The Newark Advocate Newark, Ohio Sunday, January 04, 1987 - Page 13
Soviet Chess Master Made Right Move in Coming to U.S.
Lev means “lion” in Russian. And Lev Alburt lives true to his name.
When Alburt walked into the West German police station in 1979, he left behind the materially comfortable life of a high-ranking and politically powerful Soviet grandmaster and stepped into an unknown future in the West.
Today, it is clear that his decision to defect was the correct one.
Alburt has parlayed his many talents into a successful career as a professional chess player, syndicated chess columnist, radio talk show host, Washington consultant on U.S.-Soviet relations, teacher and lecturer. But what he loves most of all is his freedom — the freedom to criticize the Soviet government to his heart's content.
“In the Soviet Union, I was a slave — well taken care of — but still the property of the state. With freedom came creativity over the board. The result was that my chess strength went up almost immediately.”
Although the Soviet grandmasters dominate the world chess scene, Alburt stressed that their strength is artificially propped by the financial support and dirty tricks their government provides them.
“Top Soviet players are given an entourage of doctors who monitor their health, psychologists who evaluate the psychological profiles of future opponents, and chess coaches to keep them in top form. If that is not enough to win, the KGB comes in.
“When Korchnoi (a defector) faced Karpov for the title in Merano, I believe the KGB poisoned him with a powerful depressant, which caused Korchnoi to lose the match. Bobby Fischer's fear of the KGB is not just paranoia. I know for a fact that they are still watching him today.”
Alburt thinks that if the best U.S. players were offered equal resources and a fair match, they would hold an edge over the best players the Soviets have to offer.
“Put our guys in a room with their guys — no analytical teams or KGB allowed — and I would put my money on the U.S. team.”
“Gary Kasparov,” says Alburt, “is not the true world champion.” Alburt was instrumental in lobbying through Congress the “Fischer proposal,” which recognizes Fischer as the world champion.
Both Kasparov and Karpov, he says, are propaganda tools for the Soviets. Alburt especially loathes Kasparov, who Alburt believes, has duped the western press into believing Kasparov is “some kind of dissident.” Alburt also predicts that Karpov's chess results will steadily go down because he is out of favor, and Kasparov is in control politically.
