12th Chess Olympiad

The 12th Chess Olympiad (12-я Шахматная олимпиада, 12-ya Shakhmatnaya olimpiada), 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.

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 clinched 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.

• Group 1

• Group 2

• Group 3

• Group 4

Final A

#	Country	Players	Points	MP
1	Soviet Union	Botvinnik, Smyslov, Keres, Bronstein, Taimanov, Geller	31
2	Yugoslavia	Gligorić, Matanović, Ivkov, Karaklajić, Milić, Đurašević	261⁄2	17
3	Hungary	Szabó, Barcza, Benkő, Szilágyi, Bély, Portisch	261⁄2	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	201⁄2
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, Ghițescu, Rădulescu	19	7
12	Israel	Czerniak, Porat, Aloni, Oren, Dobkin, Smiltiner	151⁄2

Final B

#	Country	Players	Points	MP
13	Austria	Robatsch, Dückstein, Kinzel, Prameshuber, Lokvenc, Busek	28
14	Iceland	Ólafsson, Jóhannsson, Möller, Thorbergsson, Gíslason, Guðmundsson	27
15	Sweden	Ståhlberg, Stenborg, Sköld, Backlund, Joffe, