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The 6th USSR Championship was held in Odessa from September 2-20, 1929, and was weird. The site was strange enough, with the event being held outside Moscow or Leningrad for the first time. And the set-up was different as well. First, 36 players completed in four quarterfinal sections, with the top three in each section advancing into two six-player semifinals. The top two from each semi section were then to play a double round final to determine the champion. However, the event was plagued by an accelerated schedule requiring three rounds every two days. Botvinnik later blamed the resulting fatigue and bad nutrition for his failure to qualify for the final. In addition, three of the favorites--defending champions Bohatirchuk and Romanovsky, plus Levenfish--did not participate. It seems they made "unacceptable financial demands", seeking compensation for their expenses. And maybe the decision of Those At The Top to abolish prizes had something to do with it. The outcome was a unpredictable free-for-all with surprising results, as many new players were determined to upset the established order. It made for an exciting tournament, but not one which was considered a representative championship. By the next championship in 1931, a system had been set up with preliminary nationwide qualifying tournaments, and the experiment of 1929 was not repeated. I'm going to take this one section at a time, OK? As usual, many games are missing; those in the collection will be indicated by an asterisk (*) in the round-by-round pairings. Quarterfinal 1: A S Bernshteyn Alexander Ilyin-Zhenevsky Vasily Panov Yakov Rokhlin
Vladislav Silich
Nikolay Sorokin
Veniamin Sozin
Konstantin Vygodchikov
Yakov S Vilner. Round 1: Sozin-Bye; Rokhlin 1 Vilner; Bernstein 1 Vigodchikov;
Silic 1 Ilyin-Zhenevsky; Panov 0 Sorokin*
Round 2: Bye-Sorokin; Ilyin-Zhenevsky 1/2 Panov; Vigodchikov 1/2 Silic; Vilner 0 Bernstein; Sozin 1 Rokhlin Round 3: Rokhlin-Bye; Bernstein 0 Sozin*; Silic 0 Vilner; Panov 1/2 Vigodchikov; Sorokin 1/2 Ilyin-Zhenevsky Round 4: Bye-Ilyin-Zhenevsky; Vigodchikov 1/2 Sorokin; Vilner 0 Panov; Sozin 0 Silic; Rokhlin 1 Bernstein Round 5: Bernstein-Bye; Silic 0 Rokhlin; Panov 1/2 Sozin; Sorokin 0 Vilner*; Ilyin-Zhenevsky 1/2 Vigodchikov Round 6: Bye-Vigodchikov; Vilner 1/2 Ilyin-Zhenevsky; Sozin 1/2 Sorokin; Rokhlin 1/2 Panov; Bernstein 0 Silic Round 7: Silic-Bye; Panov 1 Bernstein*; Sorokin 1/2 Rokhlin; Ilyin-Zhenevsky 1 Sozin; Vigodchikov 1 Vilner Round 8: Bye-Vilner; Sozin 0 Vigodchikov; Rokhlin 1/2 Ilyin-Zhenevsky; Bernstein 1 Sorokin*; Silic 1 Panov Round 9: Panov-Bye; Sorokin 1/2 Silic; Ilyin-Zhenevsky 1 Bernstein*; Vigodchikov 1/2 Rokhlin; Vilner 1/2 Sozin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Pts
1 Rokhlin * 1 = = = = 0 1 1 5.0
2 Silic 0 * = 1 1 = 1 0 1 5.0
3 Vigodchikov = = * = = = 1 1 0 4.5
4 Ilyin-Zhenevsky = 0 = * = = 1 = 1 4.5
5 Panov = 0 = = * 0 = 1 1 4.0
6 Sorokin = = = = 1 * = 0 0 3.5
7 Sozin 1 0 0 0 = = * = 1 3.5
8 Vilner 0 1 0 = 0 1 = * 0 3.0
9 Bernstein 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 * 3.0
Three surprising qualifiers here. Ilyin-Zhenevsky lost out on tiebreaks thanks to this fragment from <Silich - Rokhlin>, with White to play:
click for larger view
Now 37.Qe4+! wins, but the game finished <37.Be4+?? Qf5!!> and black forces mate!
