Despite his failing eyesight, he remained active in the occasional composition of chess problems and studies until shortly before his death in 2010.

His father, Vasily Osipovich Smyslov, worked as an engineering technician and had represented the St. Petersburg Technical Institute in intercollegiate chess competitions.

"[2] Smyslov's competitive chess experiences began at the age of 14, when he started taking part in classification tournaments.

However, Smyslov's first attempt at adult competition outside his own city fell short; he placed 12th–13th in the Leningrad–Moscow International tournament of 1939 with 8/17 in an exceptionally strong field.

In his first Soviet final, the 1940 USSR Chess Championship (Moscow, URS-ch12), he performed exceptionally well for 3rd place with 13/19, finishing ahead of the reigning champion Mikhail Botvinnik.

This tournament was the strongest Soviet final up to that time, as it included several players, such as Paul Keres and Vladas Mikėnas, from countries annexed by the USSR following the Nazi–Soviet Pact of 1939.

World War II forced a halt to most international chess, but several tournaments involving Soviet players only were still organized.

Smyslov was exempted from military service due to being severely nearsighted, and he won the 1942 Moscow Championship outright with a powerful 12/15.

By this juncture, Smyslov had advanced into the group of the top three Soviet players, along with Botvinnik and Keres, who were playing in Nazi-occupied Europe during the war.

In the 1945 USSR Championship at Moscow (URS-ch14), Smyslov was in the middle of the very powerful field with 8½/17; the winner was Botvinnik, with Boleslavsky and the new star David Bronstein occupying second and third places.

This event, the Howard Staunton Memorial, was won by Botvinnik with 14½/19, half a point ahead of former World Champion Max Euwe.

His results showed a consistent pattern of high finishes against strong company, but with virtually no tournament championships.

Smyslov was one of the five players selected to compete for the 1948 World Chess Championship tournament to determine who should succeed the late Alexander Alekhine as champion.

With his second-place finish from the 1948 World Championship, Smyslov was admitted directly into the 1950 Budapest Candidates' tournament without needing to play in qualifying events.

After winning the Candidates Tournament in Zürich 1953, with 18/28, two points ahead of Keres, Bronstein, and Samuel Reshevsky, Smyslov played a match with Botvinnik for the title the following year.

He was a Candidate in 1959, but finished fourth in the qualifying tournament held in Yugoslavia, which was won by the rising superstar Mikhail Tal.

He had beaten Zoltán Ribli 6½–4½ in the semifinal, but drew his quarter-final match against Robert Hübner 7–7, with the advancing player (Smyslov) determined only by the spin of a roulette wheel.

Much later in his career he showed that he could still mount a credible challenge; he took a share of third place in 1969 (behind Petrosian and Polugaevsky) and in 1971, was joint runner-up with Tal, behind Savon.

He continued his winning streak at Moscow's Alekhine Memorial in 1956, a victory shared with his constant rival, Botvinnik.

During this period, there were several triumphs in his city of birth, when he shared first place with Bronstein and Spassky at the inaugural edition of the Moscow Central Chess Club international tournament series (sometimes also referred as an Alekhine Memorial) in 1959, was a joint winner in both 1960 (with Kholmov) and 1961 (with Vasiukov), and won outright in 1963.

In 1967, he was second (behind Fischer) at Monte Carlo, won at Moscow, and finished second (behind Stein) at the city's Alekhine Memorial tournament.

Notable outcomes for 1980 included joint first places at San Miguel (with Browne, Panno, Jaime Emma) and at Copenhagen (the Politiken Cup, with Mikhalchishin).

Smyslov represented the Soviet Union a total of nine times at chess Olympiads, from 1952 to 1972 inclusive, excepting only 1962 and 1966.

Some of the matches were adjourned early as draws due to his failing eyesight, and Smyslov officially retired from competitive play after this tournament.

Smyslov died of congestive heart failure in a Moscow hospital on the morning of 27 March 2010, three days after his 89th birthday.

It was also reported that Smyslov and his wife Nadezhda mostly lived on income from renting their apartment and that no one checked on them or provided care.

He occasionally gave recitals during chess tournaments, often accompanied by fellow grandmaster and concert pianist Mark Taimanov.

Nadezhda had a son from her first marriage, an aspiring chess player who competed at the World Junior Championship.

[19][20] However, she remained in Moscow during the 1959 Candidates tournament when, to the consternation of Soviet authorities, the normally staid Smyslov had a flagrant affair with a woman grandmaster that affected his play.

[21] Smyslov's stepson, Vladimir Selimanov, represented the USSR at the 1957 World Junior Championship at Toronto, where he finished 4th.