How the Early Soviet State Turned Chess Into a Tool
A look inside the origins of Soviet chess culture. These articles trace how early USSR institutions and political leaders transformed chess into a tool for education, discipline, and national development, setting the foundation for decades of dominance in world chess.
Viktor Zhelyandinov
Viktor Zhelyandinov’s career spanned Soviet military chess and decades of coaching in Lviv. Winner of the 1966 championship of the friendly armies in Prague, he later helped develop Vassily Ivanchuk and contributed to Anatoly Karpov’s preparation.