September 9 in Russian history

On this day in 1984 in Moscow, two famous Soviet chess players started the longest match in the history of World Chess Championships.

­Aerobatics birthday

­In 1913, outstanding Russian pilot Pyotr Nesterov laid the foundation for modern aerobatics.

He was the first aviator to fly a dead loop which is sometimes called “Nesterov’s Loop” in his honor. It is still one of the most spectacular maneuvers, performed by almost all professional aerobatic teams.   

Nesterov participated in World War I and is believed to be the first man in the history of military aviation to destroy an enemy airplane in flight.

In 1914, he rammed an Austrian plane – unfortunately, at the expense of his own life.

­Longest-ever chess match

­In 1984 in Moscow, two famous Soviet chess players started their half-year-long chess match – the longest match in the entire history of World Chess Championships.

Defending champion Anatoly Karpov and his adversary Garry Kasparov played 48 games.

The winner had to beat his opponent six times.

Karpov was leading 5-3 when the president of FIDE decided to stop the match, “for the sake of the sportsmen’s health”.

The Chess Federation named Karpov the winner, but both players were very unhappy with the outcome of the game.

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