By 1965 the Chigorin Memorial had settled into the Black Sea resort of Sochi as a strong annual international invitation. This edition produced a notable outcome: West Germany's Wolfgang Unzicker went unbeaten to share first place with Boris Spassky, then in the thick of the Candidates cycle that would carry him to a world-championship match.
The Sochi memorials
From 1963 the Chigorin Memorial made its home in Sochi, where it ran for decades as one of the Soviet Union's regular international round-robins. The fields blended a rotating cast of home grandmasters with invited foreign guests, giving Western players a rare and valuable measure against Soviet strength.
Sixteen players contested this 1965 edition over a single fifteen-round round-robin.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | 10½/15 | +6 -0 =9 | games |
| =1 | Unzicker, Wolfgang | 10½/15 | +6 -0 =9 | games |
| 3 | Ciric, Dragoljub M | 10/15 | +5 -0 =10 | games |
| 4 | Zaitsev, Alexander N | 9/15 | +5 -2 =8 | games |
| 5 | Krogius, Nikolai V | 8½/15 | +3 -1 =11 | games |
| =6 | Ilivitzki, Georgi A | 8/15 | +3 -2 =10 | games |
| =6 | Flohr, Salo | 8/15 | +2 -1 =12 | games |
| =8 | Nezhmetdinov, Rashid | 7½/15 | +6 -6 =3 | games |
| =8 | Damjanovic, Mato | 7½/15 | +4 -4 =7 | games |
| =8 | Jansa, Vlastimil | 7½/15 | +4 -4 =7 | games |
| 11 | Antoshin, Vladimir S | 7/15 | +3 -4 =8 | games |
| 12 | Lein, Anatoly | 6½/15 | +4 -6 =5 | games |
| =13 | Malich, Burkhard | 6/15 | +2 -5 =8 | games |
| =13 | Kotkov, Yuri M | 6/15 | +1 -4 =10 | games |
| 15 | Garcia Martinez, Silvino | 4/15 | +3 -10 =2 | games |
| 16 | Ujtumen, Tudev | 3½/15 | +0 -8 =7 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Unzicker, Wolfgang | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 3 | Ciric, Dragoljub M | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 4 | Zaitsev, Alexander N | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Krogius, Nikolai V | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Ilivitzki, Georgi A | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Flohr, Salo | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 8 | Nezhmetdinov, Rashid | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 9 | Damjanovic, Mato | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | Jansa, Vlastimil | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Antoshin, Vladimir S | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 12 | Lein, Anatoly | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 | Malich, Burkhard | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 14 | Kotkov, Yuri M | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | |
| 15 | Garcia Martinez, Silvino | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 16 | Ujtumen, Tudev | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.