1978 USSR Chess Championship
The 1978 USSR Chess Championship was the 46th edition. It took place in Tbilisi from December 1–27, 1978. Mikhail Tal and Vitaly Tseshkovsky shared the title.
Qualifying tournaments were held in Daugavpils and Ashgabat. This edition marked the debut of future world champion Garry Kasparov in the Soviet championships.
A Swiss qualifying event in Daugavpils ran from June 27 to July 16, 1978, with 64 players. Kasparov won and earned direct promotion to the final.
The top seven from the Swiss event qualified for the final. The final in Tbilisi included these seven, plus Tamaz Giorgadze as the local Georgian representative and players who were directly entered due to their past results.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:05 (CET).