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TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
USSR Absolute Championship Tournament
Mikhail Botvinnik13.5/20(+9 -2 =9)[games]
Paul Keres11/20(+6 -4 =10)[games]
Vasily Smyslov10/20(+4 -4 =12)[games]
Isaac Boleslavsky9/20(+4 -6 =10)[games]
Andre Lilienthal8.5/20(+5 -8 =7)[games]
Igor Bondarevsky8/20(+3 -7 =10)[games]

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
USSR Absolute Championship (1941)

Taking place in the cities of Leningrad and Moscow, the winner of this Match - Tournament was going to be the challenger for Alexander Alekhine's world title. The USSR Absolute Championship of 1941 was brought about by the results of the 12th USSR Championship (1940) . Following the Russo-German Non Aggression Pact of August 1939, the Soviet Union annexed the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia as well as the eastern parts of Poland. This meant that players like Keres, Petrov and Mikenas were eligible to play in the 12th Soviet Championship. As Andre Lilienthal had been granted Soviet citizenship, he was eligible to compete as well.

The hall in which the 12th Championship was held had excellent acoustics so the players suffered with noise from the audience. Botvinnik, who was leading after nine rounds, felt his performance was being affected by these conditions and he ended up in shared fifth and sixth places with Boleslavsky behind Bondarevsky and Lilienthal who were joint first, Smyslov third and Keres fourth.

After receiving a letter from Botvinnik and working behind the scenes, chess organiser (and keen Botvinnik supporter) Vladimir Nikolayevich Snegirov persuaded the authorities that a Match - Tournament of the first six place-getters would be a fairer determination of the Champion (and hence Challenger for Alekhine), rather than the proposed winner of the Bondarevsky-Lilienthal Match play-off.

The Match - Tournament was a twenty-round affair, with the first ten rounds held in the Tauride Palace (1) in Leningrad and rounds eleven through twenty played in the Hall Of Columns in Moscow. It started on the 23rd of March and ran until the 29th of April, as Botvinnik ran out the convincing winner.

Leningrad (1-10) and Moscow (11-20), Soviet Union (Russia), 23 March - 29 April 1941 

               -- 1 --  -- 2 --  -- 3 --  -- 4 --  -- 5 --  -- 6 --  Points
1 Botvinnik    * * * *  1 ½ ½ ½  1 ½ 1 ½  1 ½ 1 ½  1 ½ 0 1  0 1 ½ 1  13.5
2 Keres        0 ½ ½ ½  * * * *  1 1 0 ½  ½ 0 ½ ½  0 1 ½ 1  1 ½ 1 ½  11.0
3 Smyslov      0 ½ 0 ½  0 0 1 ½  * * * *  ½ 1 ½ 1  ½ 1 ½ ½  ½ ½ ½ ½  10.0
4 Boleslavsky  0 ½ 0 ½  ½ 1 ½ ½  ½ 0 ½ 0  * * * *  1 1 ½ 1  ½ 0 0 ½   9.0
5 Lilienthal   0 ½ 1 0  1 0 ½ 0  ½ 0 ½ ½  0 0 ½ 0  * * * *  1 ½ 1 1   8.5
6 Bondarevsky  1 0 ½ 0  0 ½ 0 ½  ½ ½ ½ ½  ½ 1 1 ½  0 ½ 0 0  * * * *   8.0
Less than two months after this tournament, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union in "Operation Barbarossa" and the quest for a Soviet player to win the World Title therefore receded into the background until after the War.

The main source for this collection was the book Championship Chess by M M Botvinnik. ISBN 1-84382-012-9.

Reference: (1) Wikipedia article: Tauride Palace. Original Collection: Game Collection: USSR Absolute Championship 1941, by User: Benzol.

