USSR Chess Championship

The USSR Chess Championship was played from 1920 to 1991.

Organized by the USSR Chess Federation, it was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners.

It was held as a round-robin tournament with the exception of the 35th and 58th championships, which were of the Swiss system.

Photograph of the participants of the fourth USSR Chess Championship in 1925 — The participants of the fourth USSR Chess Championship in 1925.
Sitting (left to right): Vilner , Levenfish , Rokhlin (organizer), Gotthilf , I. Rabinovich , Bogolyubov (winner), Ilyin-Genevsky , Duz-Khotimirsky , Romanovsky , Sergeyev , Nenarokov , Verlinsky , A. Rabinovich .
Standing (left to right): von Freymann , Sozin , Eremeev (organizer), Grigoriev , Zubarev , Selezniev , Kaspersky , Kutuzov , Weinstein (organizer).

A Soviet stamp dedicated to the 1962 USSR Chess Championship