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

🏆
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 5 of 8; games 101-125 of 190  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
101. Petrosian vs Bronstein ½-½231949USSR ChampionshipE32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical
102. Flohr vs N Kopilov  ½-½541949USSR ChampionshipA34 English, Symmetrical
103. Geller vs A Sokolsky 0-1721949USSR ChampionshipE26 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch
104. Keres vs Furman 0-1481949USSR ChampionshipC86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
105. Kotov vs Ragozin 1-0381949USSR ChampionshipD43 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
106. Aronin vs Levenfish  1-0351949USSR ChampionshipA25 English
107. Lilienthal vs Boleslavsky  ½-½301949USSR ChampionshipE60 King's Indian Defense
108. V Mikenas vs G Goldberg  1-0651949USSR ChampionshipE22 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann Variation
109. Smyslov vs Taimanov ½-½211949USSR ChampionshipA07 King's Indian Attack
110. V Lyublinsky vs Kholmov  0-1641949USSR ChampionshipB92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation
111. Bronstein vs V Mikenas 1-0271949USSR ChampionshipB03 Alekhine's Defense
112. Taimanov vs Flohr  ½-½321949USSR ChampionshipC77 Ruy Lopez
113. N Kopilov vs Geller 0-1301949USSR ChampionshipE87 King's Indian, Samisch, Orthodox
114. A Sokolsky vs Keres 0-1421949USSR ChampionshipC55 Two Knights Defense
115. V Lyublinsky vs Kotov  0-1411949USSR ChampionshipB84 Sicilian, Scheveningen
116. Levenfish vs Petrosian 0-1381949USSR ChampionshipE68 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Classical Variation, 8.e4
117. Furman vs Lilienthal 1-0361949USSR ChampionshipE49 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Botvinnik System
118. Ragozin vs Smyslov 0-1411949USSR ChampionshipE53 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3
119. Kholmov vs G Goldberg ½-½531949USSR ChampionshipB10 Caro-Kann
120. Boleslavsky vs Aronin 1-0321949USSR ChampionshipB88 Sicilian, Fischer-Sozin Attack
121. G Goldberg vs Bronstein 0-1561949USSR ChampionshipA13 English
122. Flohr vs Ragozin  ½-½281949USSR ChampionshipE33 Nimzo-Indian, Classical
123. Geller vs Taimanov ½-½731949USSR ChampionshipB93 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6.f4
124. Keres vs N Kopilov  ½-½611949USSR ChampionshipB10 Caro-Kann
125. Kotov vs Kholmov  ½-½181949USSR ChampionshipD60 Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense
 page 5 of 8; games 101-125 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!

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:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. 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.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

Blow the Whistle

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!

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC