 12.Re1 Be6 13.Nf1 Qd7 14.g4 h5 15.f3 Nh7 16.b3 (16.Rd1) f5 17.g5 (17.e3) f4 18.h4 Bf5 19.Qd1 Bb4 20.Qd2 Nf8 21.a3 Bd6 22.Nd1 Ng6 23.e4 fxe3 24.Ndxe3 Nxh4 25.Qf2 Nxg2 26.Nxg2 Rxe1 27.Nxe1 Re8 28.Be3 Nc8 29.Ng2 Qf7 30.a4 Ne7 31.Nh4 Ng6 32.Nxg6 Bxg6 33.Re1 Rf8 34.Nd2 Qf5 35.Kg2 Bb4 36.Re2 h4 37.Kh2 Bd6+ 38.Kg1 Bg3 39.Qg2 Qd3 40.Nf1 h3 (41.Qxg3 Qxe2) 0-1

Bronstein - Santasiere, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e3 O-O 6.Qb3 e6 7.Be2 b6 8.O-O Bb7 9.Rd1 Nbd7 10.Bd2 c5 11.Rac1 Qb8 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Qa4 Rd8 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.b4 cxd4 16.Nxd4 a6 17.Nc6 Bxc6 18.Qxc6 b5 19.a4 bxa4 20.Qxa4 Nb6 21.Qa5 Be5 22.g3 Bc7 23.Qg5 Be5 24.Bf3 Ra7 (24...Nd5) 25.Bc3! Rxd1 (25...f6) 26.Rxd1 f6 27.Bxe5 Qxe5 28.Qxe5 fxe5 29.Rd6 Nd5 30.Rxe6 Nxb4 31.Rxe5 a5 32.Bd1 Kg7 33.Ba4 Nd3 34.Rd5 Nb2 35.Rd4 Rc7 36.Kf1 Rc1+ 37.Ke2 Ra1 38.Bb3 a4 39.Rd7+! (39.Bd5?? a3 40.Rd2 a2! 41.Rxb2 Re1+!) Kf6 40.Ra7 g5 (40...Ra3 41.Bg8) 41.Bc2 h5 42.Ra6+ Ke7 43.h3 g4 44.hxg4 hxg4 45.Kd2 Nc4+ (45...Rf1 46.Kc3 Rxf2 47.Kxb2 Rf3 48.Rxa4 Rxg3 49.e4) 46.Kc3 Nd6 47.Rxa4 Rxa4 48.Bxa4 Ne4+ 49.Kd4 Nxf2 50.Ke5 Kf7 51.Bc2 Kg7 52.Kf5 Kh6 53.e4 Kg7 54.Ke5 Kg6 (54...Nh3 55.Bc1) 55.Kd6 Kg7 56.e5 Nh1 57.e6 1-0

Round 2

Botvinnik - Denker, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bf4 Qa5 7.e3 Ne4 8.Qb3 e6 9.Bd3 Bb4 10.Rc1 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Ba3 12.Rb1 b6 13.e4 dxe4 14.Bb5! Bd7 15.Nd2 a6 16.Bxc6 Bxc6 17.Nc4 Qf5 18.Bd6 e3 (18...Bd5 19.Bxa3 b5 20.Nd6+) 19.Nxe3 Qxb1+ 20.Qxb1 Bxd6 21.Qxb6 Kd7 22.Qb3 (22.O-O Rhb8 23.Qa5 Rb5) Rab8 23.Qc2 Rb5 24.O-O Rh5 25.h3 Rb8 26.c4 g6 27.Ng4 Rf5 28.Ne5+ Bxe5 29.dxe5 Rxe5 30.Qd2+ Ke7 (30...Ke8? 31.Qd6) 31.Rd1 (31...Rc8 32.Qd6+) 1-0

