The 4th USSR Championship was held in Leningrad from August 11 - September 6, 1925. With some extra incentive provided by the chance that a good finish here could procure an invitation to the great Moscow international tournament to be held in November/December, the following players went into battle:
Efim Bogoljubov,
Fyodor Duz-Khotimirsky,
Sergey von Freymann,
Solomon Gotthilf,
Nikolay Grigoriev,
Alexander Ilyin-Zhenevsky,
Anton Kaspersky,
Arvid Kubbel,
Nikolay Nikolaevich Kutuzov,
Grigory Levenfish,
Vladimir Nenarokov,
Abram Rabinovich,
Ilya Rabinovich,
Peter Romanovsky,
Alexey Selezniev,
Alexander Sergeevich Sergeev,
Veniamin Sozin,
Boris Verlinsky,
Yakov S Vilner, and
Nikolay Zubarev.
Bogoljubov successfully defended his title, but was not as dominant as in the previous year. He started well enough with 12 of 14 to take a two-point lead over Levenfish, who had started with losses in the first two rounds. However, Bogoljubov then lost to Vilner and Verlinsky in successive rounds. This allowed Levenfish to draw within a half-point, but a critical round 17 loss restored Bogoljubov's full point lead, and the champion made sure by winning his remaining games.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1 Bogoljubov * = 1 0 1 = = 1 1 = 0 = 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 14.0
2 Levenfish = * 0 0 1 = 0 = 0 1 1 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 13.0
3 Rabinovich, I 0 1 * 0 0 0 = 1 1 = = 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 + 1 12.5
4 Verlinsky 1 1 1 * = = 1 1 = 1 0 = = 1 0 0 1 0 = 1 12.0
5 Dus Chotimirsky 0 0 1 = * = = 1 1 1 = 0 = = = 0 1 1 1 1 11.5
6 Gotthilf = = 1 = = * 0 = 0 = = 1 1 = = = 1 0 + 1 11.0
7 Ilyin-Zhenevsky = 1 = 0 = 1 * 0 0 = = 1 0 = = 1 1 1 + = 11.0
8 Romanovsky 0 = 0 0 0 = 1 * 1 1 1 1 0 = 1 1 1 = 0 1 11.0
9 Rabinovich, A 0 1 0 = 0 1 1 0 * 1 0 0 0 = 1 1 = 1 = 1 10.0
10 Sergeiev = 0 = 0 0 = = 0 0 * 1 = = = 1 = 1 1 + 1 10.0
11 Vilner 1 0 = 1 = = = 0 1 0 * 0 = = 1 1 0 1 0 = 9.5
12 Kubbel = 0 1 = 1 0 0 0 1 = 1 * 1 = 0 = = = = = 9.5
13 Zubarev 0 = 0 = = 0 1 1 1 = = 0 * = 0 = = 1 = 1 9.5
14 Selezniev = 0 0 0 = = = = = = = = = * = 1 = 1 = = 9.0
15 Grigoriev 0 0 0 1 = = = 0 0 0 0 1 1 = * 0 1 0 + 1 8.0
16 Kaspersky 0 0 0 1 1 = 0 0 0 = 0 = = 0 1 * 0 = + = 7.0
17 Sozin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 1 = = = 0 1 * 1 = 1 6.5
18 Nenarokov 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 = 0 0 0 = 0 0 1 = 0 * 1 = 6.0
19 Freymann 0 0 - = 0 - - 1 = - 1 = = = - - = 0 * - 5.0
20 Kutuzov 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 = = 0 = - = 0 = + * 4.0
With more Soviet players now more familiar with the new hypermodern theories, the general playing level was rising and the competition becoming more rigorous. Romanovsky, a dominant figure in previous tournaments, could only tie for 6th-8th places here. Verlinsky had an adventurous result. He defeated the top three finishers while scoring 7.5 points against the other nine players in the top half of the tournament, but could only score 4.5/10 against those in the bottom half. Had the tournament been restricted to just the top ten players, he would have won by a point and a half.Freymann withdrew from the tournament after twelve rounds; his remaining seven games are indicated as "+" and "-" in the crosstable and round-by-round pairings. Only about 50 games from the tournament are available; those in this collection are indicated by an asterisk (*).
