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🏆 USSR Championship (1967)

  PARTICIPANTS (sorted by highest achieved rating; click on name to see player's games)
Igor Platonov, Yuri Sakharov, Vladas Mikenas, Vitaly Tarasov, Vladimir Zagorovsky, Vladimir Simagin, Mikhail Tal, Boris Gulko, Lev Polugaevsky, Vladimir Tukmakov, Gennady Kuzmin, Mark Taimanov, Vitaly Tseshkovsky, Gennadi Sosonko, Viacheslav Dydyshko, Evgeny Sveshnikov, Lev Alburt, Evgeni Vasiukov, Vladimir Savon, Vladimir Bagirov, Semyon Furman, Elizbar Ubilava, Ratmir Kholmov, Anatoly Lein, Anatoly Lutikov, Mark Tseitlin, Mark Dvoretzky, Alexander Zaitsev, Igor Zaitsev, Bukhuti Gurgenidze, Janis Klovans, Iivo Nei, Valerij Zhuravliov, Yuri Nikolaevsky, Andrey Lukin, Mikhail Shereshevsky, Oleg Chernikov, Valery Zilberstein, Jacob Murey, Eduard Mnatsakanian, Algimantas Butnorius, Alexander Cherepkov, Naum L Levin, Vladimir Doroshkevich, Vladimir Karasev, Roman Pelts, Genrikh Chepukaitis, Valery S Zhidkov, Vladlen Zurakhov, Vladimir N Kozlov, Hillar Karner, Viktor Zheliandinov, Rein Toomas Etruk, Anatoly Volovich, Viacheslav Osnos, Eduard Bukhman, Vladimir Alterman, Georgy Borisenko, Vladimir V Arseniev, Samuel Zhukhovitsky, Evgeny Gik, Valentin Kirilov, Tonu Oim, Lev Belov, Yuri Shilov, Oleg Donchenko, Valery M Bykov, Igor Sakovich, Anatoly Smetanin, Boris Rumiancevas, Oleg Pavlenko, Igor Kalinski, Helmuth Luik, Leonid Slutzky, Yosef Kagan, Reinhardas Barstatis, Alexander Shamis-Pavlov, Alexander Izvozchikov, Mikhail Steinberg, Evgeny Terpugov, Rashid Nezhmetdinov, Valeri Korensky, Yuri M Nikitin, Ilya Mikliaev, Alexander Chistiakov, Vladimir Antoshin, Vladimir Voronov, Alexandr Sinyavsky, Sergey Krasnov, Yuri Gusev, Rudolf Kimelfeld, Yuri Kots, Igor Kopylov, Oleg Moiseev, Vladimir Muratov, V Selezniev, Anatoly Shmit, N P Razvalyaev, Alexander Vaisman, Vanik Zakarian plus 2 more players.

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
USSR Championship (1967)

The 35th USSR Championship was held in Kharkov from December 7-26, 1967, and was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution which brought the Communist Party to power. For such an occasion, it was felt that a return to mass participation was in order, so the tournament was organized as a 13-round Swiss for 130 players.

Of course, there were other reasons. 1967 had been a very busy year for the top Soviet players, with major international tournaments in Leningrad and Moscow as well as the Sousse Interzonal (1967). Many were expected to skip the Championship to rest, so it seemed a good idea to open things up and see what kind of talent was out there.

Quite a few of the top stars did skip the tournament, and were probably not too disappointed. The Swiss System format proved very unpopular with complaints about the pairings starting in the very first round. By the end, several players had dropped out and the general opinion was that the Swiss System might work well enough in bourgeois nations like the United States, but the Soviet Union would henceforth stick to its elitist round robins. Tal summed up matters well by remarking: "The Swiss System is good: we should adopt it again for the one hundred year anniversary of the Revolution!"

Some future stars did make their debuts, such as Lev Alburt, Mark Dvoretsky, Boris Gulko, Gennady Sosonko, Evgeni Sveshnikov, and Rafael Vaganian. However, the co-champions were the experienced players <Mikhail Tal> and <Lev Polugaevsky>. See for yourself:

Kharkov, Soviet Union (Ukraine), 7-26 December 1967

10.0: 1. Lev Polugaevsky 2. Mikhail Tal

9.5: 3. Evgeni Vasiukov 4. Mark Taimanov 5. Igor Platonov

9.0: 6. Yuri Sakharov 7. Vladimir Antoshin

8.5: 8. Valerij Zhuravliov 9. Vladimir Bagirov 10. Semyon Furman 11. Ratmir Kholmov 12. Viktor Zheliandinov 13. Alexander Zaitsev 14. Alexander Izvozchikov 15. Mikhail Steinberg 16. Viacheslav Osnos 17. Vladimir Tukmakov

