The Resume

(November 9, 1936-June 28, 1992)
Born in Riga, Latvia
World chess champion (1960-61)
Won the Soviet national championship six times (1957-78)
Won the second official world championship in blitz chess (1988)
Nicknamed 'the Magician from Riga'

Why he might be annoying:

He was a heavy drinker and chain smoker.
He was addicted to morphine in the 1970s.
His unpredictable style of play was dismissed as 'tricks' by former world champion Vassily Smyslov.
His lost his first title defense and never again qualified to challenge for the world championship.

Why he might not be annoying:

His IQ was reportedly tested at 175.
He was a talented pianist despite being born with only three fingers on his right hand.
At age 20, he was the youngest winner of a Soviet chess championship (1957).
His aggressive style of play was so intimidating that one expert named him one of three players that their contemporaries were most afraid of facing. (The others were Jose Capablanca and Bobby Fischer.)
The New York Times wrote that he 'displayed none of the egotism that is common among top-level contenders.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Bad Hair - Male
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 89]
• Celebrities Born on the Same Date [November] (Ranked: 11091936)
• I Abused Morphine
• I Died in 1992 (Ranked: 55)
• Look at Me, I'm Playing Chess
• Profiles 54751-55000 (Ranked: 54965)
• World Chess Champions (Ranked: 1960)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying