David Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess player. Awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, he narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was one of the world's strongest players from the mid-1940s into the mid-1970s, and was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics. He was also a renowned chess writer; his book Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953 is widely considered one of the greatest chess books ever written.
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist and was a pioneer in computer chess.
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, who was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions. Smyslov twice tied for first place at the USSR Chess Championships, and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won is an all-time record. In five European Team Championships, Smyslov won ten gold medals.
The USSR Chess Championship was played from 1921 to 1991. Organized by the USSR Chess Federation, it was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners. It was held as a round-robin tournament with the exception of the 35th and 58th championships, which were of the Swiss system.
Paul Keres was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five occasions. As Estonia was repeatedly invaded and occupied during World War II, Keres was forced by the circumstances to represent the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany (1941–44) in international tournaments.
Leonid Zakharovich Stein was a Soviet chess Grandmaster from Ukraine. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s, and was among the world's top ten players during that era.
Igor Zakharovich Bondarevsky was a Soviet Russian chess player, trainer, and chess author. He held the title of Grandmaster in both over-the-board and correspondence chess. Bondarevsky shared the 1940 Soviet title, and later coached World Champion Boris Spassky.
Peter Arsenievich Romanovsky was a Russian and Soviet chess player and author. He won the Soviet Championship in 1923 and, jointly, 1927.
Ilya Leontievich Rabinovich was a Russian and later Soviet chess player, among the best in his country for three decades, from 1910 to 1940. His best result was a shared first place in the 9th Soviet Championship of 1934-35. He was also a chess writer.
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi was a Soviet and Swiss chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He is considered one of the strongest players never to have become World Chess Champion.
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and norms. Once awarded, titles are held for life except in cases of fraud or cheating. Open titles may be earned by all players, while women's titles are restricted to female players. Many strong female players hold both open and women's titles. FIDE also awards titles for arbiters, organizers and trainers. Titles for correspondence chess, chess problem composition and chess problem solving are no longer administered by FIDE.
The 1924 USSR Chess Championship was the third edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 23 August to 15 September in Moscow. The tournament was won by Efim Bogoljubow.
The 1925 USSR Chess Championship was the fourth edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 11 August to 6 September in Leningrad. The tournament was won by Efim Bogoljubow.
The 1927 USSR Chess Championship was the fifth edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 26 September to 25 October in Moscow. Fedir Bohatyrchuk and Peter Romanovsky were declared champions, since a tie-break match cannot be scheduled. An indication of the enhanced prestige of chess ins Soviet Union was the championship venue, the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions, one of the most eminent locations in the country. That edition also featured the debut of the future world chess champion and 16 year old young talent Mikhail Botvinnik.
The 1933 USSR Chess Championship was the 8th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 16 August to 9 September in Leningrad. The tournament was won by Mikhail Botvinnik.
The 1937 USSR Chess Championship was the 10th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 12 April to 14 May 1937 in Tbilisi. The tournament was won by Grigory Levenfish. Qualification was by way of the championships of Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, as well as various other events. In October and November 1937, Botvnnik and Levenfish played a match for the Soviet title, which ended in a draw. So Levenfish kept the title.
The 1939 USSR Chess Championship was the 11th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 15 April to 16 May 1939 in Leningrad. The tournament was won by Mikhail Botvinnik. Semifinals took place in Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev. Alexander Kotov, author of the classic book Think Like a Grandmaster, made his debut, achieving the runner-up. Former champion of the 1920s Peter Romanovsky returned to compete, but finishing in last place. The level and popularity of chess was skyrocketing in the Soviet Union, the final round, which featured the duel between Botvinnik and Kotov, sold out all the thousands of tickets available to the public.
The 1940 Soviet Chess Championship was the 12th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 5 September to 3 October 1940 in Moscow. The tournament was won by Andor Lilienthal and Igor Bondarevsky. Twenty of the Soviet Union's strongest masters competed in the final, six of whom qualified in the semifinals in Kiev earlier that year: Eduard Gerstenfeld, Mark Stolberg, Igor Bondarevsky, Iosif Rudakovsky, Alexander Konstantinopolsky and Peter Dubinin. The remaining invitations went to the Soviet chess elite. Botvinnik did his worst championship, only drawing in 5th/6th position, losing matches to both winners. This championship marked the debut of Paul Keres (4th) and the future world champion Vassily Smyslov (3rd). USSR had expanded its territory in 1939-40, incorporating the Baltic states, which meant that the strong masters Paul Keres from Estonia and Vladimir Petrov from Latvia were able to participate. In 1941, the top six played a competition called Absolute Championship of Soviet Union, ending with Botvinnik's victory.
The 1955 Soviet Chess Championship was the 22nd edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 11 February to 15 March 1955 in Moscow. The tournament was won by Efim Geller who defeats Smyslov in a play-off match (4-3). The final were preceded semifinals events at Leningrad, Gorky and Yerevan. It was the worst USSR Chess Championship of Korchnoi's career, despite having fought in each game, all showing the high level of the competition.
The 1976 Soviet Chess Championship was the 44th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 26 November to 24 December 1976 in Moscow. The world champion Anatoly Karpov won his first USSR Chess Championship title. The qualifying tournaments took place in Minsk and Rostov-on-Don.
Peter Romanovsky 
