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 Soviet 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.
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.
Semyon Abramovich Furman was a Soviet chess player and trainer. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1966. Furman is best known for developing Anatoly Karpov into a World Chess Champion, but was a formidable player himself, as well as a successful coach for several other world-class players. His name is sometimes written as Semen or Semion Furman.
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 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 1929 USSR Chess Championship was the 6th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 2 to 20 September in Odessa. The tournament was won by Boris Verlinsky. The event was held outside Moscow and Leningrad for the first time. 36 players competed in four quarterfinal sections, with the top three in each advancing into two six-player semifinals. The top two from each semifinals were then to play a double round final to determine the champion.
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.
The 1944 Soviet Chess Championship was the 13th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 21 May to 17 June 1940 in Moscow. The tournament was won by Mikhail Botvinnik.
The 1945 Soviet Chess Championship was the 14th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 1 June to 3 July 1945 in Moscow. The tournament was won by Mikhail Botvinnik.
The 1948 Soviet Chess Championship was the 16th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 10 November to 13 December 1948 in Moscow. The tournament was won by David Bronstein and Alexander Kotov. Mikhail Botvinnik did not participate in the championship again, as he had recently won the world title in the tournament at The Hague and Moscow. In fact he was to take a three-year break, to work on his doctorate. Quarterfinal tournaments were played in the cities of Tbilisi and Yaroslavl; and semifinals in Sverdlovsk, Leningrad and Moscow.
The 1950 Soviet Chess Championship was the 18th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 10 November to 12 December 1950 in Moscow. The tournament was won by Paul Keres. Keres, Isaac Boleslavsky and Smyslov entered the final directly. The final were preceded by seven quarter-finals and five semifinals.
The 1951 Soviet Chess Championship was the 19th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 11 November to 14 December 1951 in Moscow. The tournament was won by Paul Keres. The final were preceded by quarter-finals events and four semifinals.
The 1954 Soviet Chess Championship was the 21st edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 7 January to 7 February 1954 in Kiev. The tournament was won by Yuri Averbakh. The final were preceded semifinals events at Moscow, Leningrad, Rostov and Vilnius.
The 1957 Soviet Chess Championship was the 24th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 20 January to 22 February 1957 in Moscow. The tournament was won by Mikhail Tal. The final were preceded by quarterfinals events at Frunze, Tallinn, Yerevan ; semifinals at Leningrad, Kharkov and Tbilisi.
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 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 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 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 1988 Soviet Chess Championship was the 55th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 25 July 19 August 1988 in Moscow. The title was shared by the world champion Garry Kasparov and former world champion Anatoly Karpov. Semifinals took place at Norilsk and Pavlodar; two First League tournaments were held at Lvov and Sverdlovsk.
