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Moscow (1947) The second Mikhail Chigorin Memorial international tournament was held in the winter of 1947 in the Soviet capital of Moscow. Moscow, Soviet Union (Russia), 25 November - 23 December 1947 (1) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pts 1 Botvinnik * 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 11 2 Ragozin 0 * 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 10½ =3 Boleslavsky ½ 1 * ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 10 =3 Smyslov ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 10 5 Kotov ½ ½ ½ 1 * 0 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 9½ =6 Keres 0 0 1 ½ 1 * 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 9 =6 Novotelnov 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 * ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 9 8 Pachman 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * 0 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 8½ 9 Trifunovic ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 8 10 Gligoric ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 7½ 11 Bondarevsky ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 0 1 6½ 12 Kholmov 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 * ½ 1 ½ 1 5½ 13 Kottnauer 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ 5 =14 Plater 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 * ½ ½ 4 =14 Sokolsky 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 4 16 Tsvetkov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 2 Ten of the USSR's best chess masters were pitted against six strong masters from Eastern Europe in what would be one of the strongest post-war tournaments leading up to the 1948 World Championship. Mikhail Botvinnik finished clear first with an impressive 11/15. He was joined by six fellow soviets at the top of the table. Of the foreign masters, only Pachman (Czechoslovakia) and Trifunović (Yugoslavia) managed to score more than 50%, finishing in the middle of the pack. Gligorić (Yugoslavia) finished 10th; Kottnauer (Czechoslovakia) 13th, Plater (Poland) shared 14th; and Tsvetkov (Bulgaria) ended up in 16th and last place. This event was also notable in that it revived a series that had languished for almost half a century. The first Chigorin Memorial international tournament had been held in St. Petersburg (1909), a year after Chigorin's death. [1) [rusbase-1] ; Edward Winter ed., "World Chess Champions" (Pergamon Press 1981), p. 149. Original collection: Game Collection: Moscow 1947, by User: suenteus po 147.  page 1 of 5; games 1-25 of 120  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Ragozin vs Kholmov 1-0 22 1947 Moscow B10 Caro-Kann 2. Smyslov vs Kotov 0-1 51 1947 Moscow A07 King's Indian Attack 3. Boleslavsky vs Sokolsky   1-0 90 1947 Moscow E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical 4. P Trifunovic vs Novotelnov   1-0 32 1947 Moscow E22 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann Variation 5. C Kottnauer vs Gligoric 0-1 33 1947 Moscow A46 Queen's Pawn Game 6. Keres vs K Plater ½-½ 41 1947 Moscow B81 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Keres Attack 7. Pachman vs A Tsvetkov 1-0 37 1947 Moscow E89 King's Indian, Samisch, Orthodox Main line 8. Bondarevsky vs Botvinnik ½-½ 36 1947 Moscow D30 Queen's Gambit Declined 9. Novotelnov vs Bondarevsky ½-½ 88 1947 Moscow E23 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann 10. Smyslov vs Ragozin ½-½ 42 1947 Moscow D71 Neo-Grunfeld 11. K Plater vs P Trifunovic   ½-½ 41 1947 Moscow B45 Sicilian, Taimanov 12. Kotov vs Gligoric 1-0 42 1947 Moscow D58 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) Syst 13. A Tsvetkov vs Keres 0-1 51 1947 Moscow C91 Ruy Lopez, Closed 14. Sokolsky vs Pachman 0-1 72 1947 Moscow D43 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 15. Botvinnik vs C Kottnauer 1-0 60 1947 Moscow D13 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Exchange Variation 16. Kholmov vs Boleslavsky 0-1 30 1947 Moscow A48 King's Indian 17. P Trifunovic vs A Tsvetkov   ½-½ 54 1947 Moscow A15 English 18. Keres vs Sokolsky 1-0 89 1947 Moscow C71 Ruy Lopez 19. Gligoric vs Botvinnik   ½-½ 41 1947 Moscow D95 Grunfeld 20. Pachman vs Kholmov 1-0 31 1947 Moscow D50 Queen's Gambit Declined 21. Ragozin vs Kotov   ½-½ 30 1947 Moscow D63 Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense 22. C Kottnauer vs Novotelnov 0-1 26 1947 Moscow D98 Grunfeld, Russian 23. Bondarevsky vs K Plater 1-0 41 1947 Moscow E06 Catalan, Closed, 5.Nf3 24. Boleslavsky vs Smyslov   ½-½ 33 1947 Moscow C77 Ruy Lopez 25. Novotelnov vs Gligoric 1-0 32 1947 Moscow D74 Neo-Grunfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O  page 1 of 5; games 1-25 of 120    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   Mar-02-18    Saniyat24: Four straight losses in the opening four matches for Ratmir Kholmov...were the players too strong, or was Kholmov not at his best form? Mar-02-18    morfishine: <Saniyat24> Well, Kholmov was "only" 22 years old at this tournament and he didn't earn the GM title for another 13 years. Perhaps, he just wasn't fully developed yet as as world class player Plus, those first 4 opponents were powerful indeed: Ragozin, Boleslavsky, Pachman & Paul Keres! What a formidable lineup to start a tournament with! ***** Mar-02-18    Saniyat24: thanks <morfishine> didn't know that Kholmov was only 22 in 1947, must have been an amazing experience though, facing the calibre of players he faced... Mar-03-18    hemy: In 1946 Ratmir Kholmov moved from Arkhangesk (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkha...) to Grodno, Belarus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grodno). In 1946 he took first place in the Belarus republic, 1st category players, (one bellow master-candidate) tournament. In 1947 he won Soviet Union 1st category tournament in Minsk and later Soviet Union master-candidate tournament in Yaroslavl, before Rashid Gibiatovich Nezhmetdinov, Georgy Bastrikov and Yakov Estrin Invitation to the second Mikhail Chigorin Memorial international (Moscow (1947)) tournament was a real surprise for Kholmov. He was invited to represent the Belarus. It was the 1st time Kholmov played with foreign chess players and 1st time he won against GM (Igor Bondarevsky). 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: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members. 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