| USSR Championship (1939) |
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The 11th USSR Championship was held in Leningrad from April 16 to May 15, 1939, with the following players: Sergey Vsevolodovich Belavenets,
Igor Bondarevsky,
Mikhail Botvinnik,
Vitaly Chekhover,
Alexander Chistiakov,
Peter Vasilievich Dubinin,
Ilia Abramovich Kan,
Alexander Kotov,
Grigory Levenfish,
Georgy Lisitsin,
Vladimir Andreevich Makogonov,
Vasily Panov, Iosif Pogrebissky,
Ilya Leontievich Rabinovich,
Viacheslav Ragozin,
Peter Arsenievich Romanovsky,
Alexander Kazimirovich Tolush,
Mikhail M Yudovich Sr.
Botvinnik was the clear favorite despite a six-year absence from the Championship, but it wasn't that easy. Alexander Kotov, who was not on anybody's radar screen prior to the tournament, got off to a great start by winning his first four games. He couldn't keep up that pace, but it was round 12 before Botvinnik could finally get in front of him. With three rounds to go Botvinnik had a point lead, but then played two draws while Kotov won twice (including a 111-move game) to catch up. As it happened, the leaders met in the final round, and even Botvinnik was pumped. Here's how he described the atmosphere of the last round in his One Hundred Selected Games: "The finish was exceptionally interesting. Before the last round Kotov and I had the same number of points; we met in this round, and he played White. Need I say that very many people wished to watch this game? The two halls of the House of Physical Culture were filled before it began. For those who were "unfortunate" the organizers set up a demonstation board on the embankment of the River Moika. The spectators were "accommodated" on the opposite side of the River also, and all traffic came to standstill." In other words, if the game were broadcast on Live Chess today, the site would crash. Botvinnik's attitude, at least the one he expressed later, is also enlightening: "... for by my position in the tournament I had to play to win this game." Remember, he and Kotov were tied! If you can't take the suspense any longer, look at Kotov vs Botvinnik, 1939 or the crosstable below. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 Botvinnik * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 12.5
2 Kotov 0 * ½ 1 0 ½ 1 0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 11.5
3 Belavenets ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ + 11.0
4 Makogonov ½ 0 ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 10.5
5 Chekhover ½ 1 0 0 * 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 10.5
6 Bondarevsky ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * 0 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 + 10.0
7 Lisitsin ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 * 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 9.0
8 Levenfish ½ 1 0 0 ½ 1 0 * ½ 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 0 1 1 8.5
9 Dubinin 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 8.5
10 Ragozin ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 1 0 ½ * 1 0 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 8.5
11 Panov 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 8.0
12 Rabinovich 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ * ½ 1 1 0 ½ 1 8.0
13 Yudovich ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ * ½ 0 0 0 ½ 7.5
14 Kan 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ * 1 1 ½ 1 7.5
15 Tolush 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 * 1 0 1 6.5
16 Pogrebissky 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 ½ 1 1 0 0 * 1 1 6.5
17 Chistiakov 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 0 * 0 5.0
18 Romanovsky ½ ½ - 0 0 - ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 * 3.5
Three games are not included. Romanovsky withdrew after round 15, defaulting his games in round 16 (Bondarevsky) and round 17 (Belavenets). In addition, the score of Levenfish 1 Romanovsky from round 8 is not available. Romanovsky also defaulted adjourned games from round 14 (Panov) and round 15 (Rabinovich), but those games are included.Compiled by User: Phony Benoni, completing a collection by User: suenteus po 147.
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| page 1 of 2; games 1-25 of 37 |
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| Game |
| Result | Moves |
Year | Event/Locale | Opening |
| 1. I Kan vs Kotov |
| 0-1 | 54 | 1939 | USSR Championship | E07 Catalan, Closed |
| 2. Tolush vs Botvinnik |
  | 0-1 | 37 | 1939 | USSR Championship | D83 Grunfeld, Grunfeld Gambit |
| 3. S Belavenets vs Panov |
| 0-1 | 52 | 1939 | USSR Championship | A54 Old Indian, Ukrainian Variation, 4.Nf3 |
| 4. Ragozin vs Bondarevsky |
| 0-1 | 43 | 1939 | USSR Championship | C11 French |
| 5. A Chistiakov vs Kotov |
| 0-1 | 50 | 1939 | USSR Championship | C71 Ruy Lopez |
| 6. I Pogrebissky vs V Chekhover |
| 0-1 | 59 | 1939 | USSR Championship | B77 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack |
| 7. Levenfish vs V Makogonov |
| 0-1 | 42 | 1939 | USSR Championship | A14 English |
| 8. P Romanovsky vs I Kan |
| 0-1 | 33 | 1939 | USSR Championship | E43 Nimzo-Indian, Fischer Variation |
| 9. M Yudovich Sr vs A Chistiakov |
| 0-1 | 71 | 1939 | USSR Championship | C12 French, McCutcheon |
| 10. I Rabinovich vs Botvinnik |
| 0-1 | 67 | 1939 | USSR Championship | C19 French, Winawer, Advance |
| 11. I Kan vs I Rabinovich |
| 0-1 | 80 | 1939 | USSR Championship | D37 Queen's Gambit Declined |
| 12. Levenfish vs Tolush |
