Rashid Nazmuddinov (Episode 1): An uncrowned emperor in the history of chess
Not all grandmasters remember history, and no one is able to write their name in gold in history without being a grandmaster.
Despite not being a grandmaster, Rashid Gibatovich Nazmuddinov is one of the most memorable players in the history of chess. He will be remembered for all his ever-attacking matches. Many also consider him as the greatest attacking player of all time. Misfortune is blamed as the reason for not being able to be his grandmaster.He had a cordial relationship with contemporary world champion Mikhail Tal. Rashid was a friend of Tal, a rival on the playground, as well as a mentor! He was even ahead 3-1 in a face-to-face fight with Tal. This immortal saying of Tal about him is memorable,
★Players die, tournaments are forgotten, but the works of great artists are left behind them to live on forever.★
In this series for the readers of Roar Bangla, we will discuss about this Maharathi. This episode will tell about his poverty stricken childhood, the tragic story of famine, handcuffs in chess and rise. The second episode will have the story of his military life, the thrilling story of the Second World War, the story of how he somehow escaped with his life in hand, and the story of his return to chess later.And in the last episode of this series we will discuss the best time of his career. There will also be some talk about his last life, death and legacy. He will be accompanied by immortal sayings in his evaluation by other grandmasters of his contemporaries. So what's the delay? Let's get started, dear reader!
★Childhood
Rashid was born in 1912 in Aktiubitsk (now a small town in Kazakhstan) in the then Russian Empire. He lost his parents in childhood. He was sent to an uncle who lived on the banks of the historic Volga River. Due to the Russian Civil War that lasted from 1917-23, the situation there was the same! Moreover, the Bolsheviks 'stealing of the peasants' crops and supplying the revolutionary army with them was a death knell for them.
The result was one of the deadliest famines in history, with more than two million children dying alone. Rashid survived on the welfare of his brother Tatar poet Kavi Nadjamir. Kavi admits Rashid to an orphanage in Kazan, where Rashid can eat for the first time in his life.
Kazan was the ancient capital of the Tatars. It was at the orphanage that Rashid received some basic Islamic education and also learned the Tatar language. He had a special interest and scholarship in literature, history and mathematics.
★The rise of Rashid
In 1928, 15-year-old Rashid won the City Pioneer Championship with a score of 100%. Exactly three years later, he became a first-class player by winning the Kazan City Championship. In a match in 1929, he lost to his mentor Samsonov in that black ball through a remarkable smurfed mate.Rashid graduated from high school in 1930. He then enrolled at the Kazan Institute of Technology, but financially he had to drop-out. His brother Kavi was the editor of the newspaper, and it was not possible for him to teach Rashid with that meager income. He was forced to drop out of school and join the Communist Party.Neither Rashid nor his brother ever blamed the Bolsheviks for the famine, even though they almost died. In addition, his brother Kavi wrote short stories praising the Bolsheviks, in recognition of which he received an award. Rashid later moved to Odessa.