David Bronstein was later revealed. The rumor that Bronstein was related to the disgraced former Soviet Communist leader Leon Trotsky (whose real family name was Bronstein), was treated as unconfirmed, but doubtful, by Bronstein in his book "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1995). This belief could have explained the imprisonment of Bronstein's father. With the tide turning towards an eventual Soviet war victory over the Nazi invaders, Bronstein was able to once again play some competitive chess. His first top-standard Soviet event was the 1944 USSR Championship, where he won his individual game against eventual winner (and soon-to-be world champion) Mikhail Botvinnik. Bronstein moved
Lev Zadov Lev Zadov Lev Nikolaevich Zadov (Zinkovsky) () April 11, 1893 - September 25, 1938, Kiev was chief of military intelligence of the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine, and later an OGPU operative. Born Lev Zadov, he changed his last name to Zinkovsky. Lev Zadov was born in the Russian Jewish agricultural colony Veselaya. About 1898-1900 his family fell on hard times and moved to Yuzovka, where his father found work as a coachman. Zadov graduated at a Jewish elementary school there and started to work as a manual laborer at a mill, later working at Yuzovka Metallurgical Works. Lev Zadov