In 1918, chess grandmaster Ossip Bernstein was arrested by the Bolshevik secret police. He was ordered to be shot by a firing squad since he was an advisor to bankers, who were considered enemies of the people during the Red Terror and the Bolshevik revolution.
As the firing squad lined up, preparing to take their shots, a superior officer asked to see the list of prisoners' names. Scanning the list, he recognized Bernstein's name because he was a chess enthusiast.
He gave him a choice.
The officer told Bernstein that if he beat him, the officer, at a chess game, he would be released and his life would be spared. Bernstein agreed and subsequently defeated him fairly quickly, thus securing his release from prison.
Bernstein went on to become one of the greatest chess players of his time. It's quite shocking to think that his life was spared due to just one chess game.
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