Reshevsky - Smyslov, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e3 b5 6.a4 b4 7.Na2 e6 8.Bxc4 Be7 9.O-O O-O 10.Qe2 Bb7 11.Rd1 a5 12.Bd2 Nbd7 13.Nc1 Qb6 14.Nb3 c5 15.Be1 Rfd8 16.Bb5 Bd5 17.Nbd2 Qb7 18.Nc4 Nb6 19.Nce5 Ne4 20.dxc5 Nxc5 21.Nd4 Rdc8 22.f3 Nb3 23.Nxb3 Bxb3 24.Rd3 Bc2 25.Rd2 b3 26.Bf2 Bb4 27.Rd4 Nd5 28.Nd3 e5 29.Nxe5 Bc3 30.Nc4 Bxd4 31.exd4 Qc7 32.Bg3 Qa7 33.Qe5 Nb4 34.Nd6 Rf8 35.Qe3 Rad8 36.Qc3 Qe7 37.Re1 Qg5 38.Qe3 Qg6 39.Ne4 (39.Nb7) Bxe4 40.Qxe4 Nc2 41.Qxg6 hxg6 42.Rc1 Nxd4 43.Bc7 Rd5 44.Bc4 Rc8 45.Ba6 Re8 46.Kf1 Nc2 47.Kg1 Re1+ 48.Rxe1 Nxe1 49.Kf2 Nc2 50.Ke2 Rc5 51.Bg3 Nb4 52.Bd3 g5 53.Be4 Rc4 54.Be1 Kf8 55.Bc3 f6 56.g4 Ke7 57.Kd2 Kd6 58.Ke2 Nd5 59.Bxa5 Rxa4 60.Be1 Ra2 61.Kd3 Rxb2 62.Kc4 Re2 63.Bg3+ Nf4 64.Kxb3 Rxe4! 65.fxe4 Ke5 66.h4 Kxe4 67.hxg5 fxg5 68.Kc4 Kf3 69.Be1 Kxg4 70.Kd4 Kf3 71.Ke5 g4 0-1

Boleslavsky - Fine, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c4 Bd7 6.Nc3 g6 7.d4 exd4 8.Nxd4 Bg7 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.O-O Ne7 11.c5 Nc8 12.Be3 O-O 13.Qd2 Qe7 14.Rad1 Be8 15.f4 f5 16.exf5 gxf5 (16...Rxf5) 17.Rfe1 dxc5 (17...Qh4) 18.Qf2 Nd6 19.Bxc5 Qd8 20.Bd4 Bxd4 21.Qxd4 Qf6 22.Bb3+ Kh8 23.Qxf6+ Rxf6 24.Re7 Rc8 25.Rde1 Bg6 26.R1e6 Rxe6 27.Bxe6 Re8 28.Rxe8+ Bxe8 29.Na4 Kg7 30.Nc5 a5 31.Kf2 Bf7 32.Bxf7 Kxf7 33.b3 h5 34.g3 Ke7 35.Ke3 Nb5 (35...Kf6) 36.Nb7 c5 (36...a4) 37.Nxa5 Kd6 38.Nc4+ Kd5 39.Kd3 Nd6 (39...Ke6) 40.Nxd6 cxd6 41.a3! (41...Kc6 42.b4 cxb4 43.axb4 Kb5 44.Kd4 Kxb4 45.Kd5 Kc3 46.Kxd6 Kd4 47.Ke6 Ke4 48.Kf6 h4 49.gxh4 Kxf4 50.h5 Kg4 51.h6) 1-0

Horowitz - Flohr, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ gxf6 6.Ne2 Bf5 7.Ng3 Bg6 8.h4 h6 9.h5 Bh7 10.c3 Qb6 11.Bc4 Nd7 12.a4 a5 13.Qf3 e6 14.O-O Bc2 15.Bf4 Bb3 16.Bd3 e5 17.Be3 Bd5 18.Be4 Qb3 19.dxe5 fxe5 20.Rad1 Bxe4 21.Qxe4 Qe6 22.Rd2 Nf6 23.Qf3 Rg8 24.Rfd1 Rg4 (24...Nd5) 25.Nf5! e4 26.Bb6! Rxg2+ (26...exf3?? 27.Rd8+ Rxd8 28.Rxd8 mate) 27.Qxg2 Qxf5 28.Rd8+ Rxd8 29.Rxd8+ Ke7 30.Qg3 Nd7 31.Bc7 Qd5 32.c4 Qg5 33.Qxg5+ hxg5 34.Ra8 Ke6 35.Bxa5 f5 36.Bc3 f4 37.a5 g4 38.b4 f3 39.Bd2 Kf7 40.Ra7 g3 41.Rxb7 1-0

Kotov - Kashdan, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 c6 6.Bf4 O-O 7.e3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Nbd7 9.O-O Nb6 10.Be2 Be6 11.Qc2 Nbd5 12.Be5 Bf5 13.Qb3 Qb6 14.Nd2 Qxb3 15.Nxb3 Rad8 16.Na5 Bc8 17.Bf3 h5 18.h3 Nh7 19.Bh2 Ng5 20.Bd1 c5 21.Bb3 Nxc3 22.bxc3 b6 23.Nc6 Rd7 24.f3 Ba6 25.Nb8 Rxb8 26.Bxb8 Bxf1 27.Kxf1 Ne6 28.Rb1 cxd4 29.cxd4 Rb7 30.Bg3 b5 31.Rc1 a5 (31...Bf6) 32.Rc8+ Kh7 33.Ke2 a4 34.Bxe6 fxe6 35.Rb8 Rxb8 36.Bxb8 b4 37.Kd3 Bh6 38.f4 g5 39.g4 hxg4 (39...Kg6) 40.hxg4 gxf4 (40...Kg6) 41.exf4 (41...Kg6 42.Kc4 b3 43.axb3 axb3 44.Kxb3 Bg7 45.Be5) 1-0

