Chess Oscar was an international award given annually to the best chess player. The winner was selected by votes that were cast by chess journalists from across the world. The traditional voting procedure was to request hundreds of chess journalists from many countries to submit a list of the ten best players of the year. The voters were journalists who knew the game and followed it closely, and so the honor was highly prized. The award itself took the form of a bronze statuette representing a man in a boat.[1] The prize was created and awarded in 1967 by Spanish journalist Jorge Puig, and the International Association of Chess Press [ru] (AIPE). The awards were given from 1967 until 1988. Then, after a pause, they resumed in 1995, and were then organized by the Russian chess magazine 64[2][3] until 2014.

The Oscar for the best women chess player of the year was established in 1982.[4][5][a]

Statuette

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The statuette's final form, a man in a boat, was carved by the sculptor Alexander Smirnov. It represented a figure known as "The Fascinated Wanderer", which refers to a short story written in 1873 by 19th-century Russian author Nikolai Leskov. In this story, the title character,MLK, is a horse trainer and a brute of a man. From his birth his mother has promised that Ivan's life would be devoted to the church. Ivan spends many years avoiding this fate, but eventually gives in and becomes a monk, not for spiritual reasons, but due to a poverty of opportunity.[8]

 
"The Lady of the Umbrella"

The Chess Oscar statuette originally took the form of "The Lady of the Umbrella", a figure based on a statue in Parc de la Ciutadella in Barcelona, Spain.[9][10][3]

Winners

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Year Player Country
1967 Bent Larsen   Denmark
1968 Boris Spassky   Soviet Union
1969 Boris Spassky   Soviet Union
1970 Bobby Fischer   United States
1971 Bobby Fischer   United States
1972 Bobby Fischer   United States
1973 Anatoly Karpov   Soviet Union
1974 Anatoly Karpov   Soviet Union
1975 Anatoly Karpov   Soviet Union
1976 Anatoly Karpov   Soviet Union
1977 Anatoly Karpov   Soviet Union
1978 Viktor Korchnoi   Switzerland
1979 Anatoly Karpov   Soviet Union
1980 Anatoly Karpov   Soviet Union
1981 Anatoly Karpov   Soviet Union
1982 Garry Kasparov   Soviet Union
1983 Garry Kasparov   Soviet Union
1984 Anatoly Karpov   Soviet Union
1985 Garry Kasparov   Soviet Union
1986 Garry Kasparov   Soviet Union
1987 Garry Kasparov   Soviet Union
1988 Garry Kasparov   Soviet Union
1989–94 no awards
1995 Garry Kasparov   Russia
1996 Garry Kasparov   Russia
1997 Viswanathan Anand   India
1998 Viswanathan Anand   India
1999 Garry Kasparov   Russia
2000 Vladimir Kramnik   Russia
2001 Garry Kasparov   Russia
2002 Garry Kasparov[11]   Russia
2003 Viswanathan Anand[12][13]   India
2004 Viswanathan Anand   India
2005 Veselin Topalov[14]   Bulgaria
2006 Vladimir Kramnik[15]   Russia
2007 Viswanathan Anand[16]   India
2008 Viswanathan Anand[17]   India
2009 Magnus Carlsen[18]   Norway
2010 Magnus Carlsen[19]   Norway
2011 Magnus Carlsen[20]   Norway
2012 Magnus Carlsen[21]   Norway
2013 Magnus Carlsen[22]   Norway

Women

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First era

Year Player Country
1982 Nona Gaprindashvili   Soviet Union
1983 Pia Cramling[23][4]   Sweden
1984 Maya Chiburdanidze   Soviet Union
1985 Maya Chiburdanidze[5]   Soviet Union
1986 Maya Chiburdanidze   Soviet Union
1987 Maya Chiburdanidze   Soviet Union
1988 Judit Polgár[7]   Hungary

Second era

Judit Polgár won five more Women's Oscars (1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, and 2002) in the second period of the awards.[7]

By person

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Player Country Wins
Garry Kasparov   Soviet Union, later   Russia 11
Anatoly Karpov   Soviet Union 9
Viswanathan Anand   India 6
Magnus Carlsen   Norway 5
Bobby Fischer   United States 3
Boris Spassky   Soviet Union 2
Vladimir Kramnik   Russia 2
Bent Larsen   Denmark 1
Viktor Korchnoi   Switzerland 1
Veselin Topalov   Bulgaria 1

By nation

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Country Wins
  Soviet Union 17
  Russia 7
  India 6
  Norway 5
  United States 3
  Bulgaria 1
  Denmark 1
  Switzerland 1

Notes

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  1. ^ This award is not related to the more recent FIDE Caissa Award [uk], established in 2009,[6] occasionally referenced also as a Women Chess Oscar.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Chess "Oscar" to Veselin Topalov". 64.ru. 2006-04-30. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2014-11-22.
  2. ^ Hill, Tata McGraw. General Knowledge Digest 2010. Tata McGraw Hill Education Private Limited. 2010
  3. ^ a b "Oscar of the Chess - SpeedyLook encyclopedia". Myetlmology.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 22 November 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ a b "Ten Highlights in the Life and Career of Chess Grandmaster Pia Cramling". Chess News. 2023-04-23. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  5. ^ a b Segura, Joan (1986-03-04). "Los "Oscars" del tablero" (PDF). Mundo Deportivo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  6. ^ Alexandra Kosteniuk. "Caissa and Golden Organizer Award". Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  7. ^ a b c "Biography". Judit Polgar official website. Outstanding awards and recognitions. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  8. ^ Leskov, Nikolai. The Enchanted Wanderer: Selected Tales, Modern Library Classics, 2003. ISBN 0-8129-6696-1
  9. ^ "ICC Weekly Newsletter. Vol. 3. Issue 22. May 30, 2008". Chessclub.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  10. ^ "Postcard ES-107923: Lady with umbrella - Citadel Park - Barcelona, Spain From carronada". Postcrossing.com. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  11. ^ Kasparov wins 2002 Chess Oscar, ChessBase News, 9-May-2003
  12. ^ Anand wins Chess Oscar for third time, rediff.com, 6-May-2004
  13. ^ Anand wins third Chess Oscar, ChessBase News, 8-May-2004
  14. ^ Chess Oscar 2005 for Veselin Topalov, ChessBase News, 30-April-2006
  15. ^ Chess Oscar 2006, The Week in Chess 654, 21-May-2007
  16. ^ Anand Wins Chess Oscars for 2007, ChessBase News, 8-May-2008
  17. ^ “Oscar” prize to be brought to Baku for the first time! Archived 2011-08-23 at the Wayback Machine, APA News, 21 Apr 2009, access date 2009-04-22.
  18. ^ And the 2009 Oscar goes to ... Magnus Carlsen! Archived 2013-12-04 at the Wayback Machine, Chessvibes November 17, 2010.
  19. ^ Carlsen beats Anand to 2010 Chess Oscar Archived 2012-06-18 at the Wayback Machine, Why Chess, 29 Jul 2011.
  20. ^ Oscar 2011 - Magnus Carlsen, ChessPro, 2 Nov 2012.
  21. ^ Oscar 2012 - Magnus Carlsen, Chess-news-ru, 12 Jun 2013.
  22. ^ Oscar 2013 - Magnus Carlsen, Natalia Pogonina on Twitter, 29 Nov 2014.
  23. ^ "The chess games of Pia Cramling". www.chessgames.com. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
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