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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 4 of 8; games 76-100 of 190  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
76. Kholmov vs Petrosian ½-½251949USSR ChampionshipC02 French, Advance
77. Taimanov vs Ragozin ½-½1141949USSR ChampionshipD31 Queen's Gambit Declined
78. Furman vs Smyslov 1-0551949USSR ChampionshipD85 Grunfeld
79. A Sokolsky vs Kotov 1-0401949USSR ChampionshipB51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky (Rossolimo) Attack
80. N Kopilov vs V Lyublinsky  ½-½431949USSR ChampionshipD46 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
81. Lilienthal vs Bronstein ½-½431949USSR ChampionshipD31 Queen's Gambit Declined
82. Flohr vs Furman  ½-½151949USSR ChampionshipD14 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Exchange Variation
83. Geller vs Boleslavsky 1-0651949USSR ChampionshipD72 Neo-Grunfeld, 5.cd, Main line
84. Keres vs Levenfish 1-0351949USSR ChampionshipC83 Ruy Lopez, Open
85. Kotov vs N Kopilov 1-0391949USSR ChampionshipD02 Queen's Pawn Game
86. Petrosian vs V Mikenas 1-0701949USSR ChampionshipD51 Queen's Gambit Declined
87. Ragozin vs Kholmov ½-½421949USSR ChampionshipD85 Grunfeld
88. Smyslov vs A Sokolsky  ½-½561949USSR ChampionshipC89 Ruy Lopez, Marshall
89. V Lyublinsky vs Taimanov 0-1261949USSR ChampionshipB51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky (Rossolimo) Attack
90. Aronin vs G Goldberg  ½-½431949USSR ChampionshipB51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky (Rossolimo) Attack
91. Bronstein vs Aronin ½-½281949USSR ChampionshipE60 King's Indian Defense
92. A Sokolsky vs Flohr ½-½691949USSR ChampionshipB10 Caro-Kann
93. Furman vs Geller 0-1411949USSR ChampionshipE67 King's Indian, Fianchetto
94. Boleslavsky vs Keres  ½-½431949USSR ChampionshipC91 Ruy Lopez, Closed
95. Taimanov vs Kotov  ½-½171949USSR ChampionshipD30 Queen's Gambit Declined
96. Levenfish vs Lilienthal ½-½401949USSR ChampionshipE53 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3
97. Kholmov vs V Mikenas  ½-½571949USSR ChampionshipD51 Queen's Gambit Declined
98. G Goldberg vs Petrosian 1-0631949USSR ChampionshipA07 King's Indian Attack
99. Ragozin vs V Lyublinsky  ½-½241949USSR ChampionshipC48 Four Knights
100. N Kopilov vs Smyslov  ½-½591949USSR ChampionshipA07 King's Indian Attack
 page 4 of 8; games 76-100 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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