View source for Nicolas Rossolimo

{{Short description|Chess player (1910–1975)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox chess player
|name = Nicolas Rossolimo 
|image = Nicolas Rossolimo 1950 (cropped).jpg
|caption = Rossolimo in 1950
|birthname = Nikolai Spiridonovich Rossolimo
|country = [[Russian Empire]] <br />Greece <br />France <br /> United States
|birth_date = February 28, 1910
|birth_place = [[Kiev]], [[Russian Empire]] (now Ukraine)
|death_date = July 24, 1975 (aged 65) 
|death_place = New York, U.S.
|title = [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] (1953)
|peakrating = 
}}

'''Nicolas Rossolimo''' ({{langx|ru|Николай Спиридонович Россоли́мо|translit=Nikolai Spiridonovich Rossolimo}}; February 28, 1910 – July 24, 1975) was a Russian-born chess player. After acquiring Greek citizenship in 1929, he was able to emigrate that year to France, and was many times chess champion of Paris. In 1952 he emigrated to the United States, and won the 1955 U.S. Open Chess Championship. He was awarded the title of [[Grandmaster (chess)|International Grandmaster]] by [[FIDE]] in 1953. Rossolimo was a resident of [[New York City]] until his death.

The [[Sicilian Defence#2...Nc6 without 3.d4|Rossolimo Variation]] of the Sicilian Defence bears his name.

==Biography and chess career==
Nikolai Spiridonovich Rossolimo was born into an upper-middle-class Russian-Greek family in Kiev, then part of the Russian Empire. His father was Spiridon Rossolimo, a Russian painter and [[Portraits|portraitist]] of Greek ancestry, while his mother née Xenia Nikolaevna Skugarevskaya was an [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocratic]] writer and [[war correspondent]].<ref>Globe Trotter, "Дневник 1899&ndash;1906", New York: Rausen Bros., 1951.</ref> He was a nephew of the famous Russian neurologist and psychiatrist [[Grigory Ivanovich Rossolimo]]. He lived in Moscow during the mid-1920s, and moved to Paris with his Russian mother in 1929.

Having finished second behind former [[World Chess Championship|World Champion]] [[José Raúl Capablanca]] in a tournament in Paris in 1938, he won the [[French Chess Championship|French Championship]] in 1948.<ref>http://heritageechecsfra.free.fr/1948.htm (Retrieved 12/29/16)</ref> He was [[Paris City Chess Championship|Paris champion]] a record seven times,<ref>http://heritageechecsfra.free.fr/paris1932.htm (Retrieved 12/29/16)</ref> and drew two matches in 1948 and 1949 with [[Savielly Tartakower]]. In 1955, he won the U.S. Open Championship held in Long Beach, California, on tiebreaks ahead of [[Samuel Reshevsky]]. The prize was a new [[Buick]] automobile.

Rossolimo played for France in the [[Chess Olympiad]]s of 1950 and 1972, and for the United States in 1958, 1960, and 1966.<ref>[http://www.olimpbase.org/players/sic002gi.html OlimpBase Men's Chess Olympiads Nicolas Rossolimo]</ref> FIDE awarded him the [[International Master]] title in 1950 and the International Grandmaster title in 1953.

In 1952, he moved to the U.S. with his wife Véra and son [[Alexander N. Rossolimo|Alexander]] to rejoin his mother and Russian-Greek father in New York. (After moving to the U.S., his first name was often spelled "Nicholas".) In New York, he worked as a waiter, a taxi driver, played the accordion, and worked as a singer and ran a chess studio as well to support himself and his family. The Rossolimo Chess Studio was located in [[Greenwich Village]] in Manhattan. It was somewhat like a café that served food and drinks, and also sold chess sets and books, but where members of the public – including famous artists such as [[Marcel Duchamp]] – could come and play chess with each other and occasionally play Rossolimo himself for a fee (Rossolimo would play [[simultaneous chess]] with many of the patrons).
==Death==
Rossolimo died of head injuries following a fall down a flight of stairs, just after finishing third in his final event, the 1975 [[World Open chess tournament|World Open]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1299&dat=19750825&id=YnQQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nosDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6251,3445484 Nicholas Rossolimo: 1910–1975. Requiem for a Grand Master, by Jerry Kantor] // The Village Voice – Aug 25, 1975.</ref> He was buried in a [[Russian Orthodox]] cemetery in [[New Jersey]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Nicolas Rossolimo 1910-1975|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=82VYAAAAYAAJ&q=Rossolimo |journal= [[Chess Life and Review]]|author=[[Pal Benko]] |date=October 1975 |volume=XXX|issue=10|page=647|location=New York }}</ref>

