Early Years
Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov learned chess at age 12, and was near Master strength within three years. He served as a sailor in the Soviet merchant marine during World War II, sailing mainly the Northern Arctic route. In 1945, he took 5th in Tula. In 1946, he won in Zhdanovichi (Belarus). In 1947, he took 4th in the 13th Belarusian championship. Later that year, he made his first high-level appearance at the Mikhail Chigorin Memorial, Moscow 1947, scoring 5.5/15 against a powerful international field. In 1948, Kholmov won the next BLR-ch in 1948, unbeaten, with 11.5/13.
Kholmov qualified for his first Soviet final in 1948, Moscow URS-ch16, scoring 8.5/18 for 12th place, where the winners were David Bronstein and Alexander Kotov. He had to return to the Soviet semifinal level at Tbilisi 1949, where he placed 3rd with 10.5/17 to advance. At Moscow URS-ch17, 1949, he showed solid improvement, finishing tied 9th–10th with 10/19, as Bronstein and Vasily Smyslov won.
In 1950, he took 3rd in Pärnu, 7th in Tbilisi, and tied 4th–5th in the Spartak Club Championship. He missed Finals qualifying at Tartu 1950 (URS-ch18sf) with 9.5/15 for fifth place. In 1954, he took 2nd, behind Vladas Mikėnas in Vilnius (Quadrangular). Kholmov won, or tied for 1st, in the Lithuanian championships in 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960, making a total of ten outright or shared Lithuanian titles. This consistent success meant that he could be a full-time chess professional.
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