19th USSR Championship — Moscow 1951
Paul Keres won the nineteenth championship on 12/17, taking Moscow for the second year running and holding off the strongest field the tournament had yet gathered — a super-class pack in which the twenty-two-year-old Tigran Petrosian announced himself by sharing second.
◈A second title in a row
Keres won the nineteenth championship on 12/17, scoring +9 −2 =6 to finish half a point clear of the field. It was his second consecutive Soviet title after his 1950 victory in the same city, and his third overall, won against a line-up that included Smyslov, Bronstein, Geller, Averbakh, Taimanov, Kotov, Flohr and Bondarevsky — as deep an entry as the championship had produced.
The measure of that depth was where the reigning world champion finished. Mikhail Botvinnik, back in the domestic championship for the first time since 1945, could manage only fifth place on 10, a reminder that the Soviet title was among the hardest tournaments in chess to win.
◈Petrosian arrives
The result that resonated longest belonged to Tigran Petrosian. The twenty-two-year-old Armenian shared second and third place with Efim Geller on 11½, a breakthrough that earned him the international-master title and marked him as a coming force. He had played the championship final once before, in 1950, where he finished well down the field; in 1951 he was suddenly among the leaders.
It was here that Petrosian met Botvinnik over the board for the first time. Playing White and drifting into a slightly inferior position from the opening, he defended through two adjournments and some eleven hours of play to hold the draw — an early glimpse of the granite, prophylactic style that would carry him to the world title in 1963.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keres, Paul | 12/17 | +9 -2 =6 | games → |
| 2 | Geller, Efim P | 11½/17 | +10 -4 =3 | games → |
| 3 | Petrosian, Tigran V | 11½/17 | +8 -2 =7 | games → |
| 4 | Smyslov, Vassily V | 11/17 | +9 -4 =4 | games → |
| 5 | Botvinnik, Mikhail | 10/17 | +6 -3 =8 | games → |
| 6 | Taimanov, Mark E | 9½/17 | +7 -5 =5 | games → |
| 7 | Bronstein, David Ionovich | 9½/17 | +6 -4 =7 | games → |
| 8 | Averbakh, Yuri L | 9½/17 | +5 -3 =9 | games → |
| 9 | Aronin, Lev Solomonovich | 9/17 | +6 -5 =6 | games → |
| 10 | Flohr, Salo | 9/17 | +4 -3 =10 | games → |
| 11 | Kopylov, Nikolai Georgievich | 8½/17 | +7 -7 =3 | games → |
| =12 | Bondarevsky, Igor Tsakharovich | 8/17 | +4 -5 =8 | games → |
| =12 | Kotov, Alexander | 8/17 | +4 -5 =8 | games → |
| 14 | Simagin, Vladimir Pavlovich | 7½/17 | +3 -5 =9 | games → |
| 15 | Lipnitsky, Isaak | 6½/17 | +4 -8 =5 | games → |
| 16 | Moiseev, Oleg Leonidovich | 6½/17 | +3 -7 =7 | games → |
| 17 | Novotelnov, Nikolay Alexandrovi | 3/17 | +2 -13 =2 | games → |
| 18 | Terpugov, Evgeny | 2½/17 | +1 -13 =3 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keres, Paul | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Geller, Efim P | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Petrosian, Tigran V | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Smyslov, Vassily V | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 5 | Botvinnik, Mikhail | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Taimanov, Mark E | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Bronstein, David Ionovich | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Averbakh, Yuri L | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Aronin, Lev Solomonovich | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 10 | Flohr, Salo | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 11 | Kopylov, Nikolai Georgievich | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 12 | Bondarevsky, Igor Tsakharovich | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 | Kotov, Alexander | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | |
| 14 | Simagin, Vladimir Pavlovich | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Lipnitsky, Isaak | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 16 | Moiseev, Oleg Leonidovich | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 17 | Novotelnov, Nikolay Alexandrovi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 18 | Terpugov, Evgeny | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.