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USSR Championship (1969) The 37th Soviet Chess Championship featured twenty-three of the Soviet Union's strongest grandmasters and masters competing. A number of players qualified from the four Soviet semi-final championships held earlier in the year, and the rest of the field was filled out by invitations sent to the very best of Soviet mastery. Among those invited was Tigran V Petrosian, who had lost his match for the world championship to Boris Spassky just a few months earlier. Petrosian remarked it was a great relief to have been defeated and actually later remarked that his years as world champion were some of the worst and most difficult of his life. As it turned out, being relieved of the world championship made Petrosian more dangerous as a player, as seen here in the largest non-Swiss style Soviet Championship ever held. He finished tied for first with Lev Polugaevsky, each with 14/22. A playoff match of six games was scheduled and held from February 20-28, 1970 in order to determine a sole victor for the zonal standings, and Petrosian defeated Polugaevsky by two points having only played five of the six games. Though Petrosian would never again challenge a match for the world championship, his win here was the third of an eventual four Soviet crowns he would earn over his long and successful career. Moscow, Soviet Union (Russia), 5 September - 12 October 1969 (1) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 Pts =1 Polugaevsky * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 14 =1 Petrosian ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 14 =3 Taimanov ½ ½ * ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 13½ =3 Smyslov ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 13½ =3 Geller ½ ½ 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 13½ 6 Stein ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 13 =7 Balashov ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 0 1 1 1 ½ 12½ =7 Kholmov ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 12½ =7 Platonov 0 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 0 0 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 12½ =10 Gipslis 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 12 =10 Savon ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 12 12 Averkin 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 11½ 13 Zhukhovitsky 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 11 =14 Liberzon ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 10½ =14 Tal 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 0 1 10½ 16 Vasiukov ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1 9½ =17 Zaitsev, I ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 9 =17 Zaitsev, A 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 0 0 ½ * 1 0 ½ 1 0 9 =17 Lutikov ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 * ½ ½ 1 1 9 =17 Gufeld 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ * ½ ½ 1 9 21 Tukmakov ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 7½ 22 Furman 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 1 0 0 0 ½ ½ * 0 7 23 Kupreichik ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 * 6½ 1st place playoff (in 1970): 1 Petrosian 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 3½ 2 Polugaevsky 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1½ This championship was also the Soviet World Chess Championship zonal. The top four players in the championship would qualify for Palma de Mallorca Interzonal (1970). As Petrosian as the ex-world champion had already an automatic place in the candidates' matches his first place did not count, so all the players who shared up to third place inclusive would advance to the interzonal. (1) Bernard Cafferty and Mark Taimanov, The Soviet Championships (Cadogan 1998), pp. 144-149. Original collection: Game Collection: USSR Championship 1969, by User: suenteus po 147.  page 1 of 11; games 1-25 of 258  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Balashov vs Kholmov   ½-½ 48 1969 USSR Championship C98 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin 2. Gipslis vs Averkin   1-0 63 1969 USSR Championship B44 Sicilian 3. Kupreichik vs Lutikov   0-1 39 1969 USSR Championship B04 Alekhine's Defense, Modern 4. Petrosian vs V Liberzon   ½-½ 34 1969 USSR Championship D55 Queen's Gambit Declined 5. Taimanov vs I Platonov 1-0 37 1969 USSR Championship E59 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line 6. Furman vs Polugaevsky 1-0 34 1969 USSR Championship E11 Bogo-Indian Defense 7. Tukmakov vs Smyslov 0-1 41 1969 USSR Championship C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 8. Stein vs I A Zaitsev   ½-½ 48 1969 USSR Championship A35 English, Symmetrical 9. Tal vs S Zhukhovitsky ½-½ 23 