National Champions
Russian Chess Champions
Russian chess champions by year, with past winners, championship history, and title records.
The list separates its history into the All-Russian, Russian SFSR and Russian Federation eras. These are not the all-USSR championship: Soviet titles are not added. Mark Taimanov’s off-contest 1960 result is excluded.
Latest recorded champion
Arseniy Nesterov
Latest winner in these records: Arseniy Nesterov (2025).
Most Championships
Peter Svidler, 8 championships
First Championship
1899 (All-Russian series)
Champions
71
101 championships
Championship History
The All-Russian tournament series began in 1899, followed by the Russian SFSR championship and the Russian Federation championship from 1992. Peter Svidler won eight Russian Federation titles; the modern Superfinal has also been won by Ian Nepomniachtchi, Daniil Dubov and Vladislav Artemiev.
Russia Champion List
Champions appear from oldest to newest. Shared titles and tied first places appear under each player's name.
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1899 | Mikhail Chigorin |
| 1900/1901 | Mikhail Chigorin |
| 1903 | Mikhail Chigorin |
| 1905/1906 | Gersz Salwe |
| 1907 | Akiba Rubinstein |
| 1909 | Akiba Rubinstein |
| 1912 | Akiba Rubinstein |
| 1913/1914 | Alexander Alekhine |
| 1913/1914 | Aron Nimzowitsch |
| 1920 | Alexander Alekhine |
| 1923 | Peter Romanovsky |
| 1928 | Peter Izmailov |
| 1934 | Sergey Belavenets |
| 1935 | Alexander Tolush |
| 1946 | Isaac Boleslavsky |
| 1947 | Nikolay Novotelnov |
| 1948 | Nikolay Aratovsky |
| 1948 | Georgy Ilivitsky |
| 1949 | Georgy Ilivitsky |
| 1949 | Peter Dubinin |
| 1950 | Rashid Nezhmetdinov |
| 1951 | Rashid Nezhmetdinov |
| 1952 | Lev Aronin |
| 1952 | Nikolai Krogius |
| 1953 | Rashid Nezhmetdinov |
| 1954 | Leonid Shamkovich |
| 1955 | Anatoly Lutikov |
| 1956 | Leonid Shamkovich |
| 1957 | Rashid Nezhmetdinov |
| 1958 | Rashid Nezhmetdinov |
| 1959 | Anatoly Lutikov |
| 1960 | Vitaly Tarasov |
| 1961 | Lev Polugaevsky |
| 1963 | Anatoly Lein |
| 1964 | Nikolai Krogius |
| 1966 | Anatoly Lein |
| 1966 | Igor Zakharov |
| 1966 | Vladimir Sergievsky |
| 1968 | Alexander Zaitsev |
| 1970 | Anatoly Karpov |
| 1971 | Oleg Dementiev |
| 1971 | Valery Zilberstein |
| 1972 | Vitaly Tseshkovsky |
| 1973 | Vitaly Tseshkovsky |
| 1973 | Valeri Korensky |
| 1973 | Jurij Rusakov |
| 1974 | Nukhim Rashkovsky |
| 1976 | Nukhim Rashkovsky |
| 1977 | Valerij Zhuravliov |
| 1977 | Lev Psakhis |
| 1979 | Alexander Panchenko |
| 1980 | Alexander Petrushin |
| 1981 | Pavel Zarubin |
| 1982 | Anatoly Vaisser |
| 1982 | Valery Chekhov |
| 1984 | Gennady Tunik |
| 1985 | Alexander Petrushin |
| 1986 | Veniamin Shtyrenkov |
| 1987 | Andrei Kharitonov |
| 1988 | Ratmir Kholmov |
| 1988 | Vadim Ruban |
| 1989 | Alexey Vyzmanavin |
| 1990 | Andrei Kharlov |
| 1990 | Vladimir Kramnik |
| 1990 | Ruslan Shcherbakov |
| 1990 | Maxim Sorokin |
| 1991 | Sergei Rublevsky |
| 1992 | Alexei Gavrilov |
| 1993 | Alexei Bezgodov |
| 1994 | Peter Svidler |
| 1995 | Peter Svidler |
| 1996 | Alexander Khalifman |
| 1997 | Peter Svidler |
| 1998 | Alexander Morozevich |
| 1999 | Konstantin Sakaev |
| 2000 | Sergey Volkov |
| 2001 | Alexander Motylev |
| 2002 | Alexander Lastin |
| 2003 | Peter Svidler |
| 2004 | Garry Kasparov |
| 2005 | Sergei Rublevsky |
| 2006 | Evgeny Alekseev |
| 2007 | Alexander Morozevich |
| 2008 | Peter Svidler |
| 2009 | Alexander Grischuk |
| 2010 | Ian Nepomniachtchi |
| 2011 | Peter Svidler |
| 2012 | Dmitry Andreikin |
| 2013 | Peter Svidler |
| 2014 | Igor Lysyj |
| 2015 | Evgeny Tomashevsky |
| 2016 | Alexander Riazantsev |
| 2017 | Peter Svidler |
| 2018 | Dmitry Andreikin |
| 2019 | Evgeny Tomashevsky |
| 2020 | Ian Nepomniachtchi |
| 2021 | Nikita Vitiugov |
| 2022 | Daniil Dubov |
| 2023 | Vladislav Artemiev |
| 2024 | Vladislav Artemiev |
| 2025 | Arseniy Nesterov |
Sources
The winners come from the sources below. The notes above explain missing results and which competitions are included.
- Russian Chess Championship historical tables — Historical winners table; see the notes above for gaps in the records.
Last reviewed: October 8, 2026.