Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing

USSR Championship (1962) The 30th Soviet Chess Championship was held in the city of Yerevan (Erevan) from November 21st to December 20th, 1962. Twenty of the Soviet Union's strongest grandmasters and masters participated in the round robin event. Seven qualified from semi-final tournaments held earlier in the year: Igor Zaitsev and Vladislav Shiyanovsky qualified from Dnepropetrpvsk (with Shiyanovsky's seat incidently being won in a playoff among three masters who had finished tied for second); German Khodos and Yury Kots qualified from Novosibirsk; and Lev Aronin, Vladas Mikenas, and Leonid Stein qualified from Riga. The remaining thirteen seats went out as invitations, including to the previous year's Soviet champion Boris Spassky, recently deposed world champion and two time Soviet champion Mikhail Tal, winner of the 27th Soviet championship Viktor Korchnoi, winner of the 23rd Soviet championship Mark Taimanov, and perennial Soviet championship participant Ratmir Kholmov. While not as strong as some USSR championships of the past, due to the absence of grandmasters such as Mikhail Botvinnik, Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian, Efim Geller, David Bronstein, Paul Keres, and Lev Polugaevsky, the field assembled was a powerful mix of veterans and up and coming talents. Korchnoi dominated the field with wins against half the participants, starting with 12/14 and coasting to the finish. He had a full-point lead going into the last round, when runners-up Tal and Taimanov made it seem closer by winning their games. Korchnoi's fierce attacking style insured that this second Soviet crown would not be his last, as he would go on to win twice more at Kiev in 1964/65 and Riga in 1970 for a career total of four USSR championship victories. Yerevan, Soviet Union (Armenia), 21 November - 21 December 1962 (1) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 Korchnoi * 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 14.0 2 Tal 0 * 1 1 ½ ½ 0 1 1 0 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 13.5 3 Taimanov ½ 0 * ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 13.5 4 Kholmov ½ 0 ½ * 0 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 13.0 5 Spassky 0 ½ 1 1 * 0 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 12.5 6 Stein 0 ½ ½ 0 1 * ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 0 1 1 11.5 7 Aronin ½ 1 0 0 0 ½ * ½ 1 ½ 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 10.5 8 Bannik 0 0 ½ 0 1 1 ½ * 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 10.5 9 Kots ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 * ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 10.0 10 Mikenas 1 1 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ * 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 9.0 11 Krogius 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 8.5 12 Shiyanovsky ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 1 0 ½ * 0 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 8.0 13 Zaitsev, A. 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 * ½ 0 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 8.0 14 Suetin 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 8.0 15 Novopashin 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 8.0 16 Khodos ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ * 1 0 ½ 1 7.0 17 Mnatsakanian ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ ½ 0 * 0 ½ 0 6.5 18 Korelov ½ 0 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 * 0 ½ 6.5 19 Zaitsev, I. 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 * 0 6.0 20 Savon 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 * 5.5 (1) Bernard Cafferty and Mark Taimanov, The Soviet Championships (Cadogan 1998), pp. 116-119. Original collection: Game Collection: USSR Championship 1962, by User: suenteus po 147.  