Tigran Vardani Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian chess grandmaster and the ninth World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his almost-impenetrable defensive playing style, which emphasized safety above all else. Petrosian is often credited with popularizing chess in Armenia.
The USSR Chess Championship was played from 1920 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 Soviet Union and Nazi Germany (1941–44) in international tournaments.
Efim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions. He won four Ukrainian SSR Championship titles and shared first in the 1991 World Seniors' Championship, winning the title outright in 1992. His wife Oksana was a ballet dancer while his son Alexander was also a chess master. Geller was coach to World Champions Boris Spassky and Anatoly Karpov. He was also an author.
Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov was a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his career, and tied for the Soviet Championship title in 1963, but lost the playoff. Kholmov was not well known in the West, since he never competed there during his career peak, being confined to events in socialist countries. His chess results were impressive, so this may have been for security reasons, as Kholmov had been a wartime sailor. But he was one of the strongest Soviet players from the mid-1950s well into the 1970s, and was ranked as high as No. 8 in the world by Chessmetrics.com from August 1960 to March 1961. Kholmov stayed active in competitive chess right to the end of his life, and maintained a high standard of play past the age of 80.
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.
At the World Chess Championship 1963, Tigran Petrosian narrowly qualified to challenge Mikhail Botvinnik for the World Chess Championship, and then won the match to become the ninth World Chess Champion. The cycle is particularly remembered for the controversy surrounding the Candidates' Tournament at Curaçao in 1962, which resulted in FIDE changing the format of the Candidates Tournament to a series of knockout matches.
Isaac Oskarovich Lipnitsky was a Soviet chess master. He was a two-time Ukrainian champion, and was among Ukraine's top half-dozen players from 1948 to 1956. He was a chess theoretician and professional teacher.
Evgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov was a Russian chess player, one of the strongest in the world during his peak. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1961. During his career, he won the Moscow Championship on six occasions and scored numerous victories in international tournaments, such as Belgrade Open 1961, Moscow International 1961, East Berlin 1962, Reykjavik 1968, and Manila 1974. He was rarely at his best in Soviet Championship Finals, which were among the very toughest events in the world, and never made the Soviet team for an Olympiad or a European Team Championship. Vasiukov won the World Senior Chess Championship in 1995.
Igor Platonov was a Soviet Ukrainian chess player. He was active between 1958 and 1984, with his best years from 1967 to 1972, when he earned the title of Grandmaster of the Soviet Union. He was the only player to obtain the Title of Soviet Grandmaster not to obtain the International Grandmaster title. Top tournament results included a tie for first in the Kiev Championship of 1963, a tied 3rd-4th place in the very strong 1964 Trade Union Championship, a tied 7th-9th place in the 1969 Soviet Zonal at Moscow, and 2nd place in the José Raúl Capablanca Memorial tournament, Cienfuegos 1972. He played in five straight Soviet finals from 1967 to 1971. After his active career, he became a chess trainer.
The 1975 World Chess Championship was not played due to a dispute over the match format. Champion Bobby Fischer was to play Anatoly Karpov in Manila, commencing June 1, 1975. Fischer refused to play the then-standard "Best of 24 games" match and, after FIDE was unable to work out a compromise, forfeited his title instead. Karpov was named World Champion by default on April 3, 1975.
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.
Semyon Abramovich Furman was a Soviet chess player and trainer of Belarusian Jewish origin. 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 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 1958 Soviet Chess Championship was the 25th edition of USSR Chess Championship, held from 12 January to 14 February 1958 in Riga. The tournament was won by Mikhail Tal. The final was preceded by quarterfinals events at Tbilisi, Minsk and Ashkhabad ; semifinals at Leningrad, Sverdlovsk and Kiev.
The 1959 Soviet Chess Championship was the 26th edition of USSR Chess Championship which was 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 1960 Soviet Chess Championship was the 27th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 26 January to 27 February 1960 in Leningrad. The tournament was won by Viktor Korchnoi. The final were preceded by semifinals events at Cheliabinsk, Tallinn and Yerevan. Mikhail Tal was missing, preparing for his world title match against Botvinnik. Paul Keres was in Cuba as part of a cultural delegation from Estonia.
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 1968 Soviet Chess Championship was the 36th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 30 December 1968 to 1 February 1969 in Alma-Ata. The tournament was won by Lev Polugaevsky who defeats Alexander Zaitsev in a play-off match. The non-attendance of stars such as David Bronstein, Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spassky, all away at foreign tournaments made it not too strong an event, especially in conjunction with the absence of Paul Keres. Mikhail Tal was ill again, after a year in which he spent a lot of time in hospital under observation.
