Douglas Griffin I was present at this game! When it finished there were lots of applause like football game.

Half a century ago today in Leningrad, one of the most famous games of the 1970s - Karpov's win v. Spassky in the 9th game of their Candidates' Semi-final match - was played.
diag. 1 17.Qf1!
diag. 2 19.Bg4!
diag. 3 24.Nb1!!
diag. 4 35.Rxd8! 1-0.
(See dgriffinchess.wordpress.com/2021/08/20/the….)

A Soviet-era travelling chess set. I bought this from Miron Sher at a tournament in Yugoslavia in 1988, and used it on many a long train journey.

So much simple pleasure and, at times, nostalgia to be had from these…

Yakov Damsky (1934-2009), who would have turned 90 last week.
Amongst many other important works, he co-authored 'Kramnik: My Life & Games', published by Everyman in the year 2000 (with translation from the original Russian by Ken Neat).
x.com/VBkramnik/stat…

A friendly handshake before play in Miles v. Timman, from the 3rd round of the Amsterdam IBM event, 30th June 1977. Miles, who finished clear 1st in this tournament, would have turned 69 last week.
(📷: R. Bogaerts / ANEFO, via nationaalarchief.nl.) #chess

On this day in 1983: Jan Timman faces John van der Wiel in the 10th round of the Dutch Championship, in Hilversum.
(📷: R. Bogaerts / ANEFO, via nationaalarchief.nl.) #chess

Lloyds' Bank Masters, London, Aug. 1979.
Standing, L to R: John Hawksworth, Byron Jacobs, the late Ian Wells, David Cummings, Michael Pagden, Clive Hill.
Seated: Peter Wells, Daniel King, Julian Hodgson, Mark Hebden.
(Photo: 'British Chess Magazine', Nov. 1979).

Ex-World Champion Mikhail Tal, photographed in 1979.
(📷via Huffington Post.) #chess

15-year-old Bobby Fischer, pictured in Yugoslavia in 1958 with a journalist from 'Belgrade TV'.
(📷via borba-online.rs.) #chess

Previous followers of 'Chess Informant' may wish to note that its account has been replaced; the new one is @chessinformant1.

Have long been familiar with the 11th game of the Tal-Botvinnik return match (an Exchange Slav, won by the ex-World Champion), but it was only today that I learned that it took place on the same day as the famous 'Vostok' space flight by Yuri Gagarin - 12th April, 1961.

Chess on the front page. Svetozar Gligorić is voted 'Sportsman of the Year' for 1958, by the Yugoslav newspaper 'Sport'.
Lower down, a report on the friendly match between 'Partizan' (Belgrade) & 'Eintracht' (Braunschweig). ⚽️
(📷via novosti.rs.)

The famous Yugoslav grandmaster Svetozar Gligorić (1923-2012), pictured c. 1950.
(📷via rts.rs.) #chess

Before the Candidates I wrote: 'I think that Gukesh has good chances'. He lived up to it. Congrats, Gukesh!