===Chess talent===
{{AN chess|pos=secleft}}
{{Chess diagram small
|tright
|
|bd|  |rd|  |  |rd|  |kd
|pd|  |qd|  |  |pd|pd|pd
|pl|pd|  |  |nd|nl|  |  
|  |  |  |pd|nl|  |  |  
|  |  |  |pl|  |  |ql|  
|rl|  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |pl|  |  |  |pl|pl|pl
|  |  |  |  |rl|  |kl|  
|Rossolimo vs. Reissman, position after 22...Kh8
}}
The strongest players Rossolimo defeated were [[Efim Bogoljubov]], [[David Bronstein]], and former World Champion [[Max Euwe]], against whom he had two wins and a lifetime plus score. He also scored draws against four world champions: José Capablanca, Max Euwe, [[Bobby Fischer]], and [[Vassily Smyslov]]. According to the site [[Chessmetrics]], which estimates historical ratings of players based on results, his highest ranking was 15th in the world, reached in December 1953.<ref>"Career ratings for: Rossolimo, Nicolas", [[Chessmetrics]], http://www.chessmetrics.com/cm/PL/PL34119.htm (Retrieved 9/25/13).</ref><ref>"All active players as of December 31, 1953", [[Chessmetrics]], http://www.chessmetrics.com/cm/DL/DL108.htm (Retrieved 9/25/13).</ref>

Rossolimo won many [[Chess terminology#Brilliancy prize|brilliancy]] and "best-game" prizes for his beautiful chess games, and has been called an "artist of chess".<ref>Авербах Ю. "Художник шахмат. К 100-летию Николая Россолимо" // 64 – Шахматное обозрение, №&nbsp;10, 2010. (Translation of reference: "Artist of Chess. On the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nicolas Rossolimo", by [[Yuri Averbakh|Yuri Lvovich Averbakh]] – Shakhmatnoye Obozrenie, [[64 (chess magazine)]], №&nbsp;10, October 2010.)</ref><ref>Harold Dondis and Patrick Wolff, "Chess Notes", [[The Boston Globe]], 7 November 2011, page G15.</ref> He has been quoted to have said (here in translation): "What am I supposed to do, trade in my romantic style and become a hunter of points at any price? No, I will not do so. I will fight for the art of chess. I shall not turn into a monster".<ref>Alex Anil, [https://archive.today/20130628014751/http://alexanil.livejournal.com/259316.html] (Retrieved 6/24/13). The original quote in Russian reads in part: "Я буду сражаться за искусство шахмат. Я не превращусь в монстра," Николай Россолимо.</ref><ref>Nicolas Rossolimo Documentary, "Rossolimo: Chess Artist", written by Jessica Fischer, narrated by Richard Dewoskin, Chess.com, https://www.chess.com/blog/jessicafischerqueen/nicolas-rossolimo-documentary (Retrieved 2/8/16).</ref><ref>Jessica Fischer, "Rossolimo: Chess Artist", videos 1/2 and 2/2, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA3C6D97874E59930 (Retrieved 2/8/16).</ref>

