By Valery Tsaturjan Vladimir Bagirov Passes Away In Blessed Memory of the Teacher; Edited & Corrected by Lupco Steriev Vladimir Bagirov dead on 7/20/2000 ( 1936 ? - 2000 ) ------------------------------------------------------ I will never again see you on this sinful land, master. I will never again hear your infectious laughter. You will never again tell me about your latest games and share your fresh ideas and experiences. Caissa is now deprived of another devoted knight, and the hearts of those who knew and loved him are filled with sorrow. I can hardly believe, Vladimir Konstantinovich, that you are no longer with us. Vladimir Bagirov's childhood was not too happy. (Commies) In the 1930's his father was subjected to repression and then executed by shooting. Chess took his fancy when he was a schoolboy. His first teachers were Abramian and Makagonov, who were popular not only in Baku but also in the whole country. He never concealed how difficult it was for him to master each successive level of this sporting career. Starting with tournaments of Category 4, he kept his game records with scrupulous care. Later, Vasily Smyslov became his chess idol. Chess became his favorite word, too. Whatever he did, he was singular in accuracy and carefulness. Being a contemporary of Spassky and Tal, he was a talented representative of the Soviet chess school, which was based on creative perception of the classical heritage and systematic analytical work. He was not merely a bright positional chess player, but he was a talented coach, too. There were always many people when he held his classes in a little room (proudly called the chess club) in Baku, Primorsky Boulevard. In good weather or bad, we were sure that the classes were going to be held, and we were afraid of being even a minute late: we didn;t want to miss a thing in communicating with the tutor. Time was flying, and Bagirov was a good narrator, so he analyzed the games in a very interesting way. In the late 1970s Bagirov, together with his family, left for Riga. He took offence at the administration of the republic's sport committee, which didnt even bother to provide this repeated champion of the republic, the first Azerbaijani Grandmaster, with a decent accommodation. So now it was Bagirov-bereft, but instead the Latvian chess school started developing. Bagirov became the Latvian national team's coach. Grandmasters Tal, Shirov, Shabalov, and Lanka were among those he worked with. GM Polugaevsky was Bagirov's true friend and colleague for years on end. In spite of the fact that he was very busily working as a coach, Bagirov participated in the events. He was a real chess fan. Bagirov's games were singular in the serious character of their openings. His strategic plans were clear and ending technique was excellent. But those who knew Bagirov intimately and played blitz with him (he liked blitz immensely), understood that he was a bright tactician as well. But he was a positional player in tournaments. Bagirov picked up his positional skills analyzing the play of Rubinstein, Smyslov, Petrosian. This fact goes to account for his play's character: he saw every little detail of the chess position, and he couldnt afford to assume too much of a risk when seeking a victory. In the last years of his life his play became more relaxed and dynamic. Bagirov was the author of wonderful chess books and articles. His fundamental books on the Alekhine Defense (I am sure he was the world's best specialist in this opening) and the English Opening are well known in the world of chess, and they have been republished several times. Once we held forth on the value of chess books for a chess player's career and he thought back to his youth, recalling the following episode. At that time there were practically no chess books to be bought, and he asked his acquaintance to lend him a book called Rook Endings Theory by Smyslov and Levenfish for a few days. His desire not to part with the book was so strong that, forgetting anything else, he took several days to copy the book from cover to cover. Strange as it might seem, I have been playing chess endings quite up to the mark ever since, he said. Any of the modern young chess players is unlikely to perform such a feat. Instead they prefer to have the necessary book photocopied or to use a computer program for analysis of ending positions. A few years ago Bagirov, though reluctantly, bought a notebook computer to use the Chess Assistant program. I couldn't help it, the young know everything; if I make a single little mistake in the opening, it will be nearly impossible to withstand them. He didn't believe in the computer analysis and often laughed at the electronic monsters positional and strategic blunders. As the fates decreed, a few years ago Bagirov, Gufeld and the author were brought together in Podolsk, in the house that Garry Kasparov had provided for the coaches of the Chess Academy. Gufeld kept joking: Take it easy, Vladimir, we will have our time. The main thing is to survive our Jokonda's thirtieth birthday. [Joconda: Special production, such as an opera. Ed.] They meant the famous Bagirov; Gufeld game, which became one of the most valuable possessions of chess history. Eduard, I know how you feel about the whole thing now that your friend has left you for ever. There is nothing to be done about it: Vladimir didnt live to see that day. He didnt even reach his own 64th birthday. You havent taken good care of your vulnerable heart. I dont believe, I dont want to believe that you are no longer with us. You have just gone without coming back, taking the bitterness of all your disappointments and offences with you. Farewell, master; [Editors' Note: Bagirov died on Thursday, July 20, while visiting Finland. Ilya Gorodetsky commented via email, "I talked to him just a few days before his visit to Finland. He was full of plans, wanted to replace a disk driver in his notebook...He left and died there."] Bagirov,V - Geller,E [E69] Polish Lvov, 1978 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0 Nbd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.e4 c6 9.h3 Qb6 10.Re1 ed4 11.Nd4 Re8 12.Re2 Ng4 13.Rd2 Nge5 14.b3 Nc5 15.Rc2 Bh3 16.Bh3 Ne4 17.Be3 Nc3 18.Rc3 c5 19.Nc2 Nf3 20.Qf3 Bc3 21.Bc5 Qc5 22.Qc3 d5 23.Bf1 dc4 24.Bc4 Qf5 25.Rd1 Rad8 26.Rd8 Rd8 27.Ne3 Qf3 28.a4 h5 29.Qa5 b6 30.Qa7 Rd2 31.Qb8 Kg7 32.Qf4 Rf2 33.Qf3 Rf3 34.Nd5 Rg3 35.Kh2 Rf3 36.Kg2 Rf5 37.Nb6 g5 38.Bd5 Re5 39.a5 Re2 40.Kf3 Ra2 41.Na4 Rd2 42.Bb7 Rd3 43.Ke2 Rb3 1-0