1969 USSR Championship C75 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense 10. A Zaitsev vs Gufeld 0-1 69 1969 USSR Championship A07 King's Indian Attack 11. Vasiukov vs Savon   0-1 38 1969 USSR Championship C70 Ruy Lopez 12. Savon vs Balashov   ½-½ 26 1969 USSR Championship D34 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch 13. Geller vs Taimanov 1-0 42 1969 USSR Championship B42 Sicilian, Kan 14. S Zhukhovitsky vs Gipslis   ½-½ 73 1969 USSR Championship A46 Queen's Pawn Game 15. I Platonov vs Kupreichik   1-0 28 1969 USSR Championship B03 Alekhine's Defense 16. Gufeld vs Petrosian 0-1 24 1969 USSR Championship C46 Three Knights 17. Polugaevsky vs Tal 1-0 37 1969 USSR Championship D41 Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Tarrasch 18. V Liberzon vs Stein   ½-½ 20 1969 USSR Championship B61 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Larsen Variation, 7.Qd2 19. Smyslov vs A Zaitsev   ½-½ 34 1969 USSR Championship A14 English 20. Kholmov vs Tukmakov   1-0 49 1969 USSR Championship B40 Sicilian 21. Lutikov vs Vasiukov   ½-½ 48 1969 USSR Championship C78 Ruy Lopez 22. I A Zaitsev vs Furman   1-0 54 1969 USSR Championship C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 23. Balashov vs Lutikov   0-1 65 1969 USSR Championship B15 Caro-Kann 24. Kupreichik vs Geller 0-1 29 1969 USSR Championship C77 Ruy Lopez 25. Gipslis vs Polugaevsky 0-1 71 1969 USSR Championship B53 Sicilian  page 1 of 11; games 1-25 of 258    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing> Dec-17-14    HSOL: Why does it matter when the playoff/tiebreak is decided? If there is a playoff/tiebreak, there usually is one winner. Before the playoff is played, in my opinion, there is NO champion, rather than two or more co-champions. Dec-17-14    Petrosianic: <He wants the record to stand that Petrosian was sole champion and didn't share with nobody.> Well, he was sole champion... After the playoff was held. What really mucks it up is ties that are left totally unbroken. Like 1967. Should we count that as half a title? It would get confusing if someone tied for first in 6 championships (no playoffs in any) and we called him a 3-time champion. (Or even worse, imagine having to call someone a 2 1/2 time champion). But if we don't get into fractions, Polugaevsky did the exact same thing in 67 that he did in 68 and 69. The only difference is in playoffs that happened later and might not have happened at all (if funding had fallen through or some such). The thing is that in those cases the playoffs were different events, with different organizers. If the playoff his held at the tournament site, that's different. Like no one would deny that the Kramnik-Topalov rapids playoff was part of the same event as the Kramnik-Topalov match. But if they hold a closing ceremony for a tournament or match, then any additional playoff is a completely different event. In the US, they've occasionally had something totally weird. A playoff that did NOT break the tie. There were a few years where they had a championship ring or trophy made. Then when there was a tie, they had a playoff to see who got the Ring, but they specifically said that the title itself remained shared even after one guy had won and the other had lost the playoff. Totally weird. Dec-17-14    perfidious: One wonders whether a playoff would have been held if Petrosian had retained his world title in '69, as he refused to play a match with Bronstein to break a tie for the Moscow championship held the previous year. Dec-17-14    Petrosianic: Didn't they have something similar when Karpov and Kasparov shared the Soviet Title in 1988? I'd heard that a playoff was contemplated, but am not sure why it wasn't held. For that matter, I'm not sure why it was held this time. Suenteus said to establish Zonal Standings, but Petrosian was already seeded into the 1971 Candidates, so Polugaevsky would have had the top Interzonal spot with or without a playoff. Playoffs seem to be totally haphazard. In 1948, Bronstein and Kotov shared 1st. No playoff. In 1952, Botvinnik and Taimanov did and they played a match. Neither one was a Zonal year. Then in 1977, they DID have a playoff, but the title remained shared afterwards. That's one thing I like sports like Baseball or Football, that play the same rules (almost) every time, so you can compare one season with another. Look at the headaches they had with Roger Maris from something as simple as going from 154 games to 162. Dec-17-14    Petrosianic: It definitely seems wrong to combine the results from the playoff into the tournament itself. In the actual tournament, Petrosian and Polugavsky both scored +6, to share first. But by going -2 in the playoff, that drops Polugaevsky to only +4 (+7-3=17, according to the crosstable at top). That would put him BEHIND