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Moscow (1947) The second Mikhail Chigorin Memorial international tournament was held in the winter of 1947 in the Soviet capital of Moscow. Moscow, Soviet Union (Russia), 25 November - 23 December 1947 (1) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pts 1 Botvinnik * 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 11 2 Ragozin 0 * 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 10½ =3 Boleslavsky ½ 1 * ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 10 =3 Smyslov ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 10 5 Kotov ½ ½ ½ 1 * 0 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 9½ =6 Keres 0 0 1 ½ 1 * 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 9 =6 Novotelnov 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 * ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 9 8 Pachman 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * 0 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 8½ 9 Trifunovic ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 8 10 Gligoric ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 7½ 11 Bondarevsky ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 0 1 6½ 12 Kholmov 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 * ½ 1 ½ 1 5½ 13 Kottnauer 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ 5 =14 Plater 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 * ½ ½ 4 =14 Sokolsky 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 4 16 Tsvetkov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 2 Ten of the USSR's best chess masters were pitted against six strong masters from Eastern Europe in what would be one of the strongest post-war tournaments leading up to the 1948 World Championship. Mikhail Botvinnik finished clear first with an impressive 11/15. He was joined by six fellow soviets at the top of the table. Of the foreign masters, only Pachman (Czechoslovakia) and Trifunović (Yugoslavia) managed to score more than 50%, finishing in the middle of the pack. Gligorić (Yugoslavia) finished 10th; Kottnauer (Czechoslovakia) 13th, Plater (Poland) shared 14th; and Tsvetkov (Bulgaria) ended up in 16th and last place. This event was also notable in that it revived a series that had languished for almost half a century. The first Chigorin Memorial international tournament had been held in St. Petersburg (1909), a year after Chigorin's death. [1) [rusbase-1] ; Edward Winter ed., "World Chess Champions" (Pergamon Press 1981), p. 149. Original collection: Game Collection: Moscow 1947, by User: suenteus po 147.  page 2 of 5; games 26-50 of 120  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 26. Kholmov vs Keres 0-1 40 1947 Moscow A32 English, Symmetrical Variation 27. Smyslov vs Pachman 1-0 33 1947 Moscow C11 French 28. Ragozin vs Boleslavsky 0-1 41 1947 Moscow A54 Old Indian, Ukrainian Variation, 4.Nf3 29. N Novotelnov vs Gligoric 1-0 32 1947 Moscow D74 Neo-Grunfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O 30. A Sokolsky vs P Trifunovic   0-1 36 1947 Moscow A16 English 31. K Plater vs C Kottnauer   1-0 37 1947 Moscow B20 Sicilian 32. A Tsvetkov vs Bondarevsky 0-1 44 1947 Moscow C18 French, Winawer 33. Botvinnik vs N Novotelnov 1-0 55 1947 Moscow D74 Neo-Grunfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O 34. Keres vs Smyslov   ½-½ 25 1947 Moscow D10 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 35. Boleslavsky vs Kotov   ½-½ 24 1947 Moscow B85 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Classical 36. Pachman vs Ragozin   ½-½ 57 1947 Moscow E53 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 37. Gligoric vs K Plater   1-0 34 1947 Moscow E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical 38. P Trifunovic vs Kholmov   ½-½ 21 1947 Moscow E17 Queen's Indian 39. Bondarevsky vs A Sokolsky 0-1 41 1947 Moscow C15 French, Winawer 40. C Kottnauer vs A Tsvetkov   ½-½ 41 1947 Moscow E17 Queen's Indian 41. K Plater vs Botvinnik 0-1 62 1947 Moscow B20 Sicilian 42. Ragozin vs Keres 1-0 64 1947 Moscow E47 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 43. Kotov vs N Novotelnov 1-0 57 1947 Moscow D83 Grunfeld, Grunfeld Gambit 44. Boleslavsky vs Pachman   ½-½ 19 1947 Moscow C77 Ruy Lopez 45. Smyslov vs P Trifunovic   ½-½ 43 1947 Moscow B23 Sicilian, Closed 46. A Tsvetkov vs Gligoric 0-1 67 1947 Moscow B84 Sicilian, Scheveningen 47. Kholmov vs Bondarevsky 1-0 68 1947 Moscow D58 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) Syst 48. A Sokolsky vs C Kottnauer   ½-½ 43 1947 Moscow A19 English, Mikenas-Carls, Sicilian Variation 49. Botvinnik vs A Tsvetkov 1-0 30 1947 Moscow E06 Catalan, Closed, 5.Nf3 50. Keres vs Boleslavsky 1-0 86 1947 Moscow A53 Old Indian  page 2 of 5; games 26-50 of 120    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   Mar-02-18    Saniyat24: Four straight losses in the opening four matches for Ratmir Kholmov...were the players too strong, or was Kholmov not at his best form? Mar-02-18    morfishine: <Saniyat24> Well, Kholmov was "only" 22 years old at this tournament and he didn't earn the GM title for another 13 years. Perhaps, he just wasn't fully developed yet as as world class player Plus, those first 4 opponents were powerful indeed: Ragozin, Boleslavsky, Pachman & Paul Keres! What a formidable lineup to start a tournament with! ***** Mar-02-18    Saniyat24: thanks <morfishine> didn't know that Kholmov was only 22 in 1947, must have been an amazing experience though, facing the calibre of players he faced... Mar-03-18    hemy: In 1946 Ratmir Kholmov moved from Arkhangesk (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkha...) to Grodno, Belarus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grodno). In 1946 he took first place in the Belarus republic, 1st category players, (one bellow master-candidate) tournament. In 1947 he won Soviet Union 1st category tournament in Minsk and later Soviet Union master-candidate tournament in Yaroslavl, before Rashid Gibiatovich Nezhmetdinov, Georgy Bastrikov and Yakov Estrin Invitation to the second Mikhail Chigorin Memorial international (Moscow (1947)) tournament was a real surprise for Kholmov. He was invited to represent the Belarus. It was the 1st time Kholmov played with foreign chess players and 1st time he won against GM (Igor Bondarevsky). NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion. Please observe our posting guidelines: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members. 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