What REALLY Happened at the 1956 Moscow Chess Olympiad?

Описание:    • Unseen 1960 Chess Olympiad in Leipzig – Le...  

Where: Moscow, Soviet Union
When: 31st August - 25th September 1956

MEN TEAM PERFORMANCE:

1.Soviet Union 54½----17-----0----1
2.Yugoslavia 50-----14-----3----1
3.Hungary 49½----11-----7----1

Individual medals
Board 1: Denmark Bent Larsen 14 / 18 = 77.8%
Board 2: Austria Andreas Dückstein 13 / 17 = 76.5%
Board 3: Soviet Union Paul Keres 9½ / 12 = 79.2%
Board 4: Soviet Union David Bronstein 11 / 13 = 84.6%
1st reserve: Argentina Raúl Sanguineti 9 / 11 = 81.8%
2nd reserve: Soviet Union Efim Geller 7½ / 10 = 75.0%


Thirty-four countries took part in 12th Chess Olympiad held in Moscow, the capital of the state with millions of active chess players and highly developed chess industry. Soviet authorities treated the event most seriously intending to prove superiority of communist regime over rotten West. The event was held with stubbing splendour. The magic barrier of 1,000 games played during one Olympiad was finally broken. We had also seen more than 190 players from all over the world, including exotic newcomers from Mongolia, Puerto Rico, Iran and India, though Sultan Khan might be considered their predecessor. The gigantic Red Army Central Theatre was the venue.

The Soviets won another trophy but this time it was not so easy. They lost their first ever match (hadn't Botvinnik saved brilliantly his game vs Szabó it would have been even worse) and couldn't overtake their competitors until penultimate round. But still they won five Best board results, among them three gold. Yugoslavia finally overtook Argentina and won their first silver medal. Gligorić lost as much as three game (out of total 5 lost by the whole team) but altogether he did not let his supporters down. Matanović and Ivkov were well-shaped and scored most wins. Hungary recovered after a few years of slump. Their two GM aces, Szabó and Barcza did what they were expected to do, despite Barcza's late breakdown. Benkő was another player who did well. Argentina were outside the medal zone for the first time after the War.