When I came across the notice that Russian GM Nukhim Rashkovsky died on March 14 at the age of 76, it was the first time I had come across his name in many years. He became a GM in 1980, during the Soviet era, and that was an especially great accomplishment. It’s not just that he earned the title, but that he had to earn the right to earn the title. Soviet players could not freely travel, and with rare exceptions (e.g. national championships) only tournaments with a certain number of foreign players can produce title norms. Many Soviet players quickly became grandmasters when the USSR collapsed or when they emigrated to another country, but comparatively few made it as Soviets before it collapsed.
What’s paradoxical, then (Nukhim’s paradox?*), is that he didn’t become a world-class player, or even close to it. From his Wikipedia article it seems possible that it’s at least in part because he started working as a chess coach. (It’s not clear how effective he was; nevertheless, even making allowance for Peter Svidler’s tendency to be as generous as possible, and a little bit more, I’m still more inclined to take his word over Vladimir Dvorkovich’s. [And at any rate, even Dvorkovich’s comment need not be taken as denigrating Rashkovsky; it may be taken instead as high praise for Yasser Seirawan. And this makes sense: Seirawan was a stronger player and well-known for his affability.]) But getting back to his chess: he of course had his moments, and I did not know about his 5.5/7 in the 1974 Spartak Sport Society team championship and his massacre of the great Tigran Petrosian in that tournament. (I’ve analyzed the game here. You won’t find the game in the Mega Database.) He may not have been an all-time great, but he could play.
Rest in peace.
*Choose one box, I say. (Or make yourself the sort of person who would be a one-boxer.)