Round 1: Freymann 1/2 A. Rabinovich; Kubbel 1 I. Rabinovich*; Selezniev 1 Kaspersky; Bogolyubov 1/2 Sergeiev*; Nenarokov 1 Grigoriev; Romanovsky 1 Kutuzov*; Zubarev 0 Gotthilf; Sozin 0 Ilyin-Zhenevsky; Levenfish 0 Verlinsky; Dus Chotimirsky 1/2 Vilner
Round 2: A. Rabinovich 0 Vilner; Verlinsky 1/2 Dus Chotimirsky; Ilyin-Zhenevsky 1 Levenfish; Gotthilf 1 Sozin; Kutuzov 0 Zubarev; Grigoriev 0 Romanovsky*; Sergeiev 1 Nenarokov; Kaspersky 0 Bogolyubov; I. Rabinovich 1 Selezniev; Freymann 1/2 Kubbel
Round 3: Kubbel 1 A. Rabinovich*; Selezniev 1/2 Freymann; Bogolyubov 1 I. Rabinovich*; Nenarokov 1/2 Kaspersky; Romanovsky 1 Sergeiev*; Zubarev 0 Grigoriev; Sozin 1 Kutuzov*; Levenfish 1/2 Gotthilf; Dus Chotimirsky 1/2 Ilyin-Zhenevsky; Vilner 1 Verlinsky*
Round 4: A. Rabinovich 1/2 Verlinsky; Ilyin-Zhenevsky 1/2 Vilner; Gotthilf 1/2 Dus Chotimirsky; Kutuzov 0 Levenfish; Grigoriev 1 Sozin*; Sergeiev 1/2 Zubarev; Kaspersky 0 Romanovsky; I. Rabinovich 1 Nenarokov*; Freymann 0 Bogolyubov; Kubbel 1/2 Selezniev
Round 5: Selezniev 1/2 A. Rabinovich; Bogolyubov 1/2 Kubbel*; Nenarokov 1 Freymann; Romanovsky 0 I. Rabinovich; Zubarev 1/2 Kaspersky; Sozin 0 Sergeiev; Levenfish 1 Grigoriev; Dus Chotimirsky 1 Kutuzov; Vilner 1/2 Gotthilf; Verlinsky 1 Ilyin-Zhenevsky
Round 6: A. Rabinovich 1 Ilyin-Zhenevsky*; Gotthilf 1/2 Verlinsky; Kutuzov 1/2 Vilner; Grigoriev 1/2 Dus Chotimirsky; Sergeiev 0 Levenfish; Kaspersky 0 Sozin*; I. Rabinovich 1 Zubarev*; Freymann 1 Romanovsky*; Kubbel 1/2 Nenarokov; Selezniev 1/2 Bogolyubov
Round 7: Bogolyubov 1 A. Rabinovich*; Nenarokov 0 Selezniev*; Romanovsky 1 Kubbel*; Zubarev 1/2 Freymann; Sozin 0 I. Rabinovich; Levenfish 1 Kaspersky; Dus Chotimirsky 1 Sergeiev; Vilner 1 Grigoriev; Verlinsky 1 Kutuzov; Ilyin-Zhenevsky 1 Gotthilf*
Round 8: A. Rabinovich 1 Gotthilf*; Kutuzov 1/2 Ilyin-Zhenevsky; Grigoriev 1 Verlinsky; Sergeiev 1 Vilner*; Kaspersky 1 Dus Chotimirsky; I. Rabinovich 1 Levenfish; Freymann 1/2 Sozin; Kubbel 1 Zubarev; Selezniev 1/2 Romanovsky; Bogolyubov 1 Nenarokov*
Round 9: Nenarokov 0 A. Rabinovich*; Romanovsky 0 Bogolyubov*; Zubarev 1/2 Selezniev; Sozin 1/2 Kubbel*; Levenfish 1 Freymann*; Dus Chotimirsky 1 I. Rabinovich*; Vilner 1 Kaspersky; Verlinsky 1 Sergeiev; Ilyin-Zhenevsky 1/2 Grigoriev; Gotthilf 1 Kutuzov
Round 10: A. Rabinovich 1 Kutuzov; Grigoriev 1/2 Gotthilf; Sergeiev 1/2 Ilyin-Zhenevsky; Kaspersky 1 Verlinsky; I. Rabinovich 1/2 Vilner; Freymann 0 Dus Chotimirsky; Kubbel 0 Levenfish; Selezniev 1/2 Sozin; Bogolyubov 1 Zubarev*; Nenarokov 1/2 Romanovsky*
