Andrei Sokolov, the twenty-one-year-old former World Junior Champion, won the 51st Soviet Championship at Lvov without losing a game — 12½/17, a full point clear of Konstantin Lerner — on his first appearance in a Soviet final, announcing a talent that would reach the World Championship Candidates final three years later.
An unbeaten first title
Sokolov reached Lvov through the qualifying ladder and won the final at his first attempt, and he did it without a defeat: eight wins and nine draws across seventeen rounds for 12½. Konstantin Lerner pressed him hardest, taking clear second on 11½ with a single loss of his own, and Vereslav Eingorn was third on 10½.
Adrian Mikhalchishin followed on 9½, ahead of a cluster of players — Alexander Beliavsky, Vladimir Tukmakov, Igor Novikov, and Smbat Lputian — bunched together on 9. Sokolov's unbeaten margin left the outcome settled well before the final round.
The making of a candidate
Sokolov had won the World Junior Championship at Copenhagen in 1982, and the Lvov title, won in 1984 at twenty-one, put him among the Soviet elite and brought him the grandmaster title the same year. He went through the 1985–87 World Championship cycle to the Candidates final, where he lost to Anatoly Karpov, and by 1987/88 his rating put him third in the world, behind only Kasparov and Karpov.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sokolov, Andrei | 12½/17 | +8 -0 =9 | games |
| 2 | Lerner, Konstantin Z | 11½/17 | +7 -1 =9 | games |
| 3 | Eingorn, Vereslav S | 10½/17 | +5 -1 =11 | games |
| 4 | Mikhalchishin, Adrian | 9½/17 | +4 -2 =11 | games |
| =5 | Beliavsky, Alexander G | 9/17 | +5 -4 =8 | games |
| =5 | Tukmakov, Vladimir B | 9/17 | +5 -4 =8 | games |
| =5 | Novikov, Igor A | 9/17 | +4 -3 =10 | games |
| =5 | Lputian, Smbat G | 9/17 | +3 -2 =12 | games |
| 9 | Vyzmanavin, Alexey | 8½/17 | +6 -6 =5 | games |
| =10 | Ehlvest, Jaan | 8/17 | +4 -5 =8 | games |
| =10 | Chernin, Alexander | 8/17 | +2 -3 =12 | games |
| =12 | Dorfman, Josif D | 7½/17 | +2 -4 =11 | games |
| =12 | Psakhis, Lev | 7½/17 | +2 -4 =11 | games |
| =14 | Aseev, Konstantin N | 7/17 | +4 -7 =6 | games |
| =14 | Chekhov, Valery A | 7/17 | +3 -6 =8 | games |
| =14 | Salov, Valery | 7/17 | +1 -4 =12 | games |
| 17 | Balashov, Yuri S | 6½/17 | +1 -5 =11 | games |
| 18 | Kharitonov, Andrei Y | 6/17 | +1 -6 =10 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sokolov, Andrei | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 2 | Lerner, Konstantin Z | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | Eingorn, Vereslav S | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 4 | Mikhalchishin, Adrian | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 5 | Beliavsky, Alexander G | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Tukmakov, Vladimir B | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 7 | Novikov, Igor A | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | Lputian, Smbat G | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 9 | Vyzmanavin, Alexey | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 10 | Ehlvest, Jaan | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 11 | Chernin, Alexander | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 12 | Dorfman, Josif D | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | |
| 13 | Psakhis, Lev | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 14 | Aseev, Konstantin N | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Chekhov, Valery A | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 16 | Salov, Valery | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 17 | Balashov, Yuri S | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | |
| 18 | Kharitonov, Andrei Y | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.