1940 USSR Chess Championship

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.[1]

Andor Lilienthal in 1940
12th Soviet Chess Championship (1940)
LocationMoscow
Champion
Andor Lilienthal
Igor Bondarevsky

Tables and results

Semifinal
Semifinal, Kiev, May 1940
Player 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Total
1 Eduard Gerstenfeld - ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 10½
2 Mark Stolberg ½ - 1 0 ½ 1 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 10½
3 Igor Bondarevsky 1 0 - 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 0 1 ½ 1 1 10
4 Iosif Rudakovsky 0 1 0 - 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 9½
5 Alexander Konstantinopolsky ½ ½ 0 0 - 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 9½
6 Peter Dubinin 0 0 ½ ½ 0 - ½ 0 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 9½
7 Vladimir Alatortsev 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ - ½ 0 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 9½
8 Genrikh Kasparian 0 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ - 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 9
9 Samuel Zhukhovitsky ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 1 - 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 8½
10 Lev Kaiev ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 - 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 8
11 Abram Khavin 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 1 - 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 7
12 Grigory Goldberg ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 - 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 6½
13 Vitaly Chekhover ½ 0 1 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 - ½ ½ ½ ½ 6
14 Vsevolod Rauzer ½ 1 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ - ½ 1 ½ 6
15 Dmitry Grechkin 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ - 0 1 6
16 D. S. Fridman ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 - 0 5½
17 Iosif Pogrebissky ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 1 - 4½


Final
12th Soviet Chess Championship Final
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Total
1 Andor Lilienthal - 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 13½
2 Igor Bondarevsky 0 - ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 13½
3 Vassily Smyslov ½ ½ - ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 13
4 Paul Keres ½ 0 ½ - ½ ½ 0 1 0 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 0 12
5 Isaac Boleslavsky ½ ½ ½ ½ - 0 1 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 1 ½ 11½
6 Mikhail Botvinnik 0 0 ½ ½ 1 - 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 0 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 11½
7 Vladimir Makogonov 0 ½ 1 1 0 1 - 0 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 10½
8 Peter Dubinin 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 - 0 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ 10½
9 Gavriil Veresov 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 0 1 - 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 10½
10 Vladimir Petrov ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 9
11 Viacheslav Ragozin ½ 1 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ - 1 ½ 1 0 0 ½ ½ 1 1 8½
12 Georgy Lisitsin ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 - 1 1 0 1 1 ½ 0 1 8½
13 Vladas Mikenas ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 - ½ 1 0 0 1 0 ½ 8
14 Alexander Konstantinopolsky ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 0 ½ - 1 0 ½ ½ 0 1 8
15 Vasily Panov 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 0 0 - ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 8
16 Mark Stolberg ½ 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 1 1 ½ - 1 ½ 1 ½ 8
17 Eduard Gerstenfeld ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 0 - ½ 0 1 7
18 Grigory Levenfish ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ - 0 ½ 6½
19 Alexander Kotov 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 - ½ 6½
20 Iosif Rudakovsky 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ - 5½

1941 Absolute Champion of the USSR

The winner of the 1940 Soviet championship should face world champion Alexander Alekhine for world title. Nor did the result settle the question of which Soviet player should challenge Alekhine. A new sports official worked diligently behind the scenes to undermine the original decision to have a match for the title between Bondarevsky and Lilienthal. As a result, it was announced a new title Absolute Champion of the USSR was being set up and would be contested in Leningrad and Moscow as a match-tournament of the top six. In fact, the Absolute Championship was to be a one-off, never to be played again. Only two months after Botvinnik's success, his dreams of challenging Alekhine were shattered when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union.[1]

1941 Absolute Champion of the USSR
1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
1 Mikhail Botvinnik ---- 1½½½ 1½1½ 1½1½ 1½01 01½1 13½
2 Paul Keres 0½½½ ---- 110½ ½0½½ 01½1 1½1½ 11
3 Vassily Smyslov 0½0½ 001½ ---- ½1½1 ½1½½ ½½½½ 10
4 Isaac Boleslavsky 0½0½ ½1½½ ½0½0 ---- 11½1 ½00½ 9
5 Andor Lilienthal 0½10 10½0 ½0½½ 00½0 ---- 1½11 8½
6 Igor Bondarevsky 10½0 0½0½ ½½½½ ½11½ 0½00 ---- 8


References
  1. Cafferty, Bernard. (2016). The Soviet Championships. Londres: Everyman Chess. p. 46-52
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.