Fedir Bohatyrchuk

Ukrainian chess player

Fedir Parfenovych Bohatyrchuk (also Bogatirchuk, Bohatirchuk, Bogatyrtschuk) (Федір Парфенович Богатирчук; Фёдор Парфеньевич Богатырчук, Fyodor Parfenyevich Bogatyrchuk; 27 November 1892 – 4 September 1984) was a Ukrainian Canadian chess player, doctor of medicine (radiologist), political activist, and writer.

As a youth, Bohatyrchuk sometimes traveled to chess tournaments with the great player Mikhail Chigorin (1850–1908), who had in 1892 narrowly lost a match for the World Championship to Wilhelm Steinitz. Chigorin trained the young player, and influenced his style and openings. In 1911, Bohatyrchuk won the Kiev (now Kyiv) City Championship; he was followed by Stefan Izbinsky, Efim Bogoljubow, etc. In 1912, he placed 3rd in the All Russian Championship. In February 1914, he lost an exhibition game against José Raúl Capablanca at Kiev. In 1914, he took 3rd at Kiev.

In July/August 1914, he tied for 6th–10th at Mannheim (the 19th DSB Congress, Hauptturnier A, or Group II at the event). Bohatyrchuk was part of a group, along with ten other "Russian" players from the interrupted Mannheim tournament, which was interned by Germany after the declaration of war against Russia, which began World War I. In September 1914, Bohatyrchuk and three others (Alexander Alekhine, Peter Petrovich Saburov, and N. Koppelman) were freed and allowed to return home. Some writers have asserted that Alekhine used his family's influence to arrange this; his wealthy father was a member of the Duma of Czar Nicholas II at this time. En route back to Russia, via Switzerland, Bohatyrchuk and Alekhine spent nearly a month in Genoa, Italy, while waiting for transportation to arrive, playing over one hundred games against each other. Bohatyrchuk later stated that "The enforced stay in Genoa undoubtedly did more for my chess development than the games in subsequent years with ordinary opponents."

Bohatyrchuk played in six USSR Chess Championships: 1923, 1924, 1927, 1931, 1933, and 1934. In July 1923, he tied for 3rd–5th at Petrograd (St Petersburg, Leningrad), 2nd USSR Championship. In 1924, he took 2nd, behind Yakov Vilner, at Kiev, 1st Ukrainian Chess Championship. In August–September 1924, he tied for 3rd–4th at Moscow, 3rd USSR Ch. In December 1925, he took 11th of 21 at Moscow 1925 chess tournament (the first Soviet organized International Tournament). The event was won by Efim Bogoljubow, followed by Emanuel Lasker, José Raúl Capablanca, Frank Marshall, etc. This was the first Soviet government sponsored tournament, and had 11 of the world's top 16 players, based on ratings from chessmetrics. com, making it one of the greatest events in chess history. Bohatyrchuk achieved a 2628 performance, according to the Chessmetrics website, which calculates historical ratings.

In 1926, Bohatyrchuk wrote the first chess book Шахи (Szachy, Shakhy, Chess) in Ukrainian. In 1927, he won at Kiev. In October 1927, he tied for 1st–2nd with Peter Romanovsky at Moscow, 5th USSR Ch., with (+10−1=9). In 1929, he won at Kiev. In November 1931, he tied for 3rd–6th at Moscow (7th USSR Ch. ), with 10/17, as Mikhail Botvinnik won. In 1933, he won at Moscow (Quadrangular), with 4.5/6. In September 1933, he took 8th at Leningrad (8th USSR Ch. ), with 10.5/19, as Botvinnik won again. In December 1934 /January 1935, he tied for 3rd–4th at Leningrad (9th USSR Ch. ), with 11.5/19, just half a point behind the joint winners Grigory Levenfish and Ilya Rabinovich. During the mid 1930s, the Soviet Chess Federation requested that Bohatyrchuk play more frequently in top events, but he declined, due to his professional career obligations.

