Background
Tolush was born and died in Saint St. Petersburg (in 1969 called Leningrad).
Tolush was born and died in Saint St. Petersburg (in 1969 called Leningrad).
He was one of Boris Spassky"s mentors. He earned the title of International Master (IM) in 1950, Grandmaster (General Motors) in 1953, and International Master of Correspondence Chess (International Minerals and Chemical Corporation) in 1965. He played in the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics Championship ten times.
His best result was second place (+8−3=6 shared with Aronin and Lipnitsky) behind Keres in 1950.
He finished fourth in 1952 (+8−4=7, equal with Boleslavsky and behind Botvinnik, Taimanov, and Geller) and fourth 1957 (+10−5=6 equal with Spassky and behind Tal, Bronstein, and Keres). His best international result was first place (+10−1=8) at Bucharest 1953, ahead of Petrosian, Smyslov, Boleslavsky, and Spassky.
In 1968 he was second at Keszthely +7−1=3 behind Portisch. Tolush never played in the Olympiads, but represented the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics in two European Team Chess Championships.
Although he never reached the very highest level of chess, Tolush was an imaginative attacking player.
He worked as a chess journalist, and was a noted trainer whose pupils included Keres and Spassky. Tolush introduced the Tolush–Geller Gambit of the Slav Defense to master play in the games Tolush–Smyslov Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics Championship 1947, and Tolush–Levenfish Leningrad Championship 1947.