Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, who was the seventh World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions. Smyslov twice tied for first place at the USSR Chess Championships, and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won is an all-time record. In five European Team Championships, Smyslov won ten gold medals.
Smyslov in 1977
Botvinnik vs. Smyslov (right) at the World Chess Championship 1957
Smyslov at the Amsterdam Interzonal in 1964
Karpov (left), Euwe (bottom) and Smyslov at the 1977 Tilburg chess tournament
Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally the title can be revoked for cheating.
Siegbert Tarrasch (1862–1934)
Akiba Rubinstein (1880–1961)
Jacques Mieses (1865–1954), one of the first FIDE Grandmasters