Vasily Smyslov - World Chess Champion and more

Vasily Smyslov took chess as a hobby until the age of 14.  He was inspired by the appearances of Jose Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker in Moscow to pursue competitive chess.  As Smyslov improved he won the All-Union Boys’ Championship and the Moscow City Championship in 1938. 

Smyslov finished third in 1940 USSR Championship and second in 1944.  

He began to attract international attention when he defeated Samuel Reshevsky twice in the famous U.S.-USSR radio match of 1945. His first of eight Candidates Tournament appearances came in 1948, where he finished third. He would advance to and win the World Championship on his fourth attempt, in 1957. Though he held the title for only a year—losing to former champion Botvinnik in 1958—the success of his career both before and after this period testify to Smyslov’s greatness as a chess player.

He would qualify as a Candidate on four more occasions, including the 1985 tournament at age 64! 
He was earned a record 17 Chess Olympiad medals and won the inaugural World Senior Chess Championship title in 1991.

In addition to being a World Chess Champion, Smyslov was an opera singer.

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(content of this post was taken substantially from World Chess Hall of Fame.