 page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 60  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Keres vs Bondarevsky 1-0531941USSR Absolute ChampionshipB11 Caro-Kann, Two Knights, 3...Bg4
2. Lilienthal vs Smyslov ½-½351941USSR Absolute ChampionshipE32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical
3. Smyslov vs Keres 0-1671941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC79 Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defense Deferred
4. Botvinnik vs Lilienthal 1-0271941USSR Absolute ChampionshipE67 King's Indian, Fianchetto
5. Keres vs Botvinnik 0-1221941USSR Absolute ChampionshipE34 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation
6. Bondarevsky vs Smyslov ½-½351941USSR Absolute ChampionshipE25 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch
7. Boleslavsky vs Smyslov ½-½421941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC79 Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defense Deferred
8. Botvinnik vs Bondarevsky 0-1891941USSR Absolute ChampionshipD55 Queen's Gambit Declined
9. Lilienthal vs Keres 1-0441941USSR Absolute ChampionshipE19 Queen's Indian, Old Main line, 9.Qxc3
10. Botvinnik vs Boleslavsky 1-0491941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC07 French, Tarrasch
11. Bondarevsky vs Lilienthal  0-1831941USSR Absolute ChampionshipD30 Queen's Gambit Declined
12. Smyslov vs Botvinnik 0-1421941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC19 French, Winawer, Advance
13. Keres vs Boleslavsky ½-½311941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC19 French, Winawer, Advance
14. Smyslov vs Lilienthal 1-0371941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC43 Petrov, Modern Attack
15. Bondarevsky vs Keres ½-½421941USSR Absolute ChampionshipD12 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
16. Boleslavsky vs Botvinnik ½-½231941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC15 French, Winawer
17. Bondarevsky vs Boleslavsky 1-0771941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC19 French, Winawer, Advance
18. Lilienthal vs Botvinnik  ½-½321941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC82 Ruy Lopez, Open
19. Keres vs Smyslov 1-0651941USSR Absolute ChampionshipE32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical
20. Lilienthal vs Boleslavsky 0-1501941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC15 French, Winawer
21. Botvinnik vs Keres  ½-½411941USSR Absolute ChampionshipD27 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical
22. Boleslavsky vs Lilienthal 1-0171941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC40 King's Knight Opening
23. Smyslov vs Bondarevsky ½-½1141941USSR Absolute ChampionshipA13 English
24. Keres vs Lilienthal 1-0941941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
25. Smyslov vs Boleslavsky 1-0331941USSR Absolute ChampionshipC11 French
 page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 60  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Jul-01-25  ewan14: What is the fiction perfud ?
Jul-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  perfidious: There are numerous examples of your touting conspiracy theories, as well as making unsubstantiated claims.
Jul-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  MissScarlett: Had Najdorf agreed to it?
Jul-01-25  Petrosianic: <FSR>: <A shameful episode. Botvinnik had only tied for 5th-6th in the USSR Championship (1940), two points between the joint winners Lilienthal and Bondarevsky. A humiliating result for him. Also very inconvenient, since Botvinnik wanted to challenge Alekhine to a match for the world championship. So he had his friends arrange a new championship, less than six months after the prior one, to determine the <absolute> Soviet champion.>

It wasn't a new championship, it was only an ersatz candidates tournament for the right to be the one to challenge Alekhine if he became available. Lilienthal and Bondarevsky remained Soviet co-champions afterwards.

It's not shameful, to the contrary, it's a little unfair to everyone involved if nobody knows when Alekhine is coming, and you only win the lottery and get the title shot if you happen to be reigning Soviet champion at the same time that he does. Botvinnik had held the Soviet title more than anybody (except the unavailable Bogoljubov), so it makes sense that he should get the shot, especially if he earns it in a Candidates Tournament.

Something similar had happened in the US. It had long been understood that if there should be a World Championship, Reshevsky and Fine would be the US representatives in it. But after the war, there were some grumblings that maybe this was unfair, and the US representatives should have to qualify from the US Championship instead. Nothing came of that, but Reshevsky made very sure to play in the 1946 US Championship, and give it his best shot, just in case it had.

Jul-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  MissScarlett: The important thing is that Lilienthal and Bondarevsky agreed to it.
Jul-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  beatgiant: <Petrosianic> Your narrative would make more sense if Alekhine had said he was willing to play a title match with any winner of a Soviet championship. He had not. He saw Botvinnik as a worthy challenger, and it wasn't due to his results in Soviet championships.
Jul-01-25  Petrosianic: <beatgiant>: <Petrosianic> Your narrative would make more sense if Alekhine had said he was willing to play a title match with any winner of a Soviet championship. He had not. He saw Botvinnik as a worthy challenger, and it wasn't due to his results in Soviet championships.>

LOL at "my narrative", as if that's not really what the Absolute Championship was.

But if Alekhine says he wants to play Botvinnik, and the Soviet government wants him to play Bondarevsky, guess who he's going to play? If you think Alekhine would have held out and eschewed a payday, saying "Botvinnik or Nobody", I would like to have seen that.

Jul-02-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  beatgiant: <Petrosianic> Yes, the event was related to the challenge to Alekhine, in that they wanted to fix the perception of weakness caused by Botvinnik's showing in the 1940 championship. But can we really believe the idea was to give Bondarevsky a chance to replace Botvinnik as the world title contender in case he won the 1941 event? That seems like madness, comparing the two players' records to that point.

As far as Alekhine was concerned, it wasn't really the case that <nobody knows when Alekhine is coming, and you only win the lottery and get the title shot if you happen to be reigning Soviet champion at the same time that he does>. If the Soviet sports authorities did have the idea that "the challenger to Alekhine should be the national champion," it was entirely self-imposed and meant nothing to Alekhine.

Jul-02-25  Olavi: It meant nothing to Alekhine, but Botvinnik makes it clear in his memoirs that it meant a lot to him. And he presents the matter the way that the USSR must choose one candidate to issue a challenge to Alekhine, and stick to that one candidate.

Later, when Botvinnik outlined his proposition for conducting the WC (after Alekhine's death I think, but I'm not absolutely sure, it might have been prior to the Winterthur 1946 congress also), one of his points was that the country of the challenger and the champion should be made responsible for the match; if they can't finance it, then that country doesn't deserve a champion...

Well that was very logical from Botvinnik's point of view. There would be no problem for a USSR champion (with the initials MB?!) with the financing!

But let's say that was not how the world saw the matter, Soviet GMs including. Nor am I convinced MB really thought that the justified way to do it or whether it was a tactical ploy.

Jul-02-25  Petrosianic: <Olavi: It meant nothing to Alekhine, but Botvinnik makes it clear in his memoirs that it meant a lot to him. And he presents the matter the way that the USSR must choose one candidate to issue a challenge to Alekhine, and stick to that one candidate.>

And I think he was right about that, at least in the short term. Suppose Alekhine had come to the US in 1945, and the USCF had said "Sorry Sammy, sorry Ruben, we feel we really should sponsor an Alekhine-Denker match."

Jul-02-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  beatgiant: <Olavi> But the USSR had already approved Botvinnik as the challenger in 1939. Must the USSR stick to one candidate or not? Particularly if that candidate was already accepted by Alekhine and had the best international record and head-to-head record against Alekhine.
Jul-02-25  Olavi: <beatgiant> Alekhine had accepted Botvinnik's challenge after the last round of AVRO 1938; presumably Botvinnik had the green light from the authorities before that.

But now Keres had adopted the Soviet citizenship - Botvinnik's words in the preface of the 1941 absolute ch tournament book; who in these changed circumstances should now represent the USSR in the struggle against Alekhine for the WC?, he writes in his memoirs.

The 1940 Soviet ch ending as it did, Botvinnik wrote a letter to Snegirev, the man responsible for chess in the Sports committee - above the chess federation - and voilà, there was the match tournament instead of the Lilienthal - Bondarevsky match. For Snegirev and Botvinnik it was plain and clear what that title meant; but Keres wrote in his Selected Games that to this day (early 60s) he doesn't know what the title was supposed to mean. I wonder if that was some sort of veiled protest 20 years after the fact.

Jul-02-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  beatgiant: <Olavi> I agree that people could consider Keres a realistic challenger to Alekhine too, but they could have settled that question by having Botvinnik and Keres play a match.

If the winner of this event was definitely to become the challenger to Alekhine, wouldn't it be risking disaster in case one of the weaker players with no experience either internationally or against Alekhine won it?

Jul-02-25  Olavi: <beatgiant>

I guess for Botvinnik it wasn't riskier, considering he finished sixth in the championship, any second chance is welcome - and Keres fourth, so it would have looked bad to have a match between them. Botvinnik had to make sure he was armed to the teeth for the match tournament... he knew about it before the others, according to Lilienthal's memoirs. (It was his plot after all.)

"I wrote to Snegirev ironically pointing out that the winner of the match Bondarevsky-Lilienthal would be Soviet champion, i.e. the foremost Soviet player, while Keres and Botvinnik already have significant international successes." From the German edition, loosely.

Jul-02-25  stone free or die: So, we're comparing a 20-player single round RR, vs. a 6-player four set RR?

Clearly the latter is a far better determination of the best qualified match player.

And exactly how much extra time did Botvinnik have for preparing over the others? And how long did the latter have to prepare?

Jul-02-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  keypusher: <And exactly how much extra time did Botvinnik have for preparing over the others? And how long did the latter have to prepare?>

Not sure I believe him, but Botvinnik claims he found out about the match tournament at the same time as everyone else.

Jul-02-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  beatgiant: <MissScarlett><The important thing is that Lilienthal and Bondarevsky agreed to it.>

Was this intended ironically, or do we have a real reason to believe anyone asked Lilienthal and Bondarevsky their opinions of the idea?

<keypusher><Botvinnik claims he found out about the match tournament at the same time as everyone else.>

Then at the same moment he sent his message to Snegirev, he also sent messages to all the players who got invited to this event? Otherwise, at least he would be less surprised than they when he found out.

<Olavi> <it would have looked bad to have a match between them.>

It would have looked bad to whom? I really doubt even Bondarevsky himself believed his tie for first in the 1940 USSR Championship meant he would be as good as Botvinnik or Keres as a challenger to Alekhine.

<For Snegirev and Botvinnik it was plain and clear what that title meant>

But I don't know of any official statement that the winner of this event, if not Botvinnik, would replace him as the challenger to Alekhine. What if, say, Lilienthal had won? How can you make us believe the USSR would switch their support to him as the new challenger?

Jul-02-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  perfidious: One rather doubts the Soviet chess bureaucracy, even in the era after the purges, were concerned with keeping up appearances; their aim was to dominate world chess.
Jul-02-25  stone free or die: This looks to be an interesting side-alley of chess history, which I'm largely ignorant of.

It was discussed over a decade ago on <CG> (found by doing a google search on <Snegirev>):

Mikhail Botvinnik (kibitz #1203)

<bronkenstein> was himself quoting from another <CG> page. The source material used was from this Russian language page - still active:

https://chesspro.ru/_events/2007/vo...

Unfortunately, I don't have time to really go through this now, but thought I'd drop the links here for future reference.

Jul-02-25  Olavi: As is mentioned in that Botvinnik kibitz 1203, Lilienthal was in Sibiria on a simul tour when the word reached him that he should immediately return for the match tournament.

Well, almost. According to his Schach war mein Leben (1988, original Hungarian 1985) he and Bondarevsky were told that there would be no match, they would both receive the gold medal. Whereupon he left for the Urals; he was in Sverdlovsk playing a 201 board simultaneous, a world record at the time he claims, during which president Snegov's telegram arrived. He writes he was very embittered.

Jul-02-25  Olavi: <beatgiant:> OK, this is but speculation: <it would have looked bad to have a match between them.

It would have looked bad to whom?>

We are in the Soviet Union in 1940. To challenge Alekhine Botvinnik had to be sure he had full backing of the establishment. He had to beat those above him in the actual championship.

Jul-02-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  beatgiant: <Olavi> The Russian source linked above says Botvinnik was bothered by the effect his poor showing in the 1940 USSR Championship could have on his world title shot, and so proposed this new event.

If true, Botvinnik did have a head start preparing for it, and the goal was much more to give Botvinnik a do-over than to establish a fair Candidates process for the USSR's world title contender.

Jul-02-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  keypusher: <Then at the same moment he sent his message to Snegirev, he also sent messages to all the players who got invited to this event? >

<beatgiant>

Of course not. Come on.

Botvinnik wrote: <I do not know how [Snegirev] managed to convince the authorities, he never revealed this, but about two months later came an announcement about the setting up of the title of 'Absolute'Champion of the USSR and the running of a match-tournament of the six winners in the championship in four rounds.>

USSR Absolute Championship (1941) (kibitz #14)

<SFOD> Note that the name is also rendered Snegiryov and probably other ways. The Match-Tournament comes up periodically on this site and everybody more or less repeats what they said five or ten years before. There was a pretty thorough discussion in 2013.

Jul-02-25
Premium Chessgames Member		  beatgiant: <keypusher> If we agree Botvinnik suggested the idea to Snegirev, but didn't tell the others, it's hard to accept his claim that <he found out about the match tournament at the same time as everyone else>. He would definitely have been much less surprised about it than they were.
Jul-02-25  stone free or die: <kp> thanks for the heads up.

And... being a firm believer in recycling, I think a revisit of certain interesting topics ain't a bad way to while away the hours!

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