Bernstein was arrested in the city of Odessa by the Bolshevik secret police whose purpose was to investigate and punish



Chess players on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow during the 1950s. One of my favorite chess stories is the one about Russian Grandmaster Ossip Bernstein.

In 1918, when he was 36 years old, Bernstein was arrested in the city of Odessa by the Bolshevik secret police whose purpose was to investigate and punish "counterrevolutionary" crimes. Bernstein was to be shot by a firing squad for serving as a legal advisor to the banking industry.

On the day of his execution, Bernstein watched as the firing squad lined up before him. At the last minute, a commanding officer asked to see the list of prisoner names and recognized Bernstein's name as he was a chess enthusiast. After confronting Bernstein about his identity, the commanding officer offered him a deal he couldn't refuse. They would play a game of chess. If Bernstein won the match, he would win his life and freedom. However, if he drew or lost, he would get shot along with the rest of the prisoners.

Now the thing about Bernstein's playing style was that he was an attacking chess player who absolutely despised draws. He exhibited this style in a match against Amos Burn, nearly a decade earlier.

Bernstein wrote, "In one tournament, the veteran master Burn, who was a good friend of mine, offered me a draw on the 12th move. I refused, played for a win, and ended up in a completely lost position. For the fun of it, I then offered Burn a draw myself. With his eyes flashing slyly at me through his glasses, he replied frowningly: 'Had you accepted my offer then, I would accept yours now,' upon which I resigned."

With his life on the line, Bernstein maintained his composure and used his aggressive style to completely overwhelm the commanding officer; Bernstein easily won the match. Upon his release, Bernstein and his family fled to France to start a new life.

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