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 Women's Chess Olympiad is an event held by FIDE since 1957, where national women's teams compete at chess for gold, silver and bronze medals. Since 1976 the Women's Chess Olympiad has been incorporated within Chess Olympiad events, with simultaneous women's and open tournaments.
The 1920 USSR Chess Championship was the first edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 4 to 24 October in Moscow. The tournament was won by the future world chess champion Alexander Alekhine.
The 1923 USSR Chess Championship was the second edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 8 to 24 July in Petrograd. The tournament was won by Peter Romanovsky.
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 1947 Soviet Chess Championship was the 15th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 2 February to 8 March 1947 in Leningrad. The tournament was won by Paul Keres. Mikhail Botvinnik was absent as a sign of his displeasure over the lack of good faith by the Soviet authorities in negotiating for a World Championship match-tournament.
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 1959 Soviet Chess Championship was the 26th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 9 January to 11 February 1959 in Tbilisi. The tournament was won by Tigran Petrosian. The final were preceded by semifinals events at Baku, Moscow, Rostov and Tashkent.
The 1961 Soviet Chess Championship - 28th edition was held from 11 January to 11 February 1961 in Moscow. The tournament was won by Tigran Petrosian. The final were preceded by semifinals events at Odessa, Rostov and Vilnius. This was also a Zonal tournament with four Interzonal places on offer. 1961 was the year of two Soviet Chess Championships, the 28th and the 29th editions.
The 1961 Soviet Chess Championship - 29th edition was held from 16 November to 20 December 1961 in Baku. The tournament was won by Boris Spassky. The final were preceded by semifinals events at Batumi, Novgorod and Kiev. 1961 was the year of two Soviet Chess Championships, the 28th and the 29th editions.
The 1962 Soviet Chess Championship was the 30th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 21 November to 20 December 1962 in Yerevan. The tournament was won by Viktor Korchnoi. It was preceded by six semifinals events at Dnipropetrovsk, Novosibirsk, Riga and three of which were simultaneously the finals of the championships of the sports societies Spartak, Trud and Burevestnik.
The 1963 Soviet Chess Championship was the 31st edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 23 November to 27 December 1963 in Leningrad. The tournament was won by Leonid Stein. The final were preceded by semifinals events at Almaty, Kharkov, Moscow and Sverdlovsk.
The 1965 Soviet Chess Championship was the 33rd edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 24 November 1965 to 24 December 1965 in Tallinn. The tournament was won by Leonid Stein. The final were preceded by semifinals events at Leningrad and Omsk.
The 1971 Soviet Chess Championship was the 39th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 15 September to 18 October 1971 in Leningrad. The tournament was won by Vladimir Savon. It was an amazing result, the title fell to the little-known international master Savon. He only learned the moves at the late age of 13, and lived in a small country settlement where he could find no strong opposition. The final were preceded by semifinals events at Daugavpils, Ivano Frankivsk, Novosibirsk and Perm.
The 1972 Soviet Chess Championship was the 40th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 16 November to 19 December 1972 in Baku. The tournament was won by Mikhail Tal. The final were preceded by semifinals events at Chelyabinsk, Uzhgorod, Kaliningrad and Odessa.
The 1973 Soviet Chess Championship was the 41st edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 2-26 October 1973 in Moscow. The tournament was won by Boris Spassky. The final were preceded by semifinals events at Frunze, Kirovabad, Lvov e Voronezh.
The 1975 Soviet Chess Championship was the 43rd edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 28 November to 22 December 1975 in Yerevan. Former world champion Tigran Petrosian won his fourth title. The qualifying tournaments took place in Cheliabinsk and Kishinev.
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.
The 1978 Soviet Chess Championship was the 46th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 1-27 December 1978 in Tbilisi. Mikhail Tal and Vitaly Tseshkovsky shared the title. The qualifying tournaments took place in Daugavpils and Ashkhabad. This edition marked the debut of the future world champion Garry Kasparov in the Soviet championships.
The 1986 Soviet Chess Championship was the 53rd edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 2-28 April 1986 in Kiev. The title was won by Vitaly Tseshkovsky. Semifinals took place in Aktobe, Kostroma and Togliatti; two First League tournaments were held at Kharkov and Minsk.
Mikhail Botvinnik 