page 2 of 8; games 26-50 of 190  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 26. Savon vs Krogius   ½-½ 49 1962 USSR Championship C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 27. A Bannik vs E Mnatsakanian 1-0 37 1962 USSR Championship D30 Queen's Gambit Declined 28. Kholmov vs G Khodos   1-0 49 1962 USSR Championship B06 Robatsch 29. V Shiyanovsky vs Stein ½-½ 34 1962 USSR Championship B77 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack 30. I A Zaitsev vs Aronin   ½-½ 24 1962 USSR Championship B32 Sicilian 31. V Shiyanovsky vs Korchnoi   ½-½ 16 1962 USSR Championship C11 French 32. V Mikenas vs A Bannik   0-1 37 1962 USSR Championship E43 Nimzo-Indian, Fischer Variation 33. E Mnatsakanian vs Spassky   0-1 37 1962 USSR Championship B47 Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov) Variation 34. G Khodos vs Suetin   0-1 43 1962 USSR Championship D91 Grunfeld, 5.Bg5 35. Taimanov vs A Korelov   1-0 41 1962 USSR Championship A12 English with b3 36. Stein vs Tal   ½-½ 42 1962 USSR Championship B47 Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov) Variation 37. A Zaitsev vs I A Zaitsev   1-0 41 1962 USSR Championship D61 Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox, Rubinstein Attack 38. Y Kots vs Savon   1-0 33 1962 USSR Championship E94 King's Indian, Orthodox 39. Aronin vs Kholmov 0-1 33 1962 USSR Championship B31 Sicilian, Rossolimo Variation 40. Krogius vs A Novopashin   ½-½ 31 1962 USSR Championship A34 English, Symmetrical 41. Korchnoi vs Stein 1-0 40 1962 USSR Championship D92 Grunfeld, 5.Bf4 42. Spassky vs V Mikenas 1-0 45 1962 USSR Championship D29 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical 43. Suetin vs Aronin   1-0 32 1962 USSR Championship B32 Sicilian 44. A Bannik vs Taimanov   ½-½ 28 1962 USSR Championship B44 Sicilian 45. Tal vs E Mnatsakanian   1-0 34 1962 USSR Championship E12 Queen's Indian 46. Kholmov vs A Zaitsev   ½-½ 61 1962 USSR Championship B45 Sicilian, Taimanov 47. Savon vs V Shiyanovsky ½-½ 40 1962 USSR Championship C80 Ruy Lopez, Open 48. A Korelov vs G Khodos   1-0 54 1962 USSR Championship A57 Benko Gambit 49. A Novopashin vs Y Kots   0-1 42 1962 USSR Championship B77 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack 50. I A Zaitsev vs Krogius   ½-½ 28 1962 USSR Championship B97 Sicilian, Najdorf  page 2 of 8; games 26-50 of 190    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   Dec-30-12    perfidious: <Korchnoi, despite dominating the field with wins against half the participants, only managed to edge out Tal and Taimanov by half a point for first place.> The above comment is misleading, as Korchnoi made 12/14 for a large lead and finished with four draws and the loss to Mikenas in the sixteenth round. His lead was a full point entering the last round and the runners-up only managed to narrow the gap by winning. Dec-30-12    Phony Benoni: <perfidious> Is it better now? Dec-30-12    perfidious: <Phony Benoni> Nice work, and a much better way of conveying the way things went in this event. Feb-07-13    notyetagm: The famous game from this tournament: Korchnoi vs Tal, 1962 Oct-01-16    Fusilli: I wonder if Savon is the only player to both win the USSR championship (USSR Championship (1971)) and finish in last place in the USSR championship final (here). Jan-10-17    zydeco: <Fusilli> Mark Taimanov finished last in 1948 and won it in 1956. There may be others as well. Oct-05-19    Olavi: <zydeco: <Fusilli>> Beliavsky even did it in consecutive years, 1973 and 1974. Oct-06-19    ewan14: Incredibly disappointing for Korchnoi he was out of form in the zonals in 1963 and 1964. He could have challenged ( and beaten ) Petrosian Feb-14-20    King.Arthur.Brazil: For me, It is very sad that the in the historical event description "the absence of grandmasters such as Mikhail Botvinnik, Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian, Efim Geller, David Bronstein, Paul Keres, and Lev Polugaevsky...", was forgoten the remarkable name of the world chess champion Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov. I hope that the Chessgames manager correct it later. NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion. Please observe our posting guidelines: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members. Nothing in violation of United States law. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members. No trolling. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers. Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times. See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator. NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific tournament only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café. Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors. All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration. Spot an error? Please suggest your correction and help us eliminate database mistakes! Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us Copyright 2001-2024, Chessgames Services LLC