Alexander Beliavsky, Leonid Yudasin, Evgeny Bareev, and Alexey Vyzmanavin all finished level on 8½/13 atop the fourteen-player final at Leningrad, and the 57th Soviet title — Beliavsky's fourth and last — was settled on Sonneborn-Berger tie-break, his 54.50 edging the other three for the gold.
A four-way deadlock
The final produced no outright winner. Four players scored 8½/13 — Beliavsky at +5 −1 =7, Bareev with the most wins of the group at +6 −2 =5, Vyzmanavin also on +5 −1 =7, and Yudasin the only unbeaten man among them at +4 −0 =9. The four stood a full point clear of the chasing pair, Vladimir Epishin and Alexander Khalifman, who shared fifth on 7½.
Unlike the three-way tie at Leningrad in 1963, which the federation had settled with a separate Moscow play-off, no play-off was arranged this time. The championship was decided instead by the Sonneborn-Berger tie-break, which weights each result by the strength of the opponents beaten and drawn.
Gold to Beliavsky
On Sonneborn-Berger, Beliavsky's 54.50 led Yudasin's 50.75, Bareev's 50.25, and Vyzmanavin's 49.00, so the gold medal went to Beliavsky, the silver to Yudasin, and the bronze to Bareev. It was Beliavsky's fourth Soviet crown, following his titles of 1974, 1980, and 1987, and it would be his last.
The 57th was among the very last of the Soviet championships; only the 58th, at Moscow in 1991, would follow before the Soviet Union dissolved. Yudasin, unbeaten across the thirteen rounds, and Bareev, who had won more games than anyone in the field, were both left a fraction of a tie-break point short of the title.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Bareev, Evgeny | 8½/13 | +6 -2 =5 | games |
| =1 | Beliavsky, Alexander G | 8½/13 | +5 -1 =7 | games |
| =1 | Vyzmanavin, Alexey | 8½/13 | +5 -1 =7 | games |
| =1 | Yudasin, Leonid | 8½/13 | +4 -0 =9 | games |
| =5 | Epishin, Vladimir | 7½/13 | +3 -1 =9 | games |
| =5 | Khalifman, Alexander | 7½/13 | +3 -1 =9 | games |
| =7 | Kuzmin, Gennadi P | 6/13 | +2 -3 =8 | games |
| =7 | Eingorn, Vereslav S | 6/13 | +1 -2 =10 | games |
| =7 | Rozentalis, Eduardas | 6/13 | +1 -2 =10 | games |
| =10 | Dvoirys, Semen I | 5½/13 | +3 -5 =5 | games |
| =10 | Shneider, Aleksandr | 5½/13 | +2 -4 =7 | games |
| 12 | Novikov, Igor A | 5/13 | +1 -4 =8 | games |
| =13 | Aseev, Konstantin N | 4/13 | +1 -6 =6 | games |
| =13 | Smirin, Ilia | 4/13 | +1 -6 =6 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bareev, Evgeny | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 2 | Beliavsky, Alexander G | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | Vyzmanavin, Alexey | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Yudasin, Leonid | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Epishin, Vladimir | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 6 | Khalifman, Alexander | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 7 | Kuzmin, Gennadi P | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 8 | Eingorn, Vereslav S | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 9 | Rozentalis, Eduardas | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 10 | Dvoirys, Semen I | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Shneider, Aleksandr | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Novikov, Igor A | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 13 | Aseev, Konstantin N | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 14 | Smirin, Ilia | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.