Chigorin Memorial 1963
The Chigorin Memorial had been played only fitfully since 1909 — one-off revivals in Moscow, Leningrad, and Rostov-on-Don — before it settled into its long Black Sea home. The 1963 edition in Sochi was the first of an unbroken run at the resort, and it belonged to Lev Polugaevsky, who led from the front and held off a chasing ex-world champion for eleven rounds.
The Memorial finds a permanent home
Named for Mikhail Chigorin, the founder of the Russian and Soviet chess school, the Memorial had previously been staged only irregularly: Moscow in 1947 (won by Botvinnik), Leningrad in 1951 (Smyslov), and Rostov-on-Don in 1961 (Taimanov). Sochi's 1963 edition was the tournament's third Soviet-era running overall, but its first as a fixture of the resort calendar, and the format settled into the pattern that would hold for years afterward: a twelve-player single round-robin of 66 games.
Smyslov's chase, and a norm decided on the final day
Polugaevsky took control early and never relinquished it, finishing on 8½/11. Former world champion Vasily Smyslov shadowed him for almost the whole distance, only falling away two rounds from the end when he unexpectedly lost to the erratically performing Alexander Zaitsev. Vladimir Antoshin and Nikolai Krogius shared third and fourth on 6½, both fulfilling the international master norm.
The tournament's sharpest subplot played out in the final round: Zaitsev needed only a draw against Yugoslavia's Enver Bukic to complete his own IM norm, but Bukic won the game outright to secure his own norm instead, leaving Zaitsev with nothing but a special prize for the tournament's best score against grandmasters.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polugaevsky, Lev | 8½/11 | +6 -0 =5 | games |
| 2 | Smyslov, Vasily V | 7/11 | +4 -1 =6 | games |
| =3 | Antoshin, Vladimir S | 6½/11 | +3 -1 =7 | games |
| =3 | Krogius, Nikolai V | 6½/11 | +2 -0 =9 | games |
| 5 | Kholmov, Ratmir D | 6/11 | +1 -0 =10 | games |
| =6 | Bobotsov, Milko Georgiev | 5½/11 | +2 -2 =7 | games |
| =6 | Bukic, Enver | 5½/11 | +2 -2 =7 | games |
| =6 | Ciocaltea, Victor | 5½/11 | +2 -2 =7 | games |
| 9 | Zaitsev, Alexander N | 5/11 | +3 -4 =4 | games |
| 10 | Bilek, Istvan | 4½/11 | +2 -4 =5 | games |
| 11 | Kozma, Julius | 3/11 | +1 -6 =4 | games |
| 12 | Haag, Ervin | 2½/11 | +1 -7 =3 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polugaevsky, Lev | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Smyslov, Vasily V | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Antoshin, Vladimir S | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Krogius, Nikolai V | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Kholmov, Ratmir D | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Bobotsov, Milko Georgiev | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Bukic, Enver | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 8 | Ciocaltea, Victor | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 9 | Zaitsev, Alexander N | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | Bilek, Istvan | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | |
| 11 | Kozma, Julius | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Haag, Ervin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.