12th Chess Olympiad

The 12th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open[1] team tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between August 31 and September 25, 1956, in Moscow, Soviet Union.
The host nation were double defending champions and naturally huge favourites, and they lived up to expectations. Although their victory margin wasn't as big as two years before, they still won comfortably, with Yugoslavia and Hungary taking home the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Results
Preliminaries
A total of 34 teams entered the competition and were divided into four preliminary groups of eight or nine teams. The top three from each group advanced to Final A, the teams placed 4th-6th to Final B, and the rest to Final C. All groups and finals were played as round-robin tournaments.
Group 1 was won by the Soviet hosts, well ahead of Bulgaria and Switzerland. Poland, Sweden, and Norway took the places 4-6, while Puerto Rico and Saar finished at the bottom of the group.
Yugoslavia took first place in group 2, ahead of Israel and Denmark. Netherlands, Austria, and France made up the middle part of the group, while Mongolia and Scotland had to settle for the bottom.
Group 3 was won by Argentina, ahead of West Germany and England. Iceland, Chile, and Finland took the places 4-6, while India, Luxembourg, and Ireland finished at the bottom of the group.
Hungary cliched group 4, ahead of Romania and Czechoslovakia. East Germany, Colombia, and Belgium made up the middle part of the group, while the Philippines, Greece, and Iran completed the field.
Final
Final A # Country Players Points MP 1 Soviet Union
Botvinnik, Smyslov, Keres, Bronstein, Taimanov, Geller 31 2 Yugoslavia
Gligorić, Matanović, Ivkov, Karaklajić, Milić, Đurašević 26½ 17 3 Hungary
Szabó, Barcza, Benkő, Szilágyi, Bély, Portisch 26½ 16 4 Argentina
Najdorf, Bolbochán, Panno, Pilnik, Sanguineti, Wexler 23 5 West Germany
Unzicker, Schmid, Darga, Pfeiffer, Niephaus, Teschner 22 12 6 Bulgaria
Padevsky, Minev, Kolarov, Tringov, Tsvetkov, Milev 22 10 7 Czechoslovakia
Filip, Pachman, Šefc, Rejfíř, Alster, Ježek 20½ 8 England
Golombek, Penrose, Wade, Milner-Barry, Clarke, Phillips 20 9 Switzerland
Blau, Bhend, Walther, Keller, Johner 19 9 10 Denmark
Larsen, Poulsen, Pedersen, Ingerslev, Nielsen, Enevoldsen 19 8 11 Romania
Bălănel, Ciocâltea, Troianescu, Soós, Ghiţescu, Rădulescu 19 7 12 Israel
Czerniak, Porath, Aloni, Oren, Dobkin, Smiltiner 15½ Final B # Country Points MP 13 Austria
28 14 Iceland
27 15 Sweden
26½ 16 Belgium
23½ 17 Finland
22½ 18 Colombia
21 11 19 Netherlands
21 10 20 East Germany
20½ 21 France
19½ 22 Chile
19 9 23 Poland
19 7 24 Norway
16½ Final C # Country Points MP 25 Philippines
24 26 Saar
23 27 India
20½ 28 Iran
19 29 Puerto Rico
18½ 11 30 Mongolia
18½ 9 31 Scotland
17½ 32 Greece
17 33 Ireland
13 34 Luxembourg
9
Individual medals
- Board 1:
Bent Larsen 14 / 18 = 77.8%
- Board 2:
Andreas Dückstein 13 / 17 = 76.5%
- Board 3:
Paul Keres 9½ / 12 = 79.2%
- Board 4:
David Bronstein 11 / 13 = 84.6%
- 1st reserve:
Raúl Sanguineti 9 / 11 = 81.8%
- 2nd reserve:
Efim Geller 7½ / 10 = 75.0%
Due to a special rule for the top board at Olympiads, Larsen's result automatically earned him the GM title (the rule has since been abolished).
References
- ↑ Although commonly referred to as the men's division, this section is open to both male and female players.
- 12th Chess Olympiad: Moscow 1956 OlimpBase