Had Rokhlin lost this game, Ilyin-Zhenevsky would have made the semifinals. A proposal was made to admit Ilyin-Zhenevsky to the semis anyway, but was shot down by the 18-year-old Botvinnik who insisted that rules were rules. Quarterfinal 2: Mikhail Botvinnik Sergey Nikolaevich von Freymann Sergei Alexandrovich Mudrev
Vladimir Nenarokov Nikolay Pavlov-Pianov
Abram Borisovich Poliak
Viacheslav Ragozin
Vsevolod Rauzer
Nikolai Riumin. Round 1: Pavlov Pianov-Bye; Poliak 1 Nenarokov*; Freymann 0 Botvinnik*; Rauzer 1 Ragozin; Mudrov 0 Riumin Round 2: Bye-Riumin; Ragozin 1/2 Mudrov;; Botvinnik 1/2 Rauzer*; Nenarokov 0 Freymann*; Pavlov Pianov 1/2 Poliak* Round 3: Poliak-Bye; Freymann 1 Pavlov Pianov*; Rauzer 1 Nenarokov; Mudrov 0 Botvinnik*; Riumin 1 Ragozin Round 4: Bye-Ragozin; Botvinnik Riumin*; Nenarokov 1 Mudrov; Pavlov Pianov 1/2 Rauzer*; Poliak 0 Freymann Round 5: Freymann-Bye; Rauzer 0 Poliak*; Mudrov 1 Pavlov Pianov*; Riumin 1 Nenarokov; Ragozin 0 Botvinnik* Round 6: Bye-Botvinnik; Nenarokov 1/2 Ragozin; Pavlov Pianov 0 Riumin; Poliak 1 Mudrov; Freymann 1/2 Rauzer Round 7: Rauzer-Bye; Mudrov 0 Freymann*; Riumin 0 Poliak*; Ragozin 1 Pavlov Pianov; Botvinnik 1/2 Nenarokov* Round 8: Bye-Nenarokov; Pavlov Pianov 0 Botvinnik*; Poliak 1 Ragozin; Freymann 1 Riumin; Rauzer 1 Mudrov Round 9: Mudrov-Bye; Riumin 0 Rauzer*; Ragozin 0 Freymann; Botvinnik 1 Poliak*; Nenarokov 1 Pavlov Pianov 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Pts
1 Botvinnik * 1 = 1 1 = 1 1 1 7.0
2 Freymann 0 * = 1 1 1 1 1 1 6.5
3 Rauzer = = * 0 1 1 1 1 = 5.5
4 Poliak 0 0 1 * 1 1 1 1 = 5.5
5 Riumin 0 0 0 0 * 1 1 1 1 4.0
6 Nenarokov = 0 0 0 0 * = 1 1 3.0
7 Ragozin 0 0 0 0 0 = * = 1 2.0
8 Mudrov 0 0 0 0 0 0 = * 1 1.5
9 Pavlov Pianov 0 0 = = 0 0 0 0 * 1.0
Before the last round, Botvinnik had clinched a spot in the semifinals; Poliak, his opponent, needed just a draw to advance. Botvinnik played hard and won the game, leaving Poliak out of the semis on tiebreaks. Freymann's qualification was not a surprise, but the experienced players Nenarokov and Pavlov Pianov were never in it.Quarterfinal 3: Viktor Goglidze
Dmitry Dmitrievich Grigorenko
Ilia Abramovich Kan
Mikhail Andreevich Makogonov Abram Model
Grigory Ravinsky
Nikolay Nikolaevich Rudnev
Boris Verlinsky
Nikolay Zubarev. Round 1: Model-Bye; Rudnev 1/2 M. Makogonov; Zubarev 1/2 Kan; Goglidze 1/2 Verlinsky; Grigorenko 0 Ravinsky Round 2: Bye-Ravinsky; Verlinsky 1/2 Grigorenko; Kan 1 Goglidze; M. Makogonov 1/2 Zubarev; Model 1 Rudnev* Round 3: Rudnev-Bye; Zubarev 1 Model; Goglidze 1/2 M. Makogonov; Grigorenko 1/2 Kan; Ravinsky 0 Verlinsky Round 4: Bye-Verlinsky; Kan 1 Ravinsky*; M. Makogonov 1 Grigorenko; Model 0 Goglidze*; Rudnev 0 Zubarev Round 5: Zubarev-Bye; Goglidze 1/2 Rudnev; Grigorenko 1/2 Model; Ravinsky M. Makogonov; Verlinsky 0 Kan* Round 6: Bye-Kan; M. Makogonov 0 Verlinsky; Model 1/2 Ravinsky; Rudnev 1 Grigorenko; Zubarev 1 Goglidze Round 7: Goglidze-Bye; Grigorenko 1/2 Zubarev; Ravinsky 0 Rudnev; Verlinsky 1/2 Model*; Kan 1/2 M. Makogonov Round 8: Bye-M. Makogonov; Model 0 Kan*; Rudnev 0 Verlinsky; Zubarev 0 Ravinsky*; Goglidze 1/2 Grigorenko Round 9: Grigorenko-Bye; Ravinsky 0 Goglidze; Verlinsky 1 Zubarev; Kan 1 Rudnev; M. Makogonov 1 Model* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Pts
1 Kan * 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 6.5
2 Verlinsky 0 * 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 5.5
3 M Makogonov ½ 0 * ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 5.5
4 Zubarev ½ 0 ½ * 1 1 ½ 1 0 4.5
5 Goglidze 0 ½ 0 0 * ½ ½ 1 1 3.5
6 Rudnev 0 0 ½ 0 ½ * 1 0 1 3.0
7 Grigorenko ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 * ½ 0 2.5
8 Model 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ * ½ 2.5
9 Ravinsky 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 ½ * 2.5
This started as a three-way battle among Kan, Makogonov, and Zubarev, but a late charge by Verlinsky put him into the semifinals. Model, who had done so well in 1927, absolutely collapsed at the end.Quarterfinal 4: Solomon Gotthilf
