Chigorin Memorial
Encyclopedia
The Chigorin Memorial is a chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

 tournament played in honour of the chess legend Mikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin also was a leading Russian chess player...

 (1850–1908), founder of the Soviet School. The first and most important edition was the one played in 1909 in St. Petersburg. Later on, the tournament was mainly played in the Black Sea resort Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

. From 1993 the venue for the tournament returned to his hometown.

St. Petersburg 1909

President of the organising committee was Peter Petrovich Saburov
Peter Petrovich Saburov
Peter Petrovich Saburov was a Russian chess master and organizer.He was a son of Peter Alexandrovich Saburov, a diplomat and chess organizer. The November 1911 American Chess Bulletin wrote: "Peter Petrovich Saburov, President of the far-famed St Petersburg Chess Club was born in St Petersburg on...

, President of the St. Petersburg Chess Club. Members of the committee were Boris Maliutin
Boris Maliutin
Boris Evgenievich Maliutin was a Russian chess master.He played many tournaments in Saint Petersburg...

, O. Sossnitzky, V. Tschudowski, Sergius A. Znosko-Borovsky and Eugene A. Znosko-Borovsky
Eugene Znosko-Borovsky
Eugene Alexandrovich Znosko-Borovsky was a Russian chess master, music and drama critic, teacher and author. Born in Saint Petersburg, he settled in Paris in 1920, and lived there for the rest of his life.-Biography:...

. The main event lasted from 14 February to 12 March 1909.
Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
1 / * 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 14½
2 0 * ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 14½
3 / 0 ½ * 1 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 11
4 / 0 0 0 * 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11
5 / ½ ½ 1 1 * 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 10½
6 ½ 0 0 0 1 * 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 10
7 / ½ 0 0 ½ 0 1 * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 1
8 0 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ * 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 9
9 / 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 * 1 0 0 1 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 9
10 / 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 * ½ 1 1 1 ½ 0 1 1 1 9
11 / ½ 0 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ * 0 0 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½
12 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 1 * ½ 1 1 1 0 1 1
13 / 1 1 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 8
14 / 0 0 1 0 1 ½ ½ 1 0 0 1 0 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 ½
15 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ 0 7
16 / 0 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 0 0 ½ ½ 0 * ½ 1 0 7
17 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 6
18 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 1 ½ 0 ½ * 0
19 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 * 5

Rubinstein and Lasker won 875 rubles (each), Spielmann and Duras 475 rubles (each), Bernstein 190 rubles, Teichmann 120 rubles, Perlis 80 rubles, Cohn, Schlechter, and Salwe 40 rubles (each).

Sochi period

From 1947, there were several Chigorin memorial tournaments, but it was not until 1963 that it was established as an annual event in Sochi. These tournaments were all played on the round robin
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...

 format.
Year Winner City
1947 Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...

 
Moscow
1951 Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...

 
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

1961 Mark Taimanov
Mark Taimanov
Mark Evgenievich Taimanov is a leading Soviet and Russian chess player and concert pianist.-Chess:He was awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1952 and played in the Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953, where he tied for eighth place. From 1946 to 1956, he was among the world's top...

 
Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don
-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...

1972 Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title...

 
Kislovodsk
Kislovodsk
Kislovodsk is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, which lies in the North Caucasian region of the country, between the Black and Caspian Seas. The closest airport is located in the city of Mineralnye Vody. Population:...


# Year Winner City
1 1963 Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

2 1964 Nikolai Krogius
Nikolai Krogius
Nikolai Vladimirovich Krogius is a Russian Chess Grandmaster, International Arbiter , psychologist, chess coach, chess administrator, and author. He won several tournament titles at Sochi and in eastern European events, and appeared in seven Soviet finals from 1958–1971...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

3 1965 Wolfgang Unzicker
Wolfgang Unzicker
Wolfgang Unzicker was one of the strongest German chess Grandmasters from 1945 to about 1970.He decided against making chess his profession, choosing law instead....

 
Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

4 1966 Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

5 1967 Alexander Zaitsev 
Vladimir Simagin
Vladimir Simagin
Vladimir Simagin was a Russian Grandmaster of chess. He was three times Moscow champion , helped to train Vasily Smyslov to the World Championship, and made many significant contributions to chess openings...

