Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik was a Soviet and Russian chess player. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist and was a pioneer in computer chess.
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.
Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov was a Soviet chess grandmaster and author. He was a Soviet chess champion, a two-time world title Candidate, and a prolific writer on the subject of chess. Kotov served in high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation, and wrote most of his books during the Cold War. The importance and breadth of Kotov's work rank him among the all-time greats in this field.
Vladimirs Petrovs was a Latvian Russian chess player.
Alexander Kazimirovich Tolush was a Soviet chess grandmaster. He was one of Boris Spassky's mentors. Tolush was born and died in Saint Petersburg. He earned the title of International Master (IM) in 1950, Grandmaster (GM) in 1953, and International Master of Correspondence Chess (IMC) in 1965.
Lyudmila Vladimirovna Rudenko was a Soviet chess player and the second women's world chess champion, from 1950 until 1953.
Grigory Yakovlevich Levenfish was a Soviet chess player who scored his peak competitive results in the 1920s and 1930s. He was twice Soviet champion, in 1934 and 1937. In 1937 he drew a match against future world champion Mikhail Botvinnik. In 1950 Levenfish was among the first recipients of the title of Grandmaster, awarded by FIDE that year for the first time.
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.
Fedir Parfenovych Bohatyrchuk was a Ukrainian-Canadian chess player, doctor of medicine (radiologist), political activist, and writer.
Alexander Markovich Konstantinopolsky was a Soviet chess player, trainer and writer. He was a five-time champion of Kiev, and trained the world title challenger David Bronstein from a young age. He was awarded the title of International Master (IM) by FIDE in 1950, won the first Soviet Correspondence Chess Championship in 1951, earned the IM title at correspondence in 1966, and earned the title of Honorary Grandmaster in 1983.
Sergey von Freymann (1882–1946) was a Russian-Uzbekistani chess master.
Boris Markovich Verlinsky was a Soviet chess player, who was awarded the title International Master by FIDE, the world chess federation, in 1950. He was one of the top Soviet players in the 1920s, and was Soviet champion in 1929.
Peter Arsenievich Romanovsky was a Russian 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 ones 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.
Ilya Abramovich Kan was a Soviet chess player. He was awarded the title of International Master (IM) by FIDE in 1950.
Vsevolod Alfredovich Rauzer was a Soviet Ukrainian chess master known for his great contributions to chess opening theory, especially of the Sicilian Defence.
Vladimir Alexeyevich Alatortsev was a Soviet chess player, author, and administrator. During his career, he became champion of both Leningrad and Moscow, and played in the Soviet Chess Championship finals nine times, with his best competitive results in the 1930s. He placed clear second in the 1933 Soviet final. He retired from most competitive play in the early 1950s, moving into roles as a chess organizer, teacher, and coach. He served as chairman of the All-Union chess section from 1954 to 1959 and as chairman of the USSR Chess Federation from 1959 to 1961. By profession, he was a hydraulics engineer.
Arvid Kubbel was a Russian chess player and composer of chess problems and endgame studies. He was a brother of Evgeny and Leonid Kubbel; their father was born in Latvia, of Baltic German descent. He played in relatively few tournaments, but was among the stronger players of the early Soviet Union.
The 1934/1935 USSR Chess Championship was the 9th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 7 December 1934 to 2 January 1935 in Leningrad. The tournament was won by Grigory Levenfish and Ilya Rabinovich. Mikhail Botvinnik did not participate because on the same date he was abroad playing the Hastings Tournament.
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 the future world champion Vassily Smyslov (3rd) and Paul Keres (4th). 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.
Grigory Levenfish 