In March 1935, he tied for 16th–17th at Moscow 1935 chess tournament (the second Soviet organized International Tournament), with 8/19. The event, which had 8 of the world's top 18 players, according to Chessmetrics, was won by Botvinnik and Salo Flohr, but Bohatyrchuk beat Mikhail Botvinnik in their individual game. Bohatyrchuk has mentioned in his autobiography (printed in Russian in San Francisco in 1978) that just after this game the head of the Soviet Chess Federation, Minister of Justice Nikolai Krylenko, approached him and said: "You will never beat Botvinnik again!" That was indeed the case, as Bohatyrchuk never played Botvinnik again, leaving him with a lifetime score of (+3−0=1) against Botvinnik, who was, however, nearly 20 years younger. Note that the book Botvinnik's Selected Games 1947–1970 lists Bohatyrchuk's record against Botvinnik as (+3−0=2).

In March 1936, he took 3rd at Kiev (8th Ukrainian Chess Championship, with 11.5/17. In July 1937, he won at Kiev (the 9th Ukrainian Chess Championship), with 12.5/17. In 1938, he took 2nd at Kiev (USSR Ch. semi final), with 11/17, behind only winner Vasily Panov, but he did not continue on to play at the 11th USSR Championship in 1939, although he had qualified for this.

Bohatyrchuk completed his high school studies in 1912. He entered the University of Kiev (now University of Kyiv) that year to study medicine, and served in the Russian military, medical corps, during World War I. He had married Olga Zykina (1892–1990) by 1915; the couple had one daughter, Dr. Tamara Jeletzky (1917–1998). Later in 1946, he won, followed by Elmārs Zemgalis, Wolfgang Unzicker, etc. at Regensburg (Klaus Junge Memorial), with 7/9. In February 1947, he took 3rd at Kirchheim unter Teck. In May 1947, he placed 6th at Kassel, a ten player international round robin, won by Bogoljubow. Bohatyrchuk certainly won no friends in Soviet chess leadership with this activism, which shone undesired attention on their practices, while providing expert direct contradiction. Bohatyrchuk also wrote historical and recollection books. At the congress of the Ukrainian federalists in Niagara Falls in 1952, he was elected Chairman of the Association of the Ukrainian Federalist Democrats, and chief editor of the press organs "Skhidnyak" and the "Federalist Democrat". He was the author of many newspaper and periodical articles on the history of ODNR (Liberation Movement of Peoples of Russia). He wrote his autobiography: "My Life Path to Vlasov and Manifesto of Prague" (published in San Francisco, 1978) (in Russian: Мой жизненный путь к Власову и Пражскому Манифесту, Moy zhiznennyi put' k Vlasovu i Prazhskomu Manifestu).

He played in three Closed Canadian Chess Championships. In 1949, he took 2nd at Arvida (winner was Maurice Fox), with 7/9, ahead of Daniel Yanofsky, Frank Anderson, and Povilas Vaitonis. In 1951, he tied for 3rd–4th places at Vancouver (winner was Povilas Vaitonis), with 8.5/12. In 1955, he tied for 3rd–5th at Ottawa (winner was Frank Anderson, ahead of Daniel Yanofsky). Bohatyrchuk, in his 62nd year, also represented Canada at the 11th Chess Olympiad at Amsterdam 1954, playing board four (+7−5=3).

In 1954, FIDE granted him the title of International Master. His earlier achievements, particularly in USSR Championships, may have been sufficient for the higher Grandmaster title, but the Soviets blocked this for political reasons.