Steiner - Bondarevsky, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.a3 b6 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bg3 c5 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.a3 Rd8 12.Rc1 Ba6 13.Bxa6 Nxa6 14.Qe2 Qb7 15.O-O Rac8 16.Rfd1 b5 17.dxc5 Nxc5 18.Rxd8+ Rxd8 19.b4 Ne4 20.Nd4 Rc8 21.Rxc8+ Qxc8 22.Qc2 Qxc2 23.Nxc2 Bf6 24.f3 Nd2 25.Kf2 Nc4 26.Ke2 Bb2 27.Kd3 Bxa3 28.Kd4 Bc1 29.Kc5 a6 30.Bf2 Bd2 31.e4 (31.Kc6 Kf8 32.Kb7 a5 33.bxa5 Nxa5+ 34.Ka6 b4!) Kf8 32.Kc6 Ke8 33.Bc5 Bc3 34.Kc7 Be5+ 35.Kb7 a5 36.bxa5 Nxa5+ 37.Ka6 Nb3 38.Bg1 Nc1 39.g3 (39.h3) Ne2 40.Be3 Nc3 41.Bd2 b4 42.Nxb4 Ne2 43.Be3 Bd4 44.Nc2 (44.Bxd4? Nxd4 45.f4 Nf3 46.h3 Nd2 47.e5 Ne4 48.g4 Nf2) e5 45.Ka5 Bxe3 46.Nxe3 Nd4 47.f4 exf4 48.gxf4 Nf3 49.h3 h5 50.Kb4 Ng1 51.h4 Nh3 52.Nd5 Nf2 53.e5 (53.Nc3? Nd3+) Kd7 54.Kc4 (54.f5) Ke6 55.Kd4 Ng4 56.Ke4 Nf2+ 57.Kd4 Nh1 58.Ne3 Ng3 59.Kd3 g6 (59...Nf5) 60.Kd2 Nf5 61.Ng2 Nh6 (61...Kd5 62.Kd3) 62.Ne3 Ng4 63.Ke2 Nh6 64.Kf2 Ke7 65.Kf3 Kd7 66.Ke2 Kc6 67.Kd3 Kd7 68.Ke2 Ke7 69.Kf2 Kd7 70.Ke2 Ng8 71.Ke2 Nc6 1/2-1/2

Lilienthal - Pinkus, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Be7 5.Nc3 d5 6.Qc2 Nbd7 7.e4 dxe4 8.Nxe4 c6 9.O-O-O b6 10.Bd3 Bb7 11.Bc3 Nxe4 12.Bxe4 Nf6 13.Bd3 Qc7 14.Qe2 O-O-O 15.Rhe1 Rhe8 16.Ne5 Bd6 17.Bc2 c5 18.dxc5 (18.Ba4) Bxc5 19.f4 Rxd1+ 20.Rxd1 Rd8 21.Rxd8+ Kxd8 22.f5 exf5 23.Bxf5 h6 24.g3 (24.Qd3+? Ke8 25.Qg3 Bd6) Qe7 25.Bc2 (25...Bd6 26.Qd2) 1/2-1/2

Seidman - Ragozin, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 h6 9.Nf3 e4 10.Ne5 Bd6 11.f4 Qe7 12.Nc3 Bxe5 13.fxe5 Qxe5 14.d4 Qf5 15.Qd2 Be6 16.Qf4 Qxf4 17.Bxf4 Nd5 18.Nxd5 cxd5 19.b3 Ke7 20.Kd2 Nc6 21.Be3 f5 22.g3 g5 23.h4 Kf6 24.Raf1 Ne7 25.c4 a5 26.c5 Rab8 27.Kc3 Rbg8 28.h5 Rb8 29.a3 Bd7 30.Rf2 Kg7 31.Rb1 Bb5 32.Bd1 Rhf8 33.Rbb2 Rb7 34.b4 a4 35.Be2 Bxe2 36.Rbxe2 Rf6 37.Rb2 Rb5 38.Kd2 Kf7 39.Rb1 Nc6 40.Rh1 Ke6 41.Kc3 Rf7 42.Rhf1 Rbb7 43.Rb2 Na7 44.Rbf2 Nb5+ 45.Kb2 Rbc7 46.Rg1 Rc6 47.Rgf1 Rf8 48.Rg1 Kd7 49.Rgf1 Rcf6 50.Ka2 Kc6 51.Kb2 Nc7 52.Kc3 Kb5 53.Bd2 Ne6 54.Rg1 R8f7 55.Bc4 Ng7 56.Rh2 f4! 57.gxf4 gxf4 58.Rg6 f3 59.Rf2 (59.Be3 Nf5) Rxg6 60.hxg6 Rf6 61.Bxh6 Nf5 62.Bf4 Rxg6 63.Rh2 Ng3 64.Be5 (64.Bxg3 Rxg3 65.Kd2 Rg2+ 66.Rxg2 fxg2) Ne2+ 65.Kd2 Rg2 66.Rh7 (66.Ke3 Rxh2 67.Bxh2 Nxd4 68.Kxd4 f2) Nxd4+ 67.Kc3 Ne2+ 68.Kd2 d4 0-1