8.0: 18. Alexander Chistiakov 19. Eduard Bukhman 20. Lev Alburt 21. Vladimir Savon 22. Alexandr Sinyavsky 23. Anatoly Lein 24. Oleg Donchenko 25. Eduard Mnatsakanian 26. Anatoly Volovich

7.5: 27. Anatoly Lutikov 28. Sergey Krasnov 29. Vitaly Tseshkovsky 30. Bukhuti Gurgenidze 31. Naum L Levin 32. Oleg Pavlenko 33. Yuri Shilov 34. Vitaly Tarasov 35. Gennadi Sosonko 36. Mark Tseitlin 37. Alexander Cherepkov 38. Rashid Nezhmetdinov 39. Elizbar Ubilava 40. Gennady Kuzmin

7.0: 41. Vladimir V Arseniev 42. Viacheslav Dydyshko 43. Samuel Zhukhovitsky 44. Georgy Borisenko 45. Yuri Nikolaevsky 46. Vladimir Doroshkevich 47. Vladas Mikenas 48. L Gudim 49. Janis Klovans 50. Jacob Murey 51. Oleg Privorotsky 52. Ilya Mikliaev 53. Iivo Nei 54. Rudolf Kimelfeld 55. Oleg Chernikov 56. Evgeny Sveshnikov 57. Yuri Gusev

6.5: 58. Algimantas Butnorius 59. Aleksander Nikitin 60. Leonid Slutzky 61. Vanik Zakarian 62. Roman Pelts 63. Nikolay (Yury) Popov 64. Igor Zaitsev 65. Mark Dvoretzky 66. Vladlen Zurakhov 67. Rafael Vaganian 68. Dzhemal Beradze 69. Iosif Slepoy 70. Anatoly Shmit

6.0: 71. Valery Zilberstein 72. Igor Belov 73. Yosef Kagan 74. Valeri Korensky 75. Boris Rumiancevas 76. B Sorokin 77. Genrikh Chepukaitis 78. Alexander Shamis-Pavlov 79. Mikhail Shereshevsky 80. Vladimir Bykov 81. Anatoly Kremenietsky 82. Aleksander I Tuzovsky 83. Vladimir Alterman 84. V Voloshin 85. Boris Kalinkin 86. <V. Kozlov>; 87. Khanan Muchnik 88. Igor Sakovich

5.5: 89. Evgeny Gik 90. E Karkmazov 91. E Belokurov 92. Boris Gulko 93. Igor Kalinski 94. Valentin Kirilov 95. Yuri Kots 96. Vladimir Muratov 97. Arkady Polikarpov 98. V Selezniev 99. Alexander Vaisman 100. Vladimir Zagorovsky 101. <N. Razvalyaev>

5.0: 102. Evgeny Terpugov 103. Valery M Bykov 104. Roman Levit 105. Archil Tsereteli 106. <K. Cherskikh>; 107. Vladimir Voronov 108. Hillar Karner 109. Anatoly Smetanin 110. <V. Sazonov>; 111. Tonu Oim 112. Helmuth Luik 113. Robert Seoev

4.5: 114. Neron Valiev 115. Reinhardas Barstatis 116. Andrey Lukin 117. Anatolij Noskov 118. Anatoly Anokhin 119. Vakulenko 120. Rein Toomas Etruk

4.0: 121. <I. Evelnin>; 122. Vladimir Karasev 123. Valentin Sorokin 124. <Ya. Amakov>

3.0: 125. <V. Gureev>

1.5: 126. <M. Varzhepetian>

Did not finish: 127. Valery S Zhidkov (5.0/9); 128. Vladimir Simagin (2.5/4); 129. Oleg Moiseev (2.5/6); 130. Nikolai Kopilov 0.5/5

Crosstable: [rusbase-1]

Original collection: Game Collection: USSR Championship 1967, by User: Phony Benoni.

