Play Chess Against Lev Polugaevsky

Lev Polugaevsky (1934-1995), the theorist whose Najdorf variation still bears his name, sits across the board. Set the strength, clock, color and starting position, then press Start game.

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Portrait of Lev Polugaevsky — Lev Polugaevsky, 1934-1995.

Black · Lev Polugaevsky10:00

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White · You10:00

Lev Polugaevskyhistorical player

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OpponentLev PolugaevskyStrength1500Clock10+5You playWhite

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Lev Polugaevsky1934-1995

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1500

1500Polugaevsky, 1500 Elo target2600

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About Lev Polugaevsky

Lev Polugaevsky (1934-1995) was a two-time Soviet champion and one of the deepest opening analysts who ever lived. His sharp ...b5 line in the Najdorf Sicilian, the Polugaevsky Variation, remains a main battlefield of elite chess decades after he mapped it out. Three times a Candidate, he lost matches to Anatoly Karpov and twice to Viktor Korchnoi, the two players who dominated his era. His book Grandmaster Preparation, built around the birth of his variation, is still the classic account of how opening work is really done.

2x USSR championShared the 1967 Soviet title with Tal and won the championship outright in 1968

The Polugaevsky VariationHis sharp ...b5 Najdorf line is still a main battlefield of top-level chess

Three-time CandidateContested three Candidates cycles, falling to Karpov in 1974 and twice to Korchnoi

Grandmaster PreparationHis classic book showed how a world-class opening repertoire is actually built

1934
Born in Mogilev
Lev Polugaevsky was born on 20 November 1934 in Mogilev, in what is now Belarus.
1962
Mar del Plata winner
Won the traditional international at Mar del Plata in Argentina, his first major success abroad.
1967
Soviet co-champion
Shared the USSR championship with Mikhail Tal at Kharkov.
1968
Soviet champion outright
Won the USSR championship alone at Alma-Ata.
1974
Stopped by Karpov
Beat Henrique Mecking in the Candidates quarterfinal, then lost the semifinal to Anatoly Karpov, who became champion by default a year later.
1977
Stopped by Korchnoi
Lost the Candidates semifinal to Viktor Korchnoi at Evian, the first of two defeats against him.
1980
One more run
His final Candidates cycle ended against Korchnoi in Buenos Aires. His account of opening work, Grandmaster Preparation, became a classic.
1995
Death in Paris
Died in Paris on 30 August 1995. The Najdorf line he spent a life mapping still carries his name at every level of the game.