Here is one of Rossolimo's most celebrated brilliancies. [[Israel Albert Horowitz|Al Horowitz]], the late chess columnist for [[The New York Times]], called this game "a brilliancy of astonishing character, elegant and explosive".<ref>Al Horowitz, "Chess: An Offer of a Queen Leads To a Brilliant White Victory". The New York Times, 12 June 1967.</ref>

:Rossolimo vs. Paul Reissman, [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]] 1967 <br />1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Nbxd2 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Qb3 Nce7 11.0-0 c6 12.Rfe1 0-0 13.a4 b6{{chesspunc|?}} 14.Ne5 Bb7 15.a5 Rc8 16.Ne4 Qc7 17.a6{{chesspunc|!}} Ba8 18.Qh3 Nf4 19.Qg4 Ned5 20.Ra3 Ne6 21.Bxd5 cxd5 22.Nf6+ Kh8 (''diagram'') 23.Qg6{{chesspunc|!!}} Qc2 24.Rh3! {{chessAN|1–0}}

The Boston Globe wrote: "The truly talented Nicolas Rossolimo played one of the most amazing moves ever in Rossolimo–Reissman: 23.Qg6!!".<ref>Harold Dondis and Chris Chase, "Chess Notes", [[The Boston Globe]], 23 June 2015, page B5.</ref>

===Legacy===
{{Chess diagram small
|tright
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|rd|  |bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|  |pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |nd|  |  |  |  |  
|  |bl|pd|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |pl|  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |nl|  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|  |pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|  |  |rl
|[[Sicilian Defence#Rossolimo Variation|Rossolimo Variation]]. Black will continue with 3...g6, 3...d6, or 3...e6.
}}
One of Rossolimo's more enduring innovations is the variation of the [[Sicilian Defence]] which bears his name – the [[Sicilian Defence#Rossolimo Variation|Rossolimo Variation]]: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 (see diagram). While generally steering clear of the tactical fireworks common to [[Sicilian Defence#Open Sicilian: 2.Nf3 and 3.d4|open Sicilians]], the Rossolimo Variation offers White some chance of an [[Chess opening|opening]] advantage.<ref>[[Victor Bologan]], ''The Rossolimo Sicilian: A Powerful Anti-Sicilian that Avoids Tons of Theory'', New In Chess, 2011, {{ISBN|978-90-5691-345-8}}, 256 pp.</ref>

===Other===
Rossolimo wrote two books: ''Les Echecs au coin du feu'', a collection of his studies and endgames with a preface by Savielly Tartakower, published in Paris in 1947; and ''Rossolimo's Brilliancy Prizes'', self-published in New York in 1970. He also made a record of songs in Russian, French, and English, with an album cover designed by Marcel Duchamp and produced by the Kismet Record Company.<ref>''Nicolas Rossolimo – Russian Songs'', Kismet Hi-Fi Recordings, vol. KR-5.</ref> He is the hero of a chapter in the book, ''Losing Moses on the Freeway''.<ref>Chris Hedges, ''Losing Moses on the Freeway'', Chapter IX. Free Press, Simon & Schuster Inc., 2005.</ref> He also held a [[brown belt]] in [[judo]] and recorded an album of Russian songs.<ref>{{citation|work=[[Chess Life|Chess Life & Review]]|volume=XXX|number=9|page=571|title=Nicolas Rossolimo Dies|date=September 1975}}</ref>

==Tournaments and matches==
The following table gives Rossolimo's placings and scores in a number of major tournaments and matches. (The "Score" column gives the number of points / the total possible. The "+" indicates the number of won games, "−" the number of losses, and "=" the number of draws.)

