Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: Spassky won the Soviet Chess Championship twice outright ( 1961 , 1973 ) , and twice more lost in playoffs ( 1956 , 1963 ) , after tying for first during the event proper .
Simplified: Spassky won the USSR Chess Championship twice outright ( 1961 , 1973 ) , and twice more lost in playoffs ( 1956 , 1963 ) .