5. Mikhail Botvinik (1911-1995)
Mikhail Botvinik was the first chess king of the former Soviet Union. Botvinnik was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1911. At the age of 37, he became the sixth king of chess and won five league championships with five players in The Hague, the Netherlands and Moscow, Russia. Botvinik scored 14 out of 20 points, 3 points more than Vasili Smislov.
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