Predecessors X: Smyslov-Botvinnik 1958

Let's have a look at Ray's Times column for 13 August 2011, which covered the first game of Smyslov's 1958 world championship rematch with Botvinnik.

Ray returned to the same Smyslov-Botvinnik game this year, annotating it in his column of 29 May 2013.

The two columns are mostly quite different - they even annotate entirely different moves in the game, with the odd exception of Black's thirty-first.

13 August 2011

29 May 2013

These annotations are evidently identical other than possessing different typographical errors, but other than that, save that they are annotating the same game, the columns appear to be different in every respect.

They are, however, identical in one important respect, which is that they are both plagiarised from Part II of Garry Kasparov's My Great Predecessors.

The game appears on pages 224-227 of that book, published by Everyman in 2004.

1. White's move eight.

My Great Predecessors:

Times 13 August 2011:

As most of these notes convincingly demonstrate plagiarism without my assistance, I'll try and keep comments to a minimum.

2. Black's move ten.

My Great Predecessors:

Times 13 August 2011:

3. Black's move twelve.

My Great Predecessors:

Times 13 August 2011:

4. White's move fifteen.

My Great Predecessors:

Times 13 August 2011:

Note that Ray's annotation is entirely taken from the section of Kasparov's note that quote Botvinnik. In the Times, however, Botvinnik has disappeared. Ray is plagiarising him, here, as well as Kasparov. Further examples of this can be seen further down.

5. White's move sixteen.

My Great Predecessors:

Times 29 May 2013:

6. Black's move sixteen.

My Great Predecessors:

Times 29 May 2013:

7. White's move twenty-one.

My Great Predecessors:

Times 13 August 2011:

Not much wrong with that. Perhaps the column should have consisted solely of this note (and perhaps the final one).

8. White's move twenty-two.

My Great Predecessors:

Times 29 May 2013:

9. White's move twenty-four.

My Great Predecessors:

Times 13 August 2011:

10. White's move twenty-six.

My Great Predecessors:

Times 29 May 2013:

12. Black's move thirty-one.

My Great Predecessors:

Times 13 August 2011:

Times 29 May 2013:

And we're done: Kasparov jacks it in early on this one

so while Ray proceeds to annotate Black's forty-fifth in the 2013 column

and Black's fortieth in the 2011 column

so we'll assume those annotations are Ray originals, unless anybody tells us better. (I don't, as it happens, know the Botvinnik work from which Kasparov quotes.)

Pretty much all the rest is plagiarism.

That wraps that one up, apart from, perhaps, this:

Now if Ray is trying to throw us off the scent by trying to suggest that these notes derive from Golombek, it wouldn't be the first time.

But also - when Ray is trying to persuade you to buy books from Hardinge Simpole, does he mention that he might have a connection with that company?

Course he doesn't.

[Thanks to Pablo Byrne]

[Ray Keene plagiarism index]

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