Round 11: Romanovsky 1 A. Rabinovich; Zubarev 1 Nenarokov; Sozin 0 Bogolyubov; Levenfish 1 Selezniev*; Dus Chotimirsky 0 Kubbel*; Vilner 0 Freymann; Verlinsky 1 I. Rabinovich*; Ilyin-Zhenevsky 1 Kaspersky; Gotthilf 1/2 Sergeiev; Kutuzov 0 Grigoriev
Round 12: A. Rabinovich 1 Grigoriev; Sergeiev 1 Kutuzov; Kaspersky 1/2 Gotthilf; I. Rabinovich 1/2 Ilyin-Zhenevsky; Freymann 1/2 Verlinsky; Kubbel 1 Vilner; Selezniev 1/2 Dus Chotimirsky; Bogolyubov 1/2 Levenfish; Nenarokov 0 Sozin*; Romanovsky 0 Zubarev
Round 13: Zubarev 1 A. Rabinovich*; Sozin 0 Romanovsky*; Levenfish 1 Nenarokov; Dus Chotimirsky 0 Bogolyubov; Vilner 1/2 Selezniev; Verlinsky 1/2 Kubbel; Ilyin-Zhenevsky + Freymann; Gotthilf 1 I. Rabinovich; Kutuzov 1/2 Kaspersky; Grigoriev 0 Sergeiev
Round 14: A. Rabinovich 1 Sergeiev; Kaspersky 1 Grigoriev; I. Rabinovich 1 Kutuzov; Freymann - Gotthilf; Kubbel 0 Ilyin-Zhenevsky; Selezniev 0 Verlinsky; Bogolyubov 0 Vilner*; Nenarokov 0 Dus Chotimirsky; Romanovsky 1/2 Levenfish; Zubarev 1/2 Sozin
Round 15: Sozin 1/2 A. Rabinovich; Levenfish 1/2 Zubarev*; Dus Chotimirsky 1 Romanovsky*; Vilner 1 Nenarokov; Verlinsky 1 Bogolyubov; Ilyin-Zhenevsky 1/2 Selezniev; Gotthilf 1 Kubbel; Kutuzov + Freymann; Grigoriev 0 I. Rabinovich; Sergeiev 1/2 Kaspersky
Round 16: A. Rabinovich 1 Kaspersky; I. Rabinovich 1/2 Sergeiev*; Freymann - Grigoriev; Kubbel 1/2 Kutuzov; Selezniev 1/2 Gotthilf; Bogolyubov 1/2 Ilyin-Zhenevsky; Nenarokov 1 Verlinsky; Romanovsky 1 Vilner*; Zubarev 1/2 Dus Chotimirsky; Sozin 0 Levenfish
Round 17: Levenfish 0 A. Rabinovich*; Dus Chotimirsky 1 Sozin; Vilner 1/2 Zubarev*; Verlinsky 1 Romanovsky*; Ilyin-Zhenevsky 1 Nenarokov; Gotthilf 1/2 Bogolyubov*; Kutuzov 1/2 Selezniev; Grigoriev 1 Kubbel; Sergeiev + Freymann; Kaspersky 0 I. Rabinovich
Round 18: A. Rabinovich 0 I. Rabinovich; Freymann - Kaspersky; Kubbel 1/2 Sergeiev; Selezniev 1/2 Grigoriev; Bogolyubov 1 Kutuzov*; Nenarokov 1 Gotthilf; Romanovsky 1 Ilyin-Zhenevsky*; Zubarev 1/2 Verlinsky; Sozin 1 Vilner*; Levenfish 1 Dus Chotimirsky*
Round 19: Dus Chotimirsky 1 A. Rabinovich; Vilner 0 Levenfish; Verlinsky 1 Sozin*; Ilyin-Zhenevsky 0 Zubarev; Gotthilf 1/2 Romanovsky; Kutuzov 1/2 Nenarokov; Grigoriev 0 Bogolyubov; Sergeiev 1/2 Selezniev; Kaspersky 1/2 Kubbel; I. Rabinovich + Freymann
Original collection: Game Collection: USSR Championship 1925, by User: Phony Benoni.
Kibitzing
