(295) Michael Basman grabbing Vassily Smyslov at the 1968 Olympiad
I had known International Master, Michael Basman since the mid 1970s, played him quite a few times and even stayed at his home. Yet it was only on June 10th 2023 I was to encounter the remarkable story of what happened at the 1968 Chess Olympiad during his game with ex-World Champion, Vassily Smyslov. That was some eight months after Basman' s death and I, for no specific reason, elected to consult his obituary piece at the English Chess Forum . It mentions how Michael had grabbed Smyslov by the lapels and bawled at him to ask whether he wanted a draw! Re: IM Michael Basman Quote Post by NickFaulks » Mon Oct 31, 2022 3:13 pm Matt Mackenzie wrote: ↑ Mon Oct 31, 2022 2:17 pm Any chance of getting a paywall free version? Thus is the Smyslov excerpt. "In 1967 he was the star of the England team that won bronze in the World Student Championship and the following year played for the English team at the Chess Olympiad in Lugano. During one match he offered Vasily Smyslo