Smyslov, Geller and Taimanov, who all scored +5. Can anyone argue that by losing the playoff, Polugaevsky dropped himself down from 2nd to a tie for 5th? No, but that's what's implied if we combine the two events into one. Dec-18-14    perfidious: Am not familiar with the circumstances behind the '88 result, only that there was no playoff. Both those titans had plenty of juice in their respective corners if they had no desire to pursue a playoff. Am a bit surprised that <posuenteus> stated thus, as it is obvious that Petrosian was seeded in to the next cycle. Dec-18-14    suenteus po 147: The introduction I wrote was the result of sources I consulted putting the collection together. I've since lost all my sources so I can't tell you now where I got it from, only that what I've written is what I read. May-02-15    m.okun: Gold era of the Soviet chess! May-02-15    kia0708: Polugaevsky was Nr 2 in Russia !!! wow, what a player May-02-15    m.okun: More likely, "small Leva" always played a supporting role. Dec-06-15    Zonszein: I think that in 1988 there were a lot of discussions about whether to play a match of four games. But in the end there was no agreement. Maybe neither Karpov nor Kasparov really wanted to play Dec-25-17    ughaibu: What was the story with Tal, here? Dec-25-17    ZonszeinP: Life and games of M.Tal by himself is a very good book. I'd suggest you to read it if you haven't Perhaps you have Dec-25-17    ughaibu: I haven't, does it talk about this tournament? Dec-25-17    ZonszeinP: I have it somewhere. I'll read it again and tell you later... What I do remember is that he mentions more than once the troubles with his kidneys and the operations he went through during that decade Dec-25-17    ughaibu: <I'll read it again and tell you later... > Thanks. <What I do remember is that he mentions more than once the troubles with his kidneys and the operations he went through during that decade> I have a memory of someone saying that he had a kidney removed in 1969, and that this was followed by a dramatic improvement in his results. But I also have a memory of these championships being played in December. Dec-25-17    ZonszeinP: I found it! Page 350: "I was then taken to Moscow, and the day for the operation was named. Then I found out that for six to eight weeks after it I would be confined to bed. Meanwhile the Championship of the Soviet Union would have started......and I decided to put off the operation until later. Nevertheless, in my condition it proved quite impossible to play...." etc etc M.Tal . Life and Games Everyman Chess Dec-25-17    ughaibu: Great, thanks. Dec-25-17    perfidious: <Petrosianic....It seems to be a tradition of sorts. You lose the world title, then run right out and win the Soviet title to prove that you've still got it. Spassky did the same thing in 1973.> One wonders whether he would have played at all, had all the top players not been compelled to in the aftermath of what the Soviet bureaucracy regarded as a catastrophe on Spassky's watch the year before at Reykjavik. Dec-25-17    Petrosianic: Maybe not. But forced to play or not, it looks like Spassky went into the 1973 Championship to prove something, and did. Incidentally, that's the ONLY Soviet Championship Spassky played in after losing the title (he'd played 10 of them before becoming champion). Petrosian also played in 10 Soviet Championships before becoming champion, but played 6 as an ex-champion. Dec-25-17    perfidious: Spassky, of course, emigrated in 1976, prior to which he played one tournament in 1974 (along with his loss to Karpov in the Candidates semifinal) and only two in '75. Dec-25-17    Petrosianic: He kept his Soviet Citizenship for a while after he emigrated (although you wouldn't expect him to play in a Soviet Championship then). But he didn't play in the 1974, or 1975 championships (1976 started in November), so it's not clear how long or how strictly they forced top players to play. May-21-18    ZonszeinP: Hello, Can a comment get deleted? (I mean, by someone other then the author) I can't find one of my old comments Don't know where or who to ask It's very odd Jun-17-21    Benzol: A great shame about what happened to Platonov later considering he defeated players like Smyslov and Geller in this event. Chess lost a real artist when he was murdered. Oct-14-21    kingscrusher: What an amazing performance by Petrosian - not a single game loss. Solid style resulting in solid performance. search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing> 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. Nothing in violation of United States law. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members. No trolling. 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. 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