:{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Year !! City !! Tournament !! +W−L=D !! Score !! Place
|-
|1931 ||align="left"|Paris ||align="left"|[[Paris City Chess Championship|Paris championship]] || +11−3=2 || 12/16 ||3-4
|-
|1934 ||align="left"|Paris ||align="left"|[[Paris City Chess Championship|Paris championship]] || +12−0=2 || 13/14 ||1
|-
|1937 ||align="left"|Paris ||align="left"|[[Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne|Paris International Exposition]] || || ||1 
|-
|1938 ||align="left"|Paris ||align="left"|International tournament||+6−1=3|| 7½/10  ||2
|-
|1939 ||align="left"|Paris ||align="left"|International tournament||+9−0=5|| 11½/14  ||1
|-
|1947 ||align="left"|[[Hilversum]] ||align="left"| [[Interzonal|European Zonal tournament]] || +5−5=3 ||6½/13 ||7–8
|-
|1948 ||align="left"|Paris ||align="left"|French championship|| +5−0=3 || 6½/8  ||1
|-
|1948 ||align="left"|[[Beverwijk]] ||align="left"|[[Corus chess tournament]] || +3-2=4 || 5/9 ||3–4
|-
|1948 ||align="left"|[[Bad Gastein]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +12−2=5 ||14½/19 ||2–3
|-
|1948 || align="left"|Paris ||align="left"|Match with [[Savielly Tartakower]] || +1−1=10 ||6/12 ||tie
|-
|1948/49 ||align="left"|[[Hastings]] ||align="left"| [[Hastings International Chess Congress]] || +4−0=5 ||6½/9 ||1
|-
|1949 ||align="left"|[[Southsea]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +8−0=2 || 9/10||1
|-
|1949 ||align="left"|[[Heidelberg]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +4−1=4 || 6/9 ||2
|-
|1949 ||align="left"|[[Trenčianske Teplice]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +9−4=6 ||12/19 ||4–5 
|-
|1949 ||align="left"|[[Gijón]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +9−0=2 || 10/11 ||1
|-
|1949 ||align="left"|[[Venice]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +8−2=5 ||10½/15 ||2
|-
|1949 ||align="left"|Paris ||align="left"| Match with [[Savielly Tartakower]] || +5−5=0 || 5/10 || tie
|-
|1949/50 ||align="left"|[[Hastings]] ||align="left"| [[Hastings International Chess Congress]] || +6−0=3 ||7½/9 ||2
|-
|1950 ||align="left"|[[Beverwijk]] ||align="left"|[[Corus chess tournament]] || +4−1=4 || 6/9 || 2–3
|-
|1950 ||align="left"|[[Gijón]] ||align="left"|International tournament<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Mendez|first1=Pedro|url=https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-gijon-international-chess-tournaments-1944-1965/|title=The Gijon International Chess Tournaments|last2=Mendez|first2=Luis|publisher=McFarland|year=2019|isbn=9781476676593|pages=117–132}}</ref>|| +7−1=3 || 8½/11 || 1
|-
|1950 ||align="left"|[[Venice]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +7−2=6 || 10/15 ||3
|-
|1950 ||align="left"|[[Amsterdam]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +5−2=12 || 11/19 || 8
|-
|1950 ||align="left"|[[Mar del Plata]] ||align="left"| [[Mar del Plata chess tournament]]|| +5−3=9 || 9½/17 ||8
|-
|1950 ||align="left"|[[Dubrovnik]] ||align="left"|[[9th Chess Olympiad]]|| +7−1=4 || 9/12 ||2<ref name="individual">Individual standing</ref>
|-
|1950/51 ||align="left"|[[Hastings]] ||align="left"| [[Hastings International Chess Congress]] || +5−1=3 || 6½/9 ||2–3
|-
|1951 ||align="left"|[[Reykjavík]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +6−0=3|| 7½/9 ||1
|-
|1951 ||align="left"|[[Southsea]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +6−0=4 || 8/12 ||1–2
|-
|1951 ||align="left"|[[Bilbao]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +9−0=0|| 9/9 ||1
|- 
|1951 ||align="left"|[[A Coruña]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| ||6½/8  ||1