In his late sixties he took up Correspondence chess, becoming Canadian Correspondence Chess Champion (1963, 1964) and playing 1st board for Canada at the Correspondence Chess Olympiad (1962–1965). In 1967, he was awarded the title of ICCF International Master, and was the top rated correspondence player in Canada at the end of 1967, at age 75. Bohatyrchuk stayed active in local Ottawa chess into his early eighties, and played correspondence chess until age 85. While living in Ottawa, Bohatyrchuk helped to train the young Lawrence Day (born 1949), who himself became a FIDE International Master in 1972, and who went on to represent Canada a national record 13 times at Chess Olympiads. Day's chess style has been influenced significantly by Bohatyrchuk.

Former world champion, GM Boris Spassky, stated in 2017, after reviewing Bohatyrchuk's games, that "if Bohatyrchuk plays chess professionally, he could be the first Soviet world champion." Bohatyrchuk, born in 1892, belonged to the same Russian chess generation as Alexander Alekhine (born 1892), Efim Bogoljubow (born 1889), Peter Romanovsky (born 1892), Grigory Levenfish (born 1889), Ilya Rabinovich (born 1891), and Boris Verlinsky (born 1888); this group was beginning to rise to prominence prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Except for the ill fated Mannheim 1914 event, Bohatyrchuk did not have the opportunity to compete in an international tournament outside Russia or the Soviet Union until near the end of World War II, and even those events came while he was a fugitive from the Soviets. He was inducted into the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame in 2011. Russian chess author Sergey Voronkov published, in 2017 in Prague, publisher Russkiya tradicia, a two volume set of books covering Bohatyrchuk. Volume one is in Russian, a translated reprint of his 1978 book, published in San Francisco, entitled "Moi zhiznenny put k Vlasovu i Prazhskomu manifestu" (Translation from the Russian to English: "My living route to Vlasov and Prague Manifesto"). Volume two, also in Russian, covers the games of Bohatyrchuk, collected from all available contemporary sources.

Biography author Sergey Voronkov and Lawrence Day, Canadian chess master and pupil of Bohatyrchuk, have argued that Bohatyrchuk served as a role model for the fictional Dr. Zhivago, as depicted in the novel of that title by Boris Pasternak, and in the 1965 Academy Award winning film Dr. Zhivago, based on the novel. However, further evidence is required to confirm or refute this hypothesis.

Bohatyrchuk died in 1984 at age 91, and is buried in Pinecrest Cemetery in Ottawa, together with his wife Olga, who died in 1990.

Alexander Ilyin Zhenevsky vs. Fedor Parfenovich Bohatirchuk, Moscow 1924, 3rd USSR ch, Ruy Lopez, Old Steinitz Defense, C62, 0–1
Fedor Parfenovich Bohatirchuk vs. Mikhail Botvinnik, Moscow 1927, 5th USSR ch, French Defense, Winawer Advance Variation, C17, 1–0
Fedor Parfenovich Bohatirchuk vs. Mikhail Botvinnik, Leningrad 1933, 8th USSR ch, Sicilian, Dragon, B72, 1–0
Vsevolod Rauzer vs. Fedor Parfenovich Bohatirchuk, Leningrad 1934, 9th USSR ch, Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense, Fianchetto Variation, C76, 0–1
Fedor Parfenovich Bohatirchuk vs. Mikhail Botvinnik, Moscow 1935, 2nd it, Four Knights, C49, 1–0
Ludek Pachman vs. Fedor Bohatirchuk, Prague 1944, Sicilian Defense, B95, 0–1
Elmars Zemgalis vs. Fedor Parfenovich Bohatirchuk, Regensburg 1946, Klaus Junge Memorial, English, A21, 0–1
Povilas Vaitonis vs. Fedor Parfenovich Bohatirchuk, Canadian Championship, Arvida 1949, CAN ch, Grünfeld Defense, D93, 0–1
Fedor Parfenovich Bohatirchuk vs. Frank Ross Anderson, Canadian Championship, Vancouver 1951, CAN ch, Bird's Opening, A03, 1–0
Fedor Parfenovich Bohatirchuk vs. Federico Norcia, Amsterdam 1954, 11th Olympiad, Ruy Lopez, Classical, C64, 1–0