Bagirov vs. Kholmov
Baku 1961

Vladimir Bagirov, born 1936 in Soviet Baku, today Azerbaijan, was a Soviet Grandmaster who was also the personal trainer of world champions such as Garry Kasparov and Mikhail Tal. Bagirov died while playing his 4th game in a tournament in Finland in 2000, after winning the previous 3 games.

Ratmir Kholmov, born 1925 in Russia, was also a Soviet Grandmaster. He wasn’t known in the West as he wasn’t allowed to compete outside the Soviet Union, perhaps due to his army record in the Soviet marine forces during WWII.

The two met in the 1961 USSR Championship held in Baku, Bagirov’s hometown. At the time, Kholmov was at his peak rating and was rated 8th in the world.
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