| 0-1 | 42 | 1939 | USSR Championship | C50 Giuoco Piano |
| 13. P Dubinin vs Botvinnik |
| 0-1 | 29 | 1939 | USSR Championship | C90 Ruy Lopez, Closed |
| 14. I Rabinovich vs I Pogrebissky |
| 0-1 | 61 | 1939 | USSR Championship | A22 English |
| 15. Lisitsin vs Ragozin |
| 0-1 | 64 | 1939 | USSR Championship | D38 Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin Variation |
| 16. I Pogrebissky vs Bondarevsky |
| 0-1 | 30 | 1939 | USSR Championship | D59 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower |
| 17. Bondarevsky vs Levenfish |
| 0-1 | 54 | 1939 | USSR Championship | D85 Grunfeld |
| 18. Tolush vs Kotov |
| 0-1 | 42 | 1939 | USSR Championship | B10 Caro-Kann |
| 19. P Romanovsky vs V Chekhover |
| 0-1 | 61 | 1939 | USSR Championship | B58 Sicilian |
| 20. Levenfish vs S Belavenets |
| 0-1 | 45 | 1939 | USSR Championship | C55 Two Knights Defense |
| 21. I Pogrebissky vs Ragozin |
| 0-1 | 45 | 1939 | USSR Championship | A09 Reti Opening |
| 22. M Yudovich Sr vs Tolush |
| 0-1 | 50 | 1939 | USSR Championship | C64 Ruy Lopez, Classical |
| 23. A Chistiakov vs P Dubinin |
| 0-1 | 25 | 1939 | USSR Championship | C10 French |
| 24. I Kan vs Lisitsin |
| 0-1 | 83 | 1939 | USSR Championship | E17 Queen's Indian |
| 25. Bondarevsky vs V Chekhover |
| 0-1 | 58 | 1939 | USSR Championship | E16 Queen's Indian |
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| page 1 of 2; games 1-25 of 37 |
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| Jan-29-22 | | Z truth 000000001: Two semi-finals were run, in May-June 1938, in Kiev and Leningrad. A supplemental qualifier was held in Moscow in Sept for some masters who couldn't make the sf's. <Botvinnik: “The selection system was the basis for the formation of the XI championship. In May-June 1938 semi-finals were held in Leningrad and Kiev; all masters of the USSR and candidates for masters were invited to them. The winners of the semi-finals were supposed to make up the final of the championship, with the exception of personally invited grandmasters Levenfish and Botvinnik. Unfortunately, a number of strong masters (Alatortsev, Goglidze, Kan, Ragozin and Ryumin) could not play in the semi-finals, and therefore the All-Union Chess Section organized a special qualifying tournament for them in September in Moscow. Only four masters took part in it (Goglidze could not) ; the winners were Kan and Ragozin, thus winning the right to participate in the final....
The final was supposed to be played in November. However, an international tournament in Amsterdam was scheduled for the same month, in which the author of these lines was supposed to play. In view of this, the All-Union Chess Section postponed the championship to January 1939. Alas, the championship did not start even in January!.. This time, the training tournament of Soviet masters with the participation of foreign grandmasters Keres, Reshevsky and Flor prevented. This prompted the USSR championship to be finally postponed to April 15. It turns out that at first Kiev was chosen as the venue. But Botvinnik, who had been seriously ill throughout January, writes in his book “To Achieve the Goal” that he convinced the new chairman of the Committee of Physical Education, V. Snegov, “to hold the USSR championship not in Kiev, but in Leningrad (I continued to be under the supervision of doctors).” >
https://chesspro.ru/_events/2007/vo... |
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| Jan-29-22 | | Z truth 000000001: The bio should probably mention Botvinnik's tournament book: https://www.worldcat.org/title/odin... <Одиннадцатое всесоюзное шахматное первенство (1939)> <Eleventh All-Union Chess Championship (1939)> |
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| Jan-29-22 | | RookFile: Everybody has their own point of view. Fischer would label guys like Flohr and Keres as Russians ("You're all Russians to me!") but Botvinnik labels them as "foreigners" because they are not Soviets. |
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Jan-29-22
 | | perfidious: Botvinnik was, of course, the paragon of Soviet Man. |
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| Jan-31-22 | | Z truth 000000001: Another historical fact missing from the above - is that 11e USSR ch, which they called the "All-Union" ch, was essentially the first not organized by Krylenko, who of course got caught up in the <Great Terror> of the 30's: <Nikolai Vasilievich Krylenko - permanent chairman (from 1924 to 1938) of the All-Union chess and checkers section under the Supreme Council of Physical Culture of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. Since 1936, he was People's Commissar of Justice of the USSR (and before that for many years the People's Commissar of Justice of the RSFSR), he was involved in unjustified repressions, from which he himself eventually suffered (he was shot in 1938).> https://ok.ru/group53875099959535/t... We can circle back later to discuss Botvinnik's role. |
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Oct-01-22
 | | LRLeighton: @RookFile, Botvinnik labeled Keres and Flohr as foreigners because they -were- foreigners. It had nothing whatsoever to do with their politics. Keres was from Estonia. The tournament was held in 1939 and the USSR did not occupy Estonia until 1940. Flohr was a refugee from Czechoslovakia fleeing the Nazi occupation. At the time of the tournament, Flohr would have been living in either the Netherlands or possibly Great Britain at that point. |
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