Leningrad City Chess Championship

The Leningrad City Chess Championship is a chess tournament held officially in the city of Leningrad, Russia starting from 1920. The city was called Petrograd from 1914 to 1924, then Leningrad until 1991, and Saint Petersburg afterwards. Only players born or living in or around the city were allowed to participate in this event.

The championship continued to be played, in spite of tremendous difficulties, also during the Siege of Leningrad in the Second World War, though the tournament of 1941 could not be finished and that of 1942, the most difficult year of the blockade, could not be organized.

The winners include World champions Mikhail Botvinnik (1931 and 1932), Boris Spassky (1959 and 1961) and FIDE World Champion Alexander Khalifman (1996 and 1997).

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