Mikhail Botvinnik was a Soviet chess Grandmaster, primarily known for holding the World Chess Championship title for most of the 15 years between 1948 and 1963. Born in 1911 in Kuokkala, Botvinnik joined his school's chess club at the age of twelve and quickly ascended to Russia's top rank by the age of sixteen. His undefeated performance at an international tournament in Moscow in 1935 capitalised his quick rise to prominence. From there, he won two strong international tournaments in the Netherlands and participated in chess championships throughout the World War II period.
However, it was his World Chess Championship matches that set him apart. He won the championship title in 1948, lost it twice in 1957 and 1960 but regained it each time in the year that followed – a unique record. He later retired from competitive chess in 1970.
Botvinnik's contributions to the game of chess weren't limited to his prowess on the board. He also played a pivotal role in developing computer chess. He identified three components to a chess program: "selectivity", a method to discard unimportant moves; a "chess knowledge-based evaluation function", to handle the vast number of positions a chess program needs to estimate; and the "control of the search function", to coordinate the first two components.
Botvinnik was also known to be an excellent chess trainer, assisting many promising players to achieve the grandmaster level. His students included future world champions Anatolii Karpov, Garry Kasparov, and Vladimir Kramnik.
Botvinnik passed away in 1995. His life and career have left a great impact on the chess world, earning him widespread recognition as one of the greatest players in the history of the game.