Nikolay Grigoriev
Pyotr Izmailov
Vladimir Grigorevich Kirillov
Vladimir Makogonov
Solomon K Rozental
Alexey Selezniev
Solomon Moiseevich Slonim
Vladimir Borisovich Yuryev. Round 1: Selezniev-Bye; Kirillov 1 Gottgilf; Grigoriev 1 Rozental; Slonim 1 Yuriev; Izmailov 1 V. Makogonov Round 2: Bye-V. Makogonov; Yuriev 0 Izmailov; Rozental 1 Slonim; Gotthilf 1/2 Grigoriev; Selezniev 1 Kirillov Round 3: Kirillov-Bye; Grigoriev 1/2 Selezniev; Slonim 1 Gotthilf; Izmailov 1/2 Rozental; V. Makogonov 1 Yuriev Round 4: Bye-Yuriev; Rozental 1 V. Makogonov; Gotthilf 1 Izmailov; Selezniev 1/2 Slonim; Kirillov 1 Grigoriev* Round 5: Grigoriev-Bye; Slonim 0 Kirillov; Izmailov 1 Selezniev; V. Makogonov 1 Gotthilf; Yuriev 1/2 Rozental Round 6: Bye-Rozental; Gotthilf 1/2 Yuriev; Selezniev 0 V. Makogonov; Kirillov 0 Izmailov; Grigoriev 1 Slonim Round 7: Slonim-Bye; Izmailov 0 Grigoriev; V. Makogonov 1 Kirillov; Yuriev 1/2 Selezniev; Rozental 1/2 Gotthilf Round 8: Bye-Gotthilf; Selezniev 0 Rozental; Kirillov 1 Yuriev; 9 Grigoriev 1/2 V. Makogonov; Slonim 1/2 Izmailov Round 9: Izmailov-Bye; V. Makogonov 1 Slonim; Yuriev 0 Grigoriev; Rozental 0 Kirillov; Gotthilf 1/2 Selezniev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Pts
1 Grigoriev * = 1 0 1 = = 1 1 5.5
2 V Makogonov = * 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 5.5
3 Izmailov 0 1 * 1 = 0 1 = 1 5.0
4 Kirillov 1 0 0 * 1 1 0 1 1 5.0
5 Rozental 0 1 = 0 * = 1 1 = 4.5
6 Gotthilf = 0 1 0 = * = 0 = 3.0
7 Selezniev = 0 0 1 0 = * = = 3.0
8 Slonim 0 0 = 0 0 1 = * 1 3.0
9 Yuriev 0 0 0 0 = = = 0 * 1.5
An exciting and hard-fought section, with the qualifiers not decided until the last moment. Unfortunately, only only one complete game score has survived, but we do have a fragment from a crucial game featuring the ever-popular dancing rook:
click for larger view is from <Izmailov-Grigoriev>, with White needing to get out of check. Obviously, he must go to a dark square, but his choice of 1.Ke3 led to 1...Re2+! winning on the spot. But then, none of the other moves saves White. 1.Kg3 Rg2+!; 1.Kg1 Rg2+! 2.Kh1 Rg4 3.Nf3 e4; and, prettiest of all, 1.Ke1 Re2+! 2.Kd1 Bg4 3.Qb6 (where else?) Ra7!!, and black wins. Semifinals
It was impossible to construct round-by-round pairings for these sections, so only crosstables will be presented. An asterisk (*) following the result indicates the game is in this collection. Semifinal 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 Pts
1 Izmailov X = = 1* 1 = 3.5
2 Kan = X =* 1* = 1* 3.5
3 Vigodchikov = =* X = = =* 2.5
4 Botvinnik 0* 0* =* X 1 1* 2.5
5 V Makogonov 0 = = 0 X = 1.5
6 Silic = 0* = 0* = X 1.5
Not the most inspired of play here, with 9 of the 15 games being drawn and Vigodchikov sweeping the field. Botvinnik attributed his failure to fatigue, and looking at his two losses one can well believe that. Both qualifiers were big surprises, making their debuts on the national stage.Semifinal II
1 2 3 4 5 6 Pts
1 Freymann X 1 0 1* 1* 1 4.0
2 Verlinsky 0 X 1* 1* 1* 1 4.0
3 Rauzer 1 0* X 0* 1* 1* 3.0
4 M Makogonov 0* 0* 1* X 0* = 1.5
5 Grigoriev 0* 0* 0* 1* X = 1.5
6 Rokhlin 0 0 0* = = X 1.0
This was considerably harder fought than the other semifinal, with only two draws in fifteen games. Experience paid off here, both Freymann and Verlinsky being veterans on the championship stage. Finals
1 2 3 Pts
1 Verlinsky XX 1*1 1*= 3.5
2 Freymann 0*0 XX 1*1 2.0
3 Kan 0*= 0*0 XX 0.5
Izmailov did not play in the finals, and the reason remains murky. Officially, he had to leave to take his final exams at university, and there were other contemporary reports that he was ill or physically exhausted. However, many years later, his son stated Izmailov had revealed to his wife that he was fit and ready to continue, but was "forced" to leave.At any rate, this should not detract from Verlinsky's dominating performance in the finals. Original collection: Game Collection: USSR Championship 1929, by User: Phony Benoni.
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Kibitzing