Makogonov - Kupchik, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Bd6 5.Bg3 Ne4 6.Bd3 b6 7.c4 O-O 8.Nc3 Bb7 9.Qc2 f5 10.Bxd6 Qxd6 11.O-O c6 12.Ne5 Nxc3 13.Qxc3 Nd7 14.Nxd7 Qxd7 15.c5 b5 16.a4 a6 17.f4 Rab8 18.Rfc1 Qc7 19.Qe1 Bc8 20.b4 Qe7 21.Rc2 Rb7 22.Ra3 Rc7 23.axb5 axb5 24.Rca2 Bb7 25.Be2 Rcc8 26.Qa1 Rc7 27.g3 Qf6 28.Ra7 Qe7 29.Kf2 Rd7 30.Ke1 Rc7 31.Kd2 Rb8 32.Kc3 Rf8 33.Bd3 Rb8 34.R7a5 Qd7 35.h3 Rf8 36.g4 Rcc8 37.Ra7 Rc7 38.g5 Rb8 39.h4 Re8 40.h5 Rb8 41.h6 g6 42.R2a5 Kf7 43.Qf1 Bc8 44.Rxc7 Qxc7 45.Qa1 Ke7 46.Ra7 Rb7 47.Ra8 Rb8 48.Ra2 Kd7 49.Be2 Kd8 50.Ra7 Rb7 51.Ra8 Ke7 52.Qa5 Qd7 53.Kd2 Rc7 54.Ke1 Rb7 55.Kf2 Rc7 56.Kg3 Rb7 57.Kh4 Rc7 58.Qa1 Kf7 59.Kg3 Ke7 60.Kf2 Kf7 61.Bd1 Ke7 62.Ke2 Kf7 63.Kd2 Ke7 64.Kc2 Kf7 65.Kb2 Ke7 66.Rb8 Kf7 67.Qa8 Ke7 (67...Ra7 68.Rxc8! Rxa8 69.Rxa8 Qb7 70.Rh8 Qa6 71.Rxh7+) 68.Rb6 (68.Be2) Rb7 69.Be2 Rxb6 70.cxb6 Qb7 71.Qa5 Bd7 72.Qa1 Kd8 (72...Qxb6) 73.Qa7 (73...Kc8 and not 73...Bc8? 74.Qxb7 Bxb7 75.Bh5! gxh5 76.g6 wins) 1/2-1/2

Santasiere - Bronstein, USA-USSR Radio Match 1945
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.b4 d6 3.d4 g6 4.c4 Bg7 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Nbd2 a5 7.a3 e5 8.dxe5 Nfd7 9.e3 Nc6 10.Qb3 axb4 11.axb4 Rxa1 12.Bxa1 Ncxe5 13.Bc3 c5 14.Be2 Qf6 15.Ne4 Qe7 16.Bxe5 Nxe5 17.bxc5 dxc5 18.O-O Bg4 19.Ned2 Nc6 20.Rd1 Nb4 21.Nb1 Qf6 22.Na3 Ra8 23.Nd4 Bxe2 24.Nxe2 Qb2 25.Qxb2 Bxb2 26.Nb5 Nc6 27.Rb1 Ra4 28.Ng3 Be5 29.f4 Bg7 30.Nd6 Rb4 31.Rc1 f5 32.e4 Bd4+ 33.Kh1 Be3 34.Rf1 Na5 35.exf5 Nxc4 36.Nxc4 Rxc4 37.fxg6 hxg6 38.f5 g5 39.f6 (39.Rf3) Rc1 40.Rxc1 Bxc1 41.Ne4 c4 42.g4 (42.g3; 42.Nd6) Bf4 (42...Bb2 43.f7+ Kf8 44.Nxg5; 43...Kxf7 44.Nd6+) 43.Kg2 b5 44.Kf3 b4 45.h4 (45.Ke2 c3 46.Kd1 Kf7 47.h3 Kg6) c3 46.hxg5 c2 47.Kxf4 c1=Q+ 48.Kf5 Qc8+ 49.Kf4 b3 50.g6 b2 0-1

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