| USSR Championship (1955) |
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The 22nd USSR Championship was held in Moscow from February 11 through March 15, 1955. It was certainly one of the strongest of the series, featuring four world champions and nine Soviet champions among its 20 players, and marked the final appearance of Mikhail Botvinnik in a Soviet championship. This tournament was also one of the Zonal events to select players eligible to play in the upcoming Gothenburg Interzonal (1955). 1 The illustrious cast of characters included: Vladimir Antoshin,
Yuri Averbakh,
Georgy Konstantinovich Borisenko,
Mikhail Botvinnik,
Salomon Flohr,
Semyon Abramovich Furman,
Efim Geller,
Georgy Ilivitsky,
Ilia Abramovich Kan,
Paul Keres,
Viktor Korchnoi,
Alexander Kotov,
Georgy Lisitsin,
Vladas Mikenas,
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian,
Vitaly Sergeevich Sherbakov,
Vladimir Simagin,
Vasily Smyslov,
Boris Spassky,
Mark Taimanov. Geller started quickly and stayed near the top all the way, but every time he got a bit of a lead he would lose, often through over-optimism. Botvinnik, Smyslov, and Spassky all took their turns, with Petrosian never far behind. Coming into the last round Geller had a half-point lead, but proceeded to lose yet one more time and produce the following crosstable:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1 Smyslov * 1 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 1 12.0
2 Geller 0 * ½ 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 0 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 12.0
3 Ilivitsky 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 11.5
4 Spassky ½ 1 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 11.5
5 Petrosian ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 11.5
6 Botvinnik 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 11.5
7 Taimanov ½ 1 1 0 0 ½ * 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ 11.0
8 Keres 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 * 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 11.0
9 Mikenas 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 * ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 10.5
10 Furman ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ * 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 10.0
11 Antoshin ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 * 0 1 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 10.0
12 Kotov ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 * 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 9.5
13 Borisenko 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 0 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 9.0
14 Flohr ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 9.0
15 Averbakh ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 8.5
16 Lisitsin 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 1 1 8.5
17 Kan 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ * 0 1 ½ 7.0
18 Simagin ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 * 1 0 6.5
19 Korchnoi ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 * 1 6.0
20 Sherbakov 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 0 * 3.5
A play-off between Smyslov and Geller started with six straight draws before the latter prevailed in game seven, thus earning the gold medal. Those games have now been added.1 Gino Di Felice, Chess Results 1951-1955, McFarland 2010, p. 480; Mark Weeks Zonal List at http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/zon... Original collection: Game Collection: USSR Championship 1955, by User: Phony Benoni.
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| page 2 of 8; games 26-50 of 197 |
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| Game |
| Result | Moves |
Year | Event/Locale | Opening |
| 26. Kotov vs Petrosian |
 | ½-½ | 21 | 1955 | USSR Championship | A56 Benoni Defense |
| 27. Averbakh vs V Mikenas |
| ½-½ | 24 | 1955 | USSR Championship | A33 English, Symmetrical |
| 28. Smyslov vs Lisitsin |
| 0-1 | 67 | 1955 | USSR Championship | A13 English |
| 29. Spassky vs Antoshin |
| 1-0 | 32 | 1955 | USSR Championship | A84 Dutch |
| 30. G Ilivitsky vs Taimanov |
| 0-1 | 45 | 1955 | USSR Championship | E65 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Yugoslav, 7.O-O |
| 31. Petrosian vs Botvinnik |
| ½-½ | 20 | 1955 | USSR Championship | D94 Grunfeld |
| 32. Korchnoi vs Flohr |
 | 0-1 | 27 | 1955 | USSR Championship | A09 Reti Opening |
| 33. Geller vs Kotov |
| 1-0 | 29 | 1955 | USSR Championship | C90 Ruy Lopez, Closed |
| 34. V Mikenas vs Simagin |
| 1-0 | 65 | 1955 | USSR Championship | A16 English |
| 35. Keres vs Smyslov |
| 0-1 | 39 | 1955 | USSR Championship | C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed |
| 36. V Shcherbakov vs Spassky |
| 0-1 | 32 | 1955 | USSR Championship | B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation |
| 37. I Kan vs Taimanov |
| 1-0 | 46 | 1955 | USSR Championship | E87 King's Indian, Samisch, Orthodox |
| 38. Antoshin vs Averbakh |
| ½-½ | 24 | 1955 | USSR Championship | C02 French, Advance |
| 39. G Borisenko vs G Ilivitsky |
| ½-½ | 22 | 1955 | USSR Championship | D58 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) Syst |
| 40. Lisitsin vs Furman |
| ½-½ | 35 | 1955 | USSR Championship | E66 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Yugoslav Panno |
| 41. Botvinnik vs Geller |
| 0-1 | 40 | 1955 | USSR Championship | D35 Queen's Gambit Declined |
| 42. Flohr vs Lisitsin |
| ½-½ | 21 | 1955 | USSR Championship | A15 English |
| 43. Furman vs Keres |
| 1-0 | 70 | 1955 | USSR Championship | D28 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical |
| 44. G Ilivitsky vs Korchnoi |
| ½-½ | 35 | 1955 | USSR Championship | D86 Grunfeld, Exchange |
| 45. Smyslov vs V Mikenas |
| 1-0 | 64 | 1955 | USSR Championship | A33 English, Symmetrical |
| 46. Spassky vs Petrosian |
| ½-½ | 42 | 1955 | USSR Championship | B95 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6...e6 |
| 47. Simagin vs Antoshin |
| 0-1 | 48 | 1955 | USSR Championship | A28 English |
| 48. Taimanov vs G Borisenko |
| ½-½ | 48 | 1955 | USSR Championship | A10 English |
| 49. Averbakh vs V Shcherbakov |
| ½-½ | 33 | 1955 | USSR Championship | E75 King's Indian, Averbakh, Main line |
| 50. Kotov vs I Kan |
| 1-0 | 36 | 1955 | USSR Championship | D12 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav |
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| page 2 of 8; games 26-50 of 197 |
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