Chinua Achebe vs Efim Bogoljubov
Two child prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Chinua Achebe | Efim Bogoljubov | |
| Field | Literature | Sports |
| Sub-field | Novelist | Chess |
| Born | 1930 | 1889 |
| Died | 2013 | 1952 |
| Country of birth | Colonial Nigeria | Russia |
| Star sign | Scorpio | Aries |
Who they are
Chinua Achebe
Father of African Literature · Author of Things Fall Apart 20 million copies sold · 57 languages translated · Most widely read African novel in history Born November 16, 1930 · Ogidi, Nigeria · Died March 21, 2013
Full biography of Chinua Achebe →
Efim Bogoljubov
A story — possibly apocryphal, certainly too good not to record — holds that when someone asked Efim Bogoljubov why he was so confident before a particular game, he replied: "When I have White, I win because I have White. When I have Black, I win because I am Bogoljubov." The line captures the man perfectly: large ego, enormous confidence, an infectious delight in chess, and enough genuine talent to partially justify every bit of it. Bogoljubov was not quite the best chess player of his era, but he was very nearly so, and the…
Full biography of Efim Bogoljubov →
What they share
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Different fields: Literature for Chinua Achebe, Sports for Efim Bogoljubov.
- Born in different countries: Colonial Nigeria and Russia.
- 41 years separate their births (1930 and 1889).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Chinua Achebe or Efim Bogoljubov?
- Efim Bogoljubov. Chinua Achebe was born in 1930, Efim Bogoljubov in 1889.
- What field is each of them in?
- Chinua Achebe is filed under Literature (Novelist). Efim Bogoljubov is filed under Sports (Chess).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.