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USSR Championship (1972) The 40th Soviet Chess Championship was a category XI event played in the city of Baku from November 16th to December 19th, 1972. Nineteen of the USSR's best masters and grandmasters qualified for the round robin tournament, which also counted as a zonal event for the world championship cycle, from the four Soviet semi-finals held earlier in the year. The qualifiers were (with ELO at time of championship): Semyon Furman (2520), Evgeni Vasiukov (2575), Mikhail Mukhin (2420), and Ratmir Kholmov (2550) qualified from Uzhgorod; Nukhim Rashkovsky (2430), Eduard Gufeld (2525), Anatoly Lein (2530), Yuri Razuvaev (2490), and Karen Grigorian (2470) qualified from Cheliabinsk; Valery Zhidkov (2490), Roman Dzindzichashvili (2500), Leonid Shamkovich (2535), Yuri Balashov (2560), and Vitaly Tseshkovsky qualified from Kaliningrad; and Lev Alburt (2450), Gennadi Kuzmin (2520), Valery Zilberstein (2445), Albert Kapengut (2485), and Vladimir Tukmakov (2560) qualified from Odessa. Tseshkovsky was unable to attend so he was replaced with Vladimir Bagirov (2515). The field was completed by the attendance of David Bronstein (2585) and Mikhail Tal (2625), both previous Soviet champions, and by the attendance of last year's Soviet champion Vladimir Savon (2595). Although not as strong as some of the top championships in the past, Tal dominated with his usual flair, finishing undefeated and clear first with 15/21, two points ahead of sole second place, Tukmakov. This Soviet crown was Tal's fourth of an eventual six he would win in his longer career as one of the world's very best chess players. Baku, Soviet Union (Azerbaijan), 16 November - 19 December 1972 (1) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 Pts 1 Tal * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 15 2 Tukmakov ½ * ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 13 =3 Kuzmin ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 12½ =3 Savon 0 1 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 12½ =3 Mukhin 0 ½ 0 ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 12½ =6 Vasiukov ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 * 1 1 ½ 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 11½ =6 Balashov 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 * 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 11½ =8 Bagirov ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 0 11 =8 Furman 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 11 =10 Kholmov ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 * 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 10½ =10 Lein ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 0 * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 10½ 12 Razuvaev ½ 0 1 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 10 =13 Kapengut ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ * ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 9½ =13 Dzindzichashvili ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * 1 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 9½ =13 Shamkovich 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 0 0 * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 9½ =13 Bronstein 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 9½ =17 Gufeld ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 9 =17 Grigorian ½ 0 0 1 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 0 * 0 ½ ½ 1 9 =17 Zilberstein 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 * ½ 0 0 9 =17 Rashkovsky ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 1 9 21 Zhidkov 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 * ½ 8½ 22 Alburt 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 1 0 ½ * 7 Third and fourth place playoff (in 1973, Interzonal qualification): =1 Kuzmin ** ½½ ½½ 2 =1 Savon ½½ ** 01 2 =1 Mukhin ½½ 10 ** 2 (1) Bernard Cafferty and Mark Taimanov, The Soviet Championships (Cadogan 1998), pp. 157-159. Original collection: Game Collection: USSR Championship 1972, by User: suenteus po 147.  page 1 of 10; games 1-25 of 237  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Alburt vs A Kapengut   ½-½ 51 1972 USSR Championship A45 Queen's Pawn Game 2. Bagirov vs N Rashkovsky   1-0 74 1972 USSR Championship A56 Benoni Defense 3. Balashov vs Furman   ½-½ 21 1972 USSR Championship E17 Queen's Indian 4. Savon vs Bronstein   ½-½ 14 1972 USSR Championship C71 Ruy Lopez 5. Dzindzichashvili vs V S Zhidkov   1-0 48 1972 USSR Championship A70 Benoni, Classical with 7.Nf3 6. Razuvaev vs Shamkovich   ½-½ 29 1972 USSR Championship B89 Sicilian 7. Tal vs G Kuzmin   ½-½ 36 1972 USSR Championship C78 Ruy Lopez 8. K Grigorian vs A Lein   ½-½ 42 1972 USSR Championship A06 Reti Opening 9. V Zilberstein vs Vasiukov   ½-½ 23 1972 USSR Championship A32 English, Symmetrical Variation 10. Gufeld vs Kholmov   ½-½ 46 1972 USSR Championship C95 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer 11. M Mukhin vs Tukmakov   ½-½ 33 1972 USSR Championship E63 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Panno Variation 12. Kholmov vs Alburt ½-½ 42 1972 USSR Championship B02 Alekhine's Defense 13. Bagirov vs K Grigorian   ½-½ 41 1972 USSR Championship D91 Grunfeld, 5.Bg5 14. Tukmakov vs Balashov ½-½ 80 1972 USSR Championship D34 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch 15. Bronstein vs Razuvaev   ½-½ 24 1972 USSR Championship B17 Caro-Kann, Steinitz Variation 16. Vasiukov vs Dzindzichashvili 1-0 62 1972 USSR Championship B81 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Keres Attack 17. Shamkovich vs M Mukhin   0-1 34 1972 USSR Championship D39 Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin, Vienna Variation 18. A Lein vs Tal   ½-½ 21 1972 USSR Championship B08 Pirc, Classical 19. N Rashkovsky vs Furman   ½-½ 18 1972 USSR Championship A04 Reti Opening 20. V S Zhidkov vs Savon   ½-½ 13 1972 USSR Championship B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky (Rossolimo) Attack 21. A Kapengut vs V Zilberstein 0-1 40 1972 USSR Championship B97 Sicilian, Najdorf 22. G Kuzmin vs Gufeld   ½-½ 60 1972 USSR Championship E90 King's Indian 23. Alburt vs G Kuzmin   ½-½ 89 1972 USSR Championship A28 English 24. Tal vs Bagirov   ½-½ 43 1972 USSR Championship A16 English 25. Balashov vs Shamkovich   ½-½ 15 1972 USSR Championship E41 Nimzo-Indian  page 1 of 10; games 1-25 of 237    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing> Apr-21-13    perfidious: Even after the playoff, none of the participants could catch Tal! Apr-21-13    dx9293: <GrahamClayton> This is not correct. The USSR Championships long had arduous qualifications. Besides, Fischer became Champion on September 1st. As it says here, the tournament began November 16, not long enough in advance to change the qualification process. In the strongest USSR Championship, the 41st in 1973, all the top players were presumably asked to play (nicely, of course...). Spassky won. I can only imagine what pressure he was under after the Reykjavik match. Apr-21-13    perfidious: <dx9293....In the strongest USSR Championship, the 41st in 1973, all the top players were presumably asked to play....> If you want to call it that: USSR Championship (1973) Apr-21-13    Benzol: Looking at Game Collection: USSR Championship Tournament Index deciding which was the strongest one is like trying to fight your corner for the best player of all time. Some were stronger than others but the best of the best, well ... Apr-21-13    dx9293: <perfidious> I'm not surprised. That's why I said "(nicely, of course...)." Apr-22-13    perfidious: <dx9293>: At the time, a Soviet magazine (forget which) published a piece which was, to put it mildly, critical of the state of top-level chess in the country. Some of <suenteus>' information on the '73 page was new to me, though not at all surprising, really. May-24-14    whiteshark: I wonder which two players (Kuzmin, Savon or Mukhin) qualified for the Interzonal (which one?)? TIA May-24-14    plang: I am not familiar with Mukhin but if he had played in an Interzonal I would recognized the name. May-24-14    whiteshark: Thanks <plang>. You are right. Savon played Petropolis Interzonal (1973) and Kuzmin played Leningrad Interzonal (1973) May-24-14    whiteshark: ... although I still wonder about the <eligibility/selection criteria>. Aug-22-15    perfidious: <dx9293: <GrahamClayton> This is not correct. The USSR Championships long had arduous qualifications....> That they did. With all the world title contenders who often took part in Soviet finals, it should be noted that it was no mean feat for players such as Shamkovich and Lein to repeatedly qualify. Feb-13-16    morfishine: Thanks for the explanation on 21 vs 25 games. Even "just" 21 games seems like an awfully long ordeal Feb-13-16    plang: The good old days when 8 player single round robins were considered unmanly Apr-24-16    perfidious: <plang> Not to mention your six-player DRRs which also keep down the need to dish out as many appearance fees. Apr-24-16    HeMateMe: Lev Alburt finished at the bottem of this event, with 3 wins and 10 losses. But, he recovered enough to win or tie the USA championship 3 times. I guess our depth wasn't the same as in the old USSR. Apr-24-16    Howard: But bear in mind that Alburt's first US championship title wasn't until 12 years later, in 1984. He was only 27 in 1972---thus, his play certainly would have been better 12 years later. Not only that, his 1990 title was somewhat of a fluke---that was the first time the tournament was held in a lottery-style elimination format. In fact...the following year, in 1991, Alburt was knocked out in the very first round--by Dlugy. Apr-24-16    HeMateMe: do you really think that 39 year old chess players are better than 27 year olds? Dec-26-18    Open Defence: Does anyone know why Petrosian and Taimanov were not in this tournament? Dec-26-18    TheFocus: I don't know about Taimanov, but Petrosian and Karpov were taking part, and tying for first in the San Antonio tournament (November 19-December 5). Keres also took part. Dec-26-18    Howard: Keep in mind that many of the Soviet Union's leading players regularly passed up the annual Soviet championship, with the rather well-known exception of the 1973 edition. Polugavesky and Korchnoi were two other notable absences from this event. Dec-26-18    perfidious: This event was a world title qualifier; Petrosian and Taimanov were seeded into the 1973 Interzonals by virtue of being candidates in the previous cycle and would therefore have been playing hors concours. Not sure why Polugaevsky was absent, but Korchnoi was also seeded in as an Interzonal participant (lost the semifinal to Petrosian in '71). Polugaevsky, of course, became a candidate at Petropolis 1973, for the first time. Perhaps it was some internal manoeuvring by the Soviet chess bureaucracy. Dec-26-18    HeMateMe: nice to see Tal playing so well a decade after losing the title, with 9 wins and 0 losses. A 21 round event and Tal with zero losses! Hard to fathom. Dec-29-18    Open Defence: Thanks all Oct-28-20    login: Some were 'busy' reshooting 'Гроссмейстер' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1P... The film stars 'grand master' cameo appearances of Mikhail Tal, Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian, Yuri Averbakh, Mark Taimanov and Viktor Korchnoi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand... Oct-28-20    beenthere240: Fascinating -- who will win the 2020 US Championship? CG doesn't care. 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. 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