 page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 71  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. I Kalinski vs I Nei  0-1361967USSR ChampionshipD45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
2. A Lukin vs Tseshkovsky  0-1351967USSR ChampionshipC72 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense, 5.O-O
3. N Levin vs Lutikov  0-1421967USSR ChampionshipD94 Grunfeld
4. Klovans vs Y Nikolaevsky  0-1451967USSR ChampionshipB06 Robatsch
5. Klovans vs A Chistiakov  0-1511967USSR ChampionshipC11 French
6. V Kirilov vs V Korensky  0-1291967USSR ChampionshipA28 English
7. R Kimelfeld vs Furman  0-1441967USSR ChampionshipA36 English
8. V Karasev vs S Zhukhovitsky  0-1371967USSR ChampionshipD75 Neo-Grunfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O c5, 8.dxc5
9. V Karasev vs O Pavlenko  0-1361967USSR ChampionshipC70 Ruy Lopez
10. A Lukin vs V Zheliandinov  0-1421967USSR ChampionshipB80 Sicilian, Scheveningen
11. V Dydyshko vs A Zaitsev  0-1551967USSR ChampionshipD59 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower
12. M Dvoretzky vs Tukmakov 0-1711967USSR ChampionshipB40 Sicilian
13. V Doroshkievich vs A Zaitsev  0-1471967USSR ChampionshipD55 Queen's Gambit Declined
14. O Donchenko vs M Steinberg 0-1961967USSR ChampionshipE41 Nimzo-Indian
15. G Chepukaitis vs V Zhuravliov  0-1601967USSR ChampionshipA06 Reti Opening
16. G Chepukaitis vs Y Nikolaevsky  0-1441967USSR ChampionshipA41 Queen's Pawn Game (with ...d6)
17. A Butnorius vs A Lein  0-1751967USSR ChampionshipD37 Queen's Gambit Declined
18. V Alterman vs V Zagorovsky  0-1351967USSR ChampionshipA07 King's Indian Attack
19. Tseitlin vs R Kimelfeld  0-1411967USSR ChampionshipC62 Ruy Lopez, Old Steinitz Defense
20. J Murey vs Tseshkovsky  0-1131967USSR ChampionshipC78 Ruy Lopez
21. Y M Nikitin vs I A Zaitsev  0-1351967USSR ChampionshipE62 King's Indian, Fianchetto
22. V Zilberstein vs O Chernikov  0-1341967USSR ChampionshipC41 Philidor Defense
23. S Krasnov vs V Doroshkievich  0-1411967USSR ChampionshipA07 King's Indian Attack
24. V Zhuravliov vs V Doroshkievich  0-1341967USSR ChampionshipB97 Sicilian, Najdorf
25. V Zheliandinov vs Klovans  0-1311967USSR ChampionshipA04 Reti Opening
 page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 71  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
Apr-03-15  Howard: Certainly never knew that the 1967 edition was a SWISS event !
Apr-03-15  A.T PhoneHome: The amount of games altogether... Yikes, and so many unkibitzed games! The absence of many top players tells among other possible reasons.

Even then, multiple debutants here! In that regard, well thought by Soviet chess body to give a chance for many promising names. Need to have a look at these games!

Kudos to <Phony Benoni>!

Apr-03-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  Benzol: <Howard> <Certainly never knew that the 1967 edition was a SWISS event !>

Fortunately it was an experiment that was never repeated.

Apr-03-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  WannaBe: 13-round Swiss, Rashid only played in 4? Or 4 games that we have record of?
Apr-03-15  A.T PhoneHome: <WannaBe> Hard to say, depends on when or if he dropped out. I really like your avatar by the way! :P
Apr-03-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  WannaBe: <A. T PhoneHome> thanks! =)
Apr-03-15  A.T PhoneHome: <WannaBe> My name isn't a misspelling of E.T by the way; just a play on my name's initials for your knowledge.

Maybe one day I'll play a sacrifice of my own and sacrifice some for Premium Membership! Until then, I'll try and enjoy myself here.

Apr-04-15  hemy: In the article "USSR Championship (1967)" the name Vladas Ivanovich Mikenas is wrong.

On his personal page the name already changed to Vladas Jonovich Mikenas, as per my advise.

Apr-04-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  alexmagnus: <Fortunately it was an experiment that was never repeated.>

It was. The <last> Soviet championship, in 1991, was a 64-player, 11-round Swiss without tiebreakers (the latter matters, as there eventually were two champions in that year, Minasian and Magerramov).

Apr-05-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  Benzol: <alexmagnus> Thanks for the correction. Yes, I'd forgotten about the last championship.

:)

Jun-21-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  Sally Simpson: I have a pamphlet published in Belgrade in 1968 of this event. Sadly I doubt I can add to add the missing games it only has 136. We have 187.

I checked to see if we could improve on Nezhmetdinov's 4 games but sadly no.

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