Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Russian chess player, who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972. Spassky played three world championship matches: he lost to Tigran Petrosian in 1966; defeated Petrosian in 1969 to become world champion; then lost to Bobby Fischer in a famous match in 1972.
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet Armenian Grandmaster, and 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 credited with popularizing chess in Armenia.
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.
Efim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet and Russian 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.
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.
Anatoly Alexandrovich Bannik was a Ukrainian Chess Master. He was a five-time Ukrainian champion, and qualified for the Soviet Chess Championship final seven times. He was among the top half-dozen Ukrainian players from 1944 to 1966. Bannik spent the last years of his life in Germany, and was active in competitive chess as recently as 2000.
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. 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.
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi was a Soviet and Swiss chess grandmaster and writer. He is considered one of the strongest players never to have become World Chess Champion.
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 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 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 were 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. 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 e 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 1964 Soviet Chess Championship was the 32nd edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 25 December 1964 to 27 January 1965 in Kiev. The tournament was won by Viktor Korchnoi. The final were preceded by semifinals events at Kishinev and Minsk.
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.
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.
