A year after tying for fifth in his championship debut, 20-year-old Mikhail Tal returned to take his first Soviet title outright, finishing clear first at 14/21 with his trademark sacrificial style drawing notice from grandmasters and spectators alike. Paul Keres and David Bronstein shared second at 13½, half a point back. The win was decisive enough that FIDE's 1957 congress waived the normal international-result requirement and awarded Tal the grandmaster title on the strength of it.
A field without the reigning champion
Reigning world champion Mikhail Botvinnik and former champion Vasily Smyslov both sat out, preparing for their own World Championship match later that year. Taimanov, Keres, and Bronstein qualified straight into the final by Soviet Federation ranking; the rest of the twenty-two-player field arrived through regional quarterfinals and semifinals, including a Frunze qualifier that Viktor Korchnoi won outright with 17 points from 18 games.
It left a strong but Botvinnik-less field for the 24th championship, one that Tal, not yet twenty-one, would dominate from a standing start.
Tal's breakthrough
Twelve months earlier, in his tournament debut at the 23rd championship, Tal had managed only a mid-table tie for fifth at 10½/17. In Moscow he transformed that into a runaway campaign, piling up nine wins against two losses and ten draws for 14 points — a full half-point clear of Keres and Bronstein, who tied for second at 13½. Spassky and Tolush shared fourth at 13. Tal secured the title with a last-round win over Tolush.
How he won mattered as much as the score: the Soviet chess press noticed his willingness to give up material to attack, the style that would take him to the World Championship three years later. Tal hadn't yet played enough international events to qualify for the grandmaster title under FIDE's normal rules, so the 1957 FIDE Congress waived them and gave him the title on the strength of this win. He kept the Soviet title the following year, at the 25th championship in Riga.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tal, Mikhail | 14/21 | +9 -2 =10 | games |
| =2 | Bronstein, David Ionovich | 13½/21 | +9 -3 =9 | games |
| =2 | Keres, Paul | 13½/21 | +8 -2 =11 | games |
| =4 | Tolush, Alexander V | 13/21 | +10 -5 =6 | games |
| =4 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | 13/21 | +7 -2 =12 | games |
| 6 | Kholmov, Ratmir D | 12½/21 | +6 -2 =13 | games |
| =7 | Petrosian, Tigran V | 12/21 | +7 -4 =10 | games |
| =7 | Korchnoi, Viktor Lvovich | 12/21 | +6 -3 =12 | games |
| 9 | Boleslavsky, Isaak | 11½/21 | +4 -2 =15 | games |
| =10 | Aronin, Lev Solomonovich | 11/21 | +6 -5 =10 | games |
| =10 | Taimanov, Mark E | 11/21 | +5 -4 =12 | games |
| 12 | Furman, Semen Abramovich | 10/21 | +5 -6 =10 | games |
| =13 | Klaman, Konstantin | 9½/21 | +6 -8 =7 | games |
| =13 | Nezhmetdinov, Rashid | 9½/21 | +5 -7 =9 | games |
| =13 | Bannik, Anatolij | 9½/21 | +3 -5 =13 | games |
| 16 | Antoshin, Vladimir S | 9/21 | +5 -8 =8 | games |
| 17 | Stoliar, Efim Samoilovich | 8½/21 | +3 -7 =11 | games |
| 18 | Mikenas, Vladas Ivanovich | 8/21 | +5 -10 =6 | games |
| =19 | Gurgenidze, Bukhuti | 7½/21 | +5 -11 =5 | games |
| =19 | Aronson, Lev Abramovich | 7½/21 | +4 -10 =7 | games |
| =19 | Khasin, Abram Iosifovich | 7½/21 | +3 -9 =9 | games |
| =19 | Tarasov, Vitaly Georgievich | 7½/21 | +3 -9 =9 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tal, Mikhail | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 2 | Bronstein, David Ionovich | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Keres, Paul | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Tolush, Alexander V | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Kholmov, Ratmir D | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 7 | Petrosian, Tigran V | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | Korchnoi, Viktor Lvovich | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Boleslavsky, Isaak | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 10 | Aronin, Lev Solomonovich | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | |
| 11 | Taimanov, Mark E | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | |
| 12 | Furman, Semen Abramovich | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 13 | Klaman, Konstantin | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 14 | Nezhmetdinov, Rashid | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | |
| 15 | Bannik, Anatolij | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 16 | Antoshin, Vladimir S | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 17 | Stoliar, Efim Samoilovich | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 18 | Mikenas, Vladas Ivanovich | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 19 | Gurgenidze, Bukhuti | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 20 | Aronson, Lev Abramovich | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 21 | Khasin, Abram Iosifovich | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 22 | Tarasov, Vitaly Georgievich | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.