 
Nikolai Krogius
Nikolai Krogius
Nikolai Vladimirovich Krogius is a Russian Chess Grandmaster, International Arbiter , psychologist, chess coach, chess administrator, and author. He won several tournament titles at Sochi and in eastern European events, and appeared in seven Soviet finals from 1958–1971...

 
Leonid Shamkovich
Leonid Shamkovich
Leonid Aleksandrovich Shamkovich was a chess Grandmaster, and chess writer.He was born in a Jewish family in Rostov-on-Don in Russia...

 
Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

6 1973 Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

7 1974 Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

8 1976 Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title...

 
Evgeny Sveshnikov
Evgeny Sveshnikov
Evgeny Ellinovich Sveshnikov is a Latvian, former Soviet International Grandmaster of chess, and a chess writer.-The player:...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

9 1977 Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

10 1979 Nukhim Rashkovsky
Nukhim Rashkovsky
Nukhim Nikolayevich Rashkovsky is a chess Grandmaster and coach from Russia.His first meaningful chess moves were played at the Sverdlovsk Palace of Pioneers, one of many training schools for talented young players in Soviet Russia.He was a regular patron of the long-running Soviet Chess...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

11 1980 Alexander Panchenko
Alexander Panchenko
Alexander Panchenko was a Russian chess Grandmaster.-External links:...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

12 1981 Vitaly Tseshkovsky
Vitaly Tseshkovsky
Vitaly Valerianovich Tseshkovsky is a Russian chess Grandmaster and a former champion of the USSR.Tseshkovsky was born in Siberia into a Polish family ....

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

13 1982 Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

14 1983 Anatoly Vaisser
Anatoly Vaisser
Anatoly Vaisser is a French chess Grandmaster and currently Senior Chess Champion of the World....

 
Evgeny Sveshnikov
Evgeny Sveshnikov
Evgeny Ellinovich Sveshnikov is a Latvian, former Soviet International Grandmaster of chess, and a chess writer.-The player:...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

15 1984 Georgy Agzamov
Georgy Agzamov
Georgy Tadzhikhanovich Agzamov was a Soviet chess Grandmaster. He became an International Master in 1982 and was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1984....

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

16 1985 Evgeny Sveshnikov
Evgeny Sveshnikov
Evgeny Ellinovich Sveshnikov is a Latvian, former Soviet International Grandmaster of chess, and a chess writer.-The player:...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

17 1986 Svetozar Gligorić
Svetozar Gligoric
Svetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...

 
Alexander Beliavsky
Alexander Beliavsky
-External links:...

 
Rafael Vaganian
Rafael Vaganian
Rafael Artemovich Vaganian, also transliterated Vahanyan is an Armenian chess grandmaster known for his sharp tactical style of play...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

18 1987 Sergey Smagin
Sergey Smagin
Sergey Smagin is a Russian chess Grandmaster.He played in the Soviet championships of 1985 and 1986, obtaining his best result at Riga 1986, where he place 3rd-6th in a field of twenty....

 
Evgeny Pigusov 
Andrei Kharitonov 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

19 1988 Sergey Dolmatov
Sergey Dolmatov
Sergey Viktorovich Dolmatov is a Russian Grandmaster of chess and former World Junior Chess Champion.Born in Kiselevsk in the former Soviet Union, Dolmatov's solid yet enterprising style of play was soon to launch him to the forefront of youth chess, culminating in him winning the World Junior...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

20 1989 Alexey Vyzmanavin
Alexey Vyzmanavin
Alexey Borisovich Vyzmanavin was a Russian chess Grandmaster.During the early part of his career, he regularly played in the Moscow Championships and in 1981, with an Elo rating of 2200, finished sixth, ahead of several strong grandmasters including David Bronstein, Yuri Razuvaev, Artur Yusupov,...

 
Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...

21 1990 Vadim Ruban  Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...


