Georgy Mikhailovich Lisitsin or Lisitsyn (; 11 October 1909 – 20 March 1972) was a Soviet chess master from Leningrad. After high school he entered the Leningrad Industrial Institute, from which he graduated as a mechanical engineer.Kotov, Alexander; Yudovich, Mikhail. The Soviet School of Chess. Dover Publications, 1961, p. 318.
Chess career He earned the title of Master in 1931 for his performance in the 7th USSR Championship.Kotov 1961, p. 318. He thrice won the Leningrad City Chess Championship, in 1933/34 (joint), 1939, and 1947 (joint). He was a frequent participant in the USSR Chess Championship. His best result was in 1933 when he shared 3rd, behind the winner Mikhail Botvinnik.Russian Chess Base He also played in international tournaments, finishing 15th in Moscow 1935 (Botvinnik and Salo Flohr won).GER-ch 3rd Aachen 1935 He took 2nd at Helsinki 1946 behind winner Viacheslav Ragozin.1946
Lisitsin was considered an expert on the Réti Opening above all others and won many of his best games with it.Kotov 1961, p. 318. He was an author of several chess books,Litmanowicz, Władysław & Giżycki, Jerzy (1986, 1987). Szachy od A do Z. Wydawnictwo Sport i Turystyka Warszawa. (1. A-M), (2. N-Z) only a few sections of which have been translated from Russian into English. He wrote primarily about strategy, tactics, and endgame theory.Kotov 1961, p. 320.
He was awarded the International Master title in 1950.
Books in English
Note: merges the First Book of Chess Strategy and Second Book of Chess Strategy into a single volume.
Legacy An opening variation, the Lisitsin Gambit (1.Nf3 f5 2.e4), is named after him. His improvement to a line in the Bishop's Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 c6 3.d4 d5 4.exd5 cxd5 5.Bb5+ Bd7 6.Bxd7+ Nxd7 7.dxe5 Nxe5 8.Ne2) is called the Lisitsin Variation.
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