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Leningrad (1934) In 1934, the Soviet Union was still a largely unknown factor in world chess circles. Botvinnik was making some noise, particularly with his repeated wins in the USSR Championship and his drawn match against Flohr (Botvinnik - Flohr Match (1933)). But the strength and depth of the country remained a mystery, until an international tournament was arranged in Leningrad from August 17-September 1, 1934 with outsiders Max Euwe and Hans Kmoch brought in to give the local boys a few tips. The entire group: Vladimir Alatortsev, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vitaly Chekhover, Max Euwe, Ilia Abramovich Kan, Hans Kmoch, Grigory Levenfish, Georgy Lisitsin, Ilya Leontievich Rabinovich, Nikolai Nikolaevich Riumin, Peter Arsenievich Romanovsky, Mikhail M Yudovich Sr. As sometimes happens, the tippers became the tippees. Both Euwe and Kmoch started well, and were tied for first place with Botvinnik and Romanovsky after six rounds. That's when things started to happen. Euwe was unable to win another game for the rest of the tournament, while Kmoch, after one more win, lost his last four in a row. By round nine, Riumin had joined Romanovsky and Botvinnik at the top. Botvinnik took the lead in round 10 with a victory as the two R's drew each other, then held onto it by drawing Riumin in the last round as Romanovsky was unable to win. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 Pts 1 Botvinnik * = = 1 = = 1 1 1 0 = 1 7.5 2 Riumin = * = 1 = 1 0 = = 1 = 1 7.0 3 Romanovsky = = * 0 = = 1 1 = 1 = 1 7.0 4 Rabinovich 0 0 1 * = 1 = = 1 = 1 = 6.5 5 Kan = = = = * 0 1 = = 1 = = 6.0 6 Euwe = 0 = 0 1 * = = = = = 1 5.5 7 Kmoch 0 1 0 = 0 = * 1 0 1 1 0 5.0 8 Yudovich 0 = 0 = = = 0 * 1 = = 1 5.0 9 Alatortsev 0 = = 0 = = 1 0 * = 1 0 4.5 10 Lisitsin 1 0 0 = 0 = 0 = = * = 1 4.5 11 Levenfish = = = 0 = = 0 = 0 = * = 4.0 12 Chekhover 0 0 0 = = 0 1 0 1 0 = * 3.5 Botvinnik's win should not have been a big surprise; he had shown his capabilities already. But having Euwe, fresh from an excellent showing at Zurich (1934), relegated to sixth place with an even score was an eye-opener. These guys would bear watching in the future. Original collection: Game Collection: Leningrad 1934 by User: Phony Benoni.  page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 66  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Kmoch vs N Riumin   1-0 36 1934 Leningrad A90 Dutch 2. V Chekhover vs I Rabinovich   ½-½ 69 1934 Leningrad D60 Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense 3. P Romanovsky vs Lisitsin   1-0 43 1934 Leningrad A06 Reti Opening 4. M Yudovich Sr. vs Levenfish   ½-½ 46 1934 Leningrad B39 Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Breyer Variation 5. Euwe vs I Kan 1-0 35 1934 Leningrad E24 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch 6. Botvinnik vs Alatortsev 1-0 20 1934 Leningrad D55 Queen's Gambit Declined 7. Lisitsin vs Botvinnik 1-0 61 1934 Leningrad A09 Reti Opening 8. Levenfish vs V Chekhover ½-½ 63 1934 Leningrad A34 English, Symmetrical 9. Alatortsev vs Kmoch 1-0 43 1934 Leningrad D63 Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense 10. Euwe vs M Yudovich Sr.   ½-½ 28 1934 Leningrad A90 Dutch 11. I Rabinovich vs P Romanovsky   1-0 54 1934 Leningrad D45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 12. I Kan vs N Riumin   ½-½ 38 1934 Leningrad A53 Old Indian 13. P Romanovsky vs Levenfish ½-½ 35 1934 Leningrad A14 English 14. V Chekhover vs Euwe   0-1 58 1934 Leningrad D14 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Exchange Variation 15. M Yudovich Sr. vs I Kan   ½-½ 25 1934 Leningrad E38 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, 4...c5 16. N Riumin vs Alatortsev   ½-½ 32 1934 Leningrad E19 Queen's Indian, Old Main line, 9.Qxc3 17. Kmoch vs Lisitsin 1-0 54 1934 Leningrad D30 Queen's Gambit Declined 18. M Yudovich Sr. vs V Chekhover   1-0 49 1934 Leningrad A34 English, Symmetrical 19. I Kan vs Alatortsev   ½-½ 41 1934 Leningrad E34 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation 20. Euwe vs P Romanovsky ½-½ 33 1934 Leningrad E22 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann Variation 21. I Rabinovich vs Kmoch ½-½ 31 1934 Leningrad D19 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Dutch 22. Lisitsin vs N Riumin   0-1 71 1934 Leningrad A07 King's Indian Attack 23. P Romanovsky vs M Yudovich Sr. 1-0 21 1934 Leningrad C15 French, Winawer 24. Kmoch vs Levenfish   1-0 36 1934 Leningrad E22 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann Variation 25. Alatortsev vs Lisitsin   ½-½ 77 1934 Leningrad E37 Nimzo-Indian, Classical  page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 66    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   Feb-06-22    FSR: The 'leven fish that Botvinnik faced in this tournament had no chance. 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