|- 
|1951 ||align="left"|[[Vitoria, Spain|Vitoria]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +6−0=1|| 6½/7  ||1
|- 
|1951 ||align="left"|[[Birmingham]] ||align="left"|[[Howard Staunton Memorial Tournament]] || +4−2=9 || 8½/15 ||5–8
|-
|1952 ||align="left"|[[Havana]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| +9−4=7 || 12½/20 ||6
|-
|1952 ||align="left"|[[Saarland]] ||align="left"| International tournament|| || ||1
|-
|1952 ||align="left"|[[New York City]] ||align="left"|Match with [[Arthur Bisguier]] || +1−0=1 || 1½–½ ||won
|-
|1953 ||align="left"|[[Milwaukee]] ||align="left"|[[U.S. Open Chess Championship]] || ||  ||3–8
|-
|1953 ||align="left"|[[Beverwijk]] ||align="left"|[[Corus chess tournament]] || +7−0=4 || 9/11 ||1
|-
|1954 ||align="left"|[[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] ||align="left"|[[Pan American Chess Championship]] || || ||3–4
|-
|1954 ||align="left"|[[New York City]] ||align="left"|[[U.S. Chess Championship]] || +3−2=8 ||7/13 ||6-7
|-
|1955 ||align="left"|[[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]] ||align="left"|[[U.S. Open Chess Championship]] || ||10/12  ||1
|-
|1956 ||align="left"|[[Washington, D.C.]] ||align="left"|Eastern States Open Championship|| +4−0=3 || 5½/7 ||2-5
|-
|1957 ||align="left"|[[Tarragona]] ||align="left"|International Tournament|| +6−1=2 || 7/9  ||2
|-
|1958 ||align="left"|[[Munich]] ||align="left"|[[13th Chess Olympiad]] || +6−1=8 || 10/15 ||3<ref name="individual">Individual standing</ref>
|-
|1960 ||align="left"|[[Leipzig]] ||align="left"|[[14th Chess Olympiad]] || +2−1=3 || 3½/6 ||
|-
|1965 ||align="left"|[[New York City]] ||align="left"|[[U.S. Chess Championship]] || || 6/11 ||6
|-
|1966 ||align="left"|[[Havana]] ||align="left"|[[17th Chess Olympiad]]|| +5−1=4 || 7/10 ||
|-
|1967 ||align="left"|Washington, D.C. ||align="left"|Eastern Open Chess Championship|| +7−0=2 || 8/9 ||1
|-
|1967 ||align="left"|[[Puerto Rico]] ||align="left"|Puerto Rico Open|| +5−0=2 || 6/7  ||1
|-
|1968 ||align="left"|[[Málaga]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| ||5½/11||6–9
|-
|1969 ||align="left"|[[Monte Carlo]] ||align="left"|All-grandmaster tournament|| ||5½/11 ||7
|-
|1969 ||align="left"|[[Vršac]] ||align="left"|International tournament|| || 8½/15  ||6–8
|-
|1972 ||align="left"|[[Skopje]] ||align="left"|[[20th Chess Olympiad]] || +7−6=4 || 9/17 ||
|-
|1975 ||align="left"|[[New York City]] ||align="left"|[[World Open chess tournament]]|| +7−1=1 || 7½/9 ||3
|}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://brooklyn64.com/category/openings/sicilian-defense/3-bb5/ The Rossolimo Sicilian] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708100443/http://brooklyn64.com/category/openings/sicilian-defense/3-bb5/ |date=2011-07-08 }} a three-part article
* {{chessgames player|id=21925}}

{{French chess grandmasters}}
{{American GMs}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rossolimo, Nicolas}}
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:1975 deaths]]
[[Category:American chess players]]
[[Category:French chess players]]
[[Category:Greek chess players]]
[[Category:Ukrainian chess players]]
[[Category:Chess Grandmasters]]
[[Category:Chess Olympiad competitors]]
[[Category:Chess theoreticians]]
[[Category:Chess players from Paris]]
[[Category:Chess players from Kyiv]]
[[Category:Russian people of Greek descent]]
[[Category:Soviet emigrants to France]]
[[Category:Soviet emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:French emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century Russian chess players]]