Friday, December 31, 2021

Stalin and Chess

 

An interesting report by Nathan Gordose [ph. spelling] about the Kremlin is found in Ha'aretz, 22.8.41, p. 3. Among many other "insider" reports, it is state that "Stalin, when not working, is a chess fan. There are ten chess clubs in the Kremlin, and Stalin is the best player in the place." 

I can certainly see that nobody would dare to beat Stalin in chess, but so far as I know there is no record of Stalin being a chess player at all, let alone a strong one. The number of chess clubs in the Kremlin seems excessive as well, to put things no stronger than that. Can any reader add anything to the matter? 

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