Back to St. Petersburg

Since 1993, the Chigorin Memorial has been played as an open Swiss system tournament
Swiss system tournament
A Swiss-system tournament is a commonly used type of tournament where players or teams need to be paired to face each other for several rounds of competition. This type of tournament was first used in a Zurich chess tournament in 1895, hence the name "Swiss system". The Swiss system is used when...

. The 13th edition was not played for superstitious reasons. The winners are listed below.
# Year Winner
1 1993 Alexey Dreev
Alexey Dreev
Alexey Dreev is a chess grandmaster from Russia. His career peak Elo rating was 2705, attained in October 2003 and again in April 2005.He qualified for the Candidates Tournament in 1991, but lost his Quarter Final match to Viswanathan Anand in Madras .Then in the FIDE World Championship...

2 1994 Ildar Ibragimov
Ildar Ibragimov
Ildar Ibragimov is a chess Grandmaster. Born in Kazan, Russia, he was equal first alongside Kramnik and Kharlov at the 1991 USSR Under 26 Championship. He received the Grandmaster title in 1993. He now competes for the United States, where he has lived since 2002. He was a co-winner of the 2004...

3 1995 Vladimir Burmakin
Vladimir Burmakin
Vladimir Burmakin is a Russian chess Grandmaster.In 1994 he came 3rd-5th in the Russian championship at Elista, with Sergei Rublevsky and Vasily Yemelin ....

4 1996 Alexei Fedorov
Alexei Fedorov
Alexei Fedorov is a chess grandmaster. Until 1992 he played for the Soviet Union, then briefly for Russia and from 1993 for the Belarus chess association....

 
Lembit Oll
Lembit Oll
Lembit Oll was an Estonian chess grandmaster. He was already successful as a junior, becoming champion of Estonia in 1982 and junior champion of the Soviet Union in 1984. He also won multiple European and World junior championships. FIDE awarded him the IM-title in 1983 and the GM-title in 1992...

5 1997 Konstantin Sakaev
Konstantin Sakaev
Konstantin Sakaev is a Russian chess Grandmaster , from St Petersburg and Russian Champion in 1999. He is also a chess writer. Sakaev is on the staff of the Grandmaster Chess School in St...

6 1998 Sergey Volkov
Sergey Volkov (chess)
Sergey Viktorovich Volkov is a Russian chess Grandmaster.Volkov has been in the FIDE world's top 50 list and has enjoyed many tournament successes, including victory at the 2000 Russian Chess Championship in Samara...

7 1999 Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Igorevich Grischuk is a Russian chess grandmaster and Russian Champion in 2009.-Chess career:In the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000, Grischuk he made it to the semifinals, losing to Alexei Shirov....

 
Sergey Volkov
Sergey Volkov (chess)
Sergey Viktorovich Volkov is a Russian chess Grandmaster.Volkov has been in the FIDE world's top 50 list and has enjoyed many tournament successes, including victory at the 2000 Russian Chess Championship in Samara...

8 2000 Valerij Filippov
9 2001 Mikhail Kobalia
Mikhail Kobalia
Mikhail Kobalia is a Russian chess Grandmaster .In 1994 he won European Youth Chess Championship in Guarapuava. In 2001 was clear first in the Chigorin Memorial at St. Petersburg. In 2005 came first in the Masters Open Tournament in Biel...

10 2002 Alexander Fominyh
11 2004 Sergey Ivanov
12 2005 Igor Zakharevich
Igor Zakharevich
Igor Zakharevich was a Russian chess Grandmaster.-References:...

 
Roman Ovetchkin
14 2006 Dmitry Bocharov
Dmitry Bocharov
Dmitry Bocharov is a Russian chess Grandmaster .In 2003 he tied for 1st-7th with Vladimir Burmakin, Eduardas Rozentalis, Philipp Schlosser, Alexander Areshchenko, Jakov Geller and Evgeny Miroshnichenko in the Cappelle-la-Grande Open. In 2004, came first at Abu Dhabi. In 2006 he won the 14th...

15 2007 Sergei Movsesian
Sergei Movsesian
Sergei Movsesian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster who used to play for Slovakia, but as of late 2010, Movsesian announced that he plays for his home country of Armenia...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK