★★★ INTRO ★★★

The 1954 World Chess Championship was between 43 year old defending champion Mikhail Botvinnik of the Soviet Union and 33 year old challenger Vasily Smyslov who was also from the Soviet Union.

★★★ QUALIFICATION ★★★

After Botvinnik tied the match with David Bronstein and retained his WCC title (see Game Collection: 1951 World Chess Championship for games and more info), it was time for someone else to try to snatch it. First, an interzonal tournament with 21 players was held (see Stockholm Interzonal (1952) for games and more info). The top 5 would qualify for the Candidates tournament. Advancing to the next round was Alexander Kotov (16.5/20), Mark Taimanov, Tigran Petrosian (both 13.5/20), Efim Geller (13/20) and Yuri Averbakh (12.5/20), all from the Soviet Union. Originally, only the top 5 can advance, but Gideon Stahlberg, Laszlo Szabo and Svetozar Gligoric (all 12/20) all made it.

In the candidates tournament (see Zuerich Candidates (1953) for games and more info), it would be a 15 player, double round robin. They would be the top 8 (previous mentioned) from the interzonal tournament, top 5 from the previous candidates tournament (Bronstein, Isaac Boleslavsky, Smyslov, Paul Keres and Miguel Najdorf) and the last 2 players that have not qualified yet from 1948 (Samuel Reshevsky and Max Euwe). Smyslov earned 18 points out of a possible 28 (+9,-1,=18), winning by 2 points to earn the right to challenge Botvinnik.

★★★ CONDITIONS ★★★

The match took place in Moscow once again. The conditions for the match were the same as the 1951 match. The match was a best of 24 games. The first player to reach 12 1/2 points would be crowned world champion. If the match ended in a 12-12 tie, the defending champion (in this case Botvinnik) would retain his title. The first round was played on March 16th, 1954.

★★★ FINAL ★★★

The match concluded on May 13th, 1954. It was a very tough match. The match once again ended in a 12-12 tie which meant the defending champion (in this case Botvinnik) retained his title.

★★★ MINI TABLE ★★★

Botvinnik 1 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 (7 wins, 7 losses and 10 draws) <50% score>

Smyslov 0 0 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 1 0 (7 wins, 7 losses and 10 draws) <50% score>

★★★ OTHER LINKS ★★★

See also: Botvinnik - Smyslov World Championship Match (1954)

Head to Head Record Prior to 1954: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... (10 wins, 4 losses and 12 draws in favour of Botvinnik)

Previous World Championship: Game Collection: 1951 World Chess Championship

Next World Championship: Game Collection: 1957 World Chess Championship