Alexander Konstantinopolsky

Alexander Markovich Konstantinopolsky (Александр Маркович Константинопольский; 19 February 1910 – 21 September 1990) was a Soviet chess player, trainer and writer.

He was a five-time champion of Kiev, and trained the world title challenger David Bronstein from a young age.

During the late 1930s, Konstantinopolsky trained young players and amateurs in Kiev, at the Palace of Young Pioneers.

He was widely regarded as a friendly and kindly man.

The variation had been considered suspect until the mid-1930s.

During this time, he played one of the earliest games in the Yugoslav Attack against the Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defence, a line which would become very popular about 20 years later.

He also defended the Dutch Defence with success at a time when it was rarely played by top players.

Konstantinopolsky had a very wide opening repertoire with both colours, a very valuable attribute which he passed on to his prize pupil Bronstein.

He was also a formidable strategist and tactician, as the games selection shows.

In 1931, he tied for 3rd-5th in Kharkov (6th UKR-ch).

In 1931, he tied for 3rd-5th (7th URS-ch semifinal), in Moscow.

At the beginning of his career, Konstantinopolsky won the Kiev championships five consecutive times from 1932 to 1936.

He played in seven Ukrainian SSR championships.

In 1933, he took 3rd in Kharkov (7th UKR-ch).

In 1934, he tied for 11th-13th in Tbilisi (9th URS-ch sf).

In 1936, he took 4th in Kiev (8th UKR-ch).

In 1936, Konstantinopolsky played in a Leningrad Young Masters' tournament, scoring 7½/14 in a strong field which played a double round robin format.

Konstantinopolsky played several times in Soviet Chess Championships.

In 1937, he tied for 3rd-4th in Kiev (9th UKR-ch), which was won by Fedor Bohatirchuk.

In April/May 1937, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Viacheslav Ragozin, behind Grigory Levenfish, in Tbilisi (10th URS-ch), with a score of 12/19.

In 1938, he took 3rd in Kiev (10th UKR-ch), which was won by Isaac Boleslavsky.

In 1938, he tied for 11th-12th in Kiev (URS-ch sf).

In 1939, he took 3rd in Dnepropetrovsk (11th UKR-ch).

Boleslavsky also won in both 1939 and 1940.

Konstantinopolsky's early games from this period are largely missing from games databases.

(portrait photo from his later years at bidmonta.com under Konstantinopolsky heading)

He played in the tournament Leningrad / Moscow 1939, scoring an excellent 8½/17 against an exceptionally strong field.

During World War II, he played in national tournaments.

In 1940, he tied for 8th-9th in Kiev (12th UKR-ch).

In 1940, he tied for 4th-7th in Kiev (URS-ch sf), with a score of 9½/16.

In September/October 1940, he tied for 13th-16th in Moscow (12th URS-ch), with a score of 8/19.

In 1940, he took 3rd in Lvov (Lviv, Lwów, Lemberg), which was won by Abram Khavin.

The war then seems to have stopped his chess activity for about three years.

In February 1943, he won in Kuibyshev.

He was awarded the title of International Master (IM) by FIDE in 1950, won the first Soviet Correspondence Chess Championship in 1951, earned the IM title at correspondence in 1966, and earned the title of Honorary Grandmaster in 1983.

Born in Zhytomyr, Russian Empire, Konstantinopolsky was nearly 20 when he learned chess.

This makes him one of the oldest top players in terms of learning the moves of the game.

Konstantinopolsky and Bronstein were close friends, and Konstantinopolsky served as Bronstein's second for the 1950 Candidates' playoff match in Moscow, against Isaac Boleslavsky, which Bronstein won by 7½-6½.

He was one of the Ukrainian pioneers who developed the King's Indian Defence into prominence, along with Boleslavsky and Bronstein.

His prize pupil was the young David Bronstein, who eventually challenged for the World Championship title in 1951, drawing the match against Mikhail Botvinnik.