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TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
USSR Championship Tournament

Vasily Smyslov13/19(+9 -2 =8)[games]
David Bronstein13/19(+8 -1 =10)[games]
Efim Geller12.5/19(+10 -4 =5)[games]
Mark Taimanov12.5/19(+7 -1 =11)[games]
Semyon Furman11.5/19(+9 -5 =5)[games]
Isaac Boleslavsky11.5/19(+6 -2 =11)[games]
Alexander Kotov11.5/19(+8 -4 =7)[games]
Paul Keres11/19(+7 -4 =8)[games]
Lev Aronin10/19(+4 -3 =12)[games]
Ratmir Kholmov10/19(+5 -4 =10)[games]
Salomon Flohr9/19(+3 -4 =12)[games]
Alexey Sokolsky8.5/19(+3 -5 =11)[games]
Andre Lilienthal8/19(+3 -6 =10)[games]
Vladas Mikenas8/19(+4 -7 =8)[games]
Nikolai Kopilov8/19(+5 -8 =6)[games]
Tigran Petrosian7.5/19(+4 -8 =7)[games]
Viacheslav Ragozin6.5/19(+3 -9 =7)[games]
Grigory Levenfish6/19(+3 -10 =6)[games]
Viktor Lyublinsky6/19(+2 -9 =8)[games]
Grigory Goldberg6/19(+2 -9 =8)[games]
*

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
USSR Championship (1949)

The 17th USSR chess championship took place in the Soviet capital of Moscow from October 16th to November 20th, 1949. Twenty of the Soviet Union's best grandmasters and masters qualified or received invitations to participate in the round robin event. Twelve players qualified from semi-final tournaments held earlier in the year: Igor Bondarevsky, Mark Taimanov, and Grigory Levenfish qualified from Leningrad; Vladas Mikenas, Alexey Sokolsky, and Semyon Furman qualified from Vilnius; Lev Aronin, Grigory Goldberg, and Victor Liublinsky qualified from Moscow; and Efim Geller, Tigran Petrosian, and Ratmir Kholmov qualified from Tbilisi. Bondarevsky could not attend the final, so he was replaced by Leningrad fourth place Nikolai Kopilov. The eight remaining players were invited to fill out the field were: David Bronstein and Alexander Kotov as returning champions from the 16th championship; previous Soviet champions Andre Lilienthal and Paul Keres; and four previous final participants Isaac Boleslavsky, Salomon Flohr, Viacheslav Ragozin, and Vasily Smyslov. This tournament saw two of Mikhail Botvinnik 's greatest rivals finish shared first with thirteen points out of nineteen rounds. It was Bronstein's second consecutive Soviet crown, and his last. He would face Botvinnik two years later for the world crown, coming closer than anyone else to being world champion without succeeding. While this championship was Smyslov's first and last Soviet crown, he too would go on to face Botvinnik, but unlike his fellow shared first, he would defeat Botvinnik in their second of three encounters, earning the highest of all chess honors: the champion of the world.

The final standings and crosstable:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Pts =1 Smyslov * 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 1 13 =1 Bronstein 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 13 =3 Geller ½ ½ * ½ 1 1 1 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 12½ =3 Taimanov ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 12½ =5 Furman 1 ½ 0 1 * 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 11½ =5 Boleslavsky ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 11½ =5 Kotov ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ * ½ 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 11½ 8 Keres ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 0 ½ 11 =9 Aronin 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 10 =9 Kholmov 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 10 11 Flohr 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 9 12 Sokolsky ½ 0 1 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ * ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 8½ =13 Lilienthal 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ * ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 8 =13 Mikenas ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 0 1 ½ ½ 1 8 =13 Kopilov ½ 0 0 0 1 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 1 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 8 16 Petrosian 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ * 0 1 1 0 7½ 17 Ragozin 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 * ½ ½ 1 6½ =18 Levenfish 1 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * 1 0 6 =18 Liublinsky 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 * ½ 6 =18 Goldberg 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 1 ½ * 6

This collection would not have been possible without the efforts of <Phony Benoni>.

Original collection: Game Collection: USSR Championship 1949, by User: suenteus po 147.

 page 2 of 8; games 26-50 of 190  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
26. Smyslov vs V Mikenas ½-½271949USSR ChampionshipB03 Alekhine's Defense
27. Flohr vs Petrosian 1-0431949USSR ChampionshipA54 Old Indian, Ukrainian Variation, 4.Nf3
28. Taimanov vs Boleslavsky  ½-½311949USSR ChampionshipB59 Sicilian, Boleslavsky Variation, 7.Nb3
29. N Kopilov vs Furman 1-0421949USSR ChampionshipA24 English, Bremen System with ...g6
30. A Sokolsky vs Kholmov 1-0241949USSR ChampionshipB10 Caro-Kann
31. Bronstein vs Kotov ½-½241949USSR ChampionshipD41 Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Tarrasch
32. V Mikenas vs Flohr ½-½131949USSR ChampionshipA22 English
33. Petrosian vs Geller 0-1271949USSR ChampionshipE94 King's Indian, Orthodox
34. Levenfish vs V Lyublinsky 1-0411949USSR ChampionshipA56 Benoni Defense
35. Kholmov vs Lilienthal 1-0471949USSR ChampionshipE16 Queen's Indian
36. Boleslavsky vs Ragozin  1-0491949USSR ChampionshipC74 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense
37. G Goldberg vs Smyslov 0-1461949USSR ChampionshipA25 English
38. Furman vs Taimanov  1-0521949USSR ChampionshipD46 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
39. A Sokolsky vs N Kopilov  0-1551949USSR ChampionshipB68 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 9...Be7
40. Aronin vs Keres  ½-½331949USSR ChampionshipC81 Ruy Lopez, Open, Howell Attack
41. Smyslov vs Bronstein 1-0931949USSR ChampionshipA54 Old Indian, Ukrainian Variation, 4.Nf3
42. Flohr vs G Goldberg ½-½481949USSR ChampionshipA90 Dutch
43. Geller vs V Mikenas  ½-½291949USSR ChampionshipC08 French, Tarrasch, Open, 4.ed ed
44. Keres vs Petrosian 1-0391949USSR ChampionshipE60 King's Indian Defense
45. Kotov vs Levenfish 1-0411949USSR ChampionshipD11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
46. Ragozin vs Furman 1-0781949USSR ChampionshipC77 Ruy Lopez
47. Taimanov vs A Sokolsky 1-0401949USSR ChampionshipE09 Catalan, Closed
48. V Lyublinsky vs Boleslavsky  0-1791949USSR ChampionshipB60 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer
49. N Kopilov vs Kholmov  0-1531949USSR ChampionshipC91 Ruy Lopez, Closed
50. Lilienthal vs Aronin  ½-½391949USSR ChampionshipE72 King's Indian
 page 2 of 8; games 26-50 of 190  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
Aug-06-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  GrahamClayton: Bronstein started the tournament with 6/11, but a run of 7/8 propelled him to the title.
Jul-25-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  Sally Simpson: Small error in the text.

"While this championship was Smyslov's first and last Soviet crown."

Smyslov shared it again in 1955.

Game Collection: USSR Championship 1955

Jul-26-16  ughaibu: But Smyslov lost the play-off, in 1955.

How did Bronstein come closer to being world champion, without succeeding, than Schlechter or Leko?

Jul-27-16  whiteshark: Fair question!
Jul-27-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  Sally Simpson: 'Smyslov lost the play-off'

Then the small error is in the Smyslov Bio.

USSR Championship (1949)

Soviet champion in 1955 sharing the first place with Efim Geller.

(no mention of a play-off.)

Apr-26-17
Premium Chessgames Member
  Chessical: Petrosian's first Soviet Championship, he qualified from the semi-final held in Tiflis.
Apr-26-17  Nosnibor: This was Geller`s debut and he scored 10 wins which exceeded both of the joint winners decisive games.Also noticeable is that he scored 4.5 points against the first six without losing a single game.
Sep-02-17  Arconax: Goldberg got lost in all the variations.
Sep-02-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  fiercebadger: Petrosian lost five games
Sep-02-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  Check It Out: <fiercebadger: Petrosian lost five games>

Not eight as listed here?

Sep-02-18  siimens: Well, closest probably because Bronstein didn't lose Botvinnik but tied the 1951 title match
Feb-16-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <fiercebadger: Petrosian lost five games>

He lost the first five.

Sep-30-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  kingscrusher: Petrosian got hammered in this tournament - no wonder if created a more defensive style later!

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