Some Canadian history - Dr. Bogatyrchuk

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  • Some Canadian history - Dr. Bogatyrchuk

    Dr. Fedor Bogatyrchuk (or Bohatyrchuk) was a Ukrainian medical doctor who played in several Soviet championships in the 1930s, defeating Botvinnik twice! During World War II his city of Kiev was overrun by the Germans and he worked for a time with them. After the war he had to escape from the U.S.S.R. and he eventually settled in Ottawa, becoming an I.M.

    Dr. Bogatyrchuk was very disillusioned by Communism. An interesting debate that he carried on with Grandmaster Pachman and Robert Wade in the 1950s can be found at chesshistory.com/winter, or at chessgames.com under the game Penrose - Fischer.

  • #2
    Some Canadian history - Dr. Bohatirchuk

    chesshistory.com/winter does not seem to get me there. I can't understand how to get it under that game either. I never use that site.

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    • #3
      Re: Some Canadian history - Dr. Bohatirchuk

      Originally posted by J. Ken MacDonald View Post
      chesshistory.com/winter does not seem to get me there. I can't understand how to get it under that game either. I never use that site.
      http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/pachman.html

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      • #4
        Some Canadian history - Dr. Bohatirchuk

        Thanks! jkm

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        • #5
          Re: Some Canadian history - Dr. Bohatyrchuk

          Dr.Bohatyrczuk (this is his oryginal last name spelling) could have become a G.M. but there was nobody to claim that on his behalf, -during his lifetime. Certainly, he had been of GM strength and the strongest player in that time in Canada.

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          • #6
            Re: Some Canadian history - Dr. Bogatyrchuk

            hi Peter! I have missed you for a coffee! Drop by,lets catch up .....

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            • #7
              Re: Some Canadian history - Dr. Bohatyrchuk

              Canada did apply for the GM title on his behalf, but for political reasons the Soviets stonewalled.

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              • #8
                Re: Some Canadian history - Dr. Bogatyrchuk

                I didn't know,Stephen, but I suspected "big politics" involvement behind that. I think that right now, there is a chance to fix that retrospective, after his death? That man had deserved for GM title, hadn't he?

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                • #9
                  Re: Some Canadian history - Dr. Bogatyrchuk

                  AFAIK FIDE has never awarded the GM title posthumously, thus the likes of Lasker, Capablanca, and Alekhine never received the title. In Canada Frank Anderson's name is periodically put forward as one who should receive the GM title posthumously, but FIDE has not budged on the issue.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Some Canadian history - Dr. Bogatyrchuk

                    I have observed quite many -honorary awarded GM titles. Does this case falls into that category to be fixed somehow or still has to wait for "better times"?
                    :)

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                    • #11
                      Re: Some Canadian history - Dr. Bogatyrchuk

                      Originally posted by Peter Bokhout View Post
                      Dr. Fedor Bogatyrchuk (or Bohatyrchuk) played the 1930s
                      One won tournament is reviewed at http://chesspro.ru/_events/2009/voronkov.html (russian)

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                      • #12
                        Re: Some Canadian history - Dr. Bohatirchuk

                        Originally posted by Egidijus Zeromskis View Post
                        Interesting stuff! Thanks for the link.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Some Canadian history - Dr. Bogatyrchuk

                          Originally posted by Peter Bokhout View Post
                          Dr. Fedor Bogatyrchuk (or Bohatyrchuk) was a Ukrainian medical doctor who played in several Soviet championships in the 1930s, defeating Botvinnik twice! During World War II his city of Kiev was overrun by the Germans and he worked for a time with them. After the war he had to escape from the U.S.S.R. and he eventually settled in Ottawa, becoming an I.M.

                          Dr. Bogatyrchuk was very disillusioned by Communism. An interesting debate that he carried on with Grandmaster Pachman and Robert Wade in the 1950s can be found at chesshistory.com/winter, or at chessgames.com under the game Penrose - Fischer.
                          Sergey Voronkov and I are currently working on the article about Bohatirchuk /Pachman and Wade discussion of 1949-1984. It will be published at www.chesspro.ru in Russian. We are going to publish several articles about Bohatirchuk as a prelude to 2 books about him.
                          Everybody who has questions about Dr. Bohatirchuk feel free to contact me (sashulyaz@hotmail.com).
                          Last edited by Yakov Zusmanovich; Tuesday, 29th December, 2009, 01:39 PM. Reason: spelling

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                          • #14
                            Re: Some Canadian history - Dr. Bohatyrchuk

                            Originally posted by Caesar Posylek View Post
                            Dr.Bohatyrczuk (this is his oryginal last name spelling) could have become a G.M. but there was nobody to claim that on his behalf, -during his lifetime. Certainly, he had been of GM strength and the strongest player in that time in Canada.
                            Everything was done by Professor Nathan Divinsky to grant Dr. Bohatirchuk a status of International Master despite a resistance from the Soviets (Ragozin, Postnikov, Kotov, Botvinnik, etc). It was a long fight to give Dr. Bohatirchuk even this status. Russians considered him as a traitor (he preferred Freedom to Stalinism). Then it was a real victory for the Canadian Chess Federation and Professor Divinsky.

                            Canadian Chess Chat, August-September 1954, p. 22 wrote:
                            I am extremely happy to be able to report that Dr. F. Bohatirchuk is now an International Master. The Qualification committee had met on Sunday morning, Aug. 29, and I arrived in the afternoon to discover that Dr. Bohatirchuk had been turned down because his strength was considered insufficient. There was no disagreement over his right to be considered on his past record. I reopened his case under the heading 'New Business' and claimed that his record was better than that of either Goglidze or Verlinsky. Flohr denied this. Najdorf, who had previously spoken against Dr. Bohatirchuk, admitted that he knew nothing about Moscow 1925, or about Dr. Bohatirchuk's record prior to 1949. I proposed that Dr. Bohatirchuk be admitted now on condition that his record proves to be stronger than that of either Goglidze or Verlinsky. A special meeting of the qualification committee was called, in which Dr. Bohatirchuk was admitted, unanimously, with Russia abstaining from voting.

                            I think it is a matter of the nearest future to grant Dr. Bohatirchuk a status of International Grandmaster as well as a status of Righteous Among the Nations in Israel for his heroic efforts to save Jews in September 1941.
                            Last edited by Yakov Zusmanovich; Tuesday, 29th December, 2009, 02:45 PM.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Some Canadian history - Dr. Bogatyrchuk

                              A set of fascinating posts, to be sure!!!

                              In my capacity as an editor with wikipedia and part of the wikichess project, I've made some contributions to the wikipedia article on Dr. Bohatirchuk (Bogatyrchuk). But it seems there is so much more which could be related!

                              Responding to the query from one poster on this thread, concerning potential awarding of the Honorary GM title to Bohatirchuk by FIDE, I don't believe this has ever been done for a player who has passed away. Certainly players who were getting on in years have received it for past performances (Konstantinopolsky and Mikenas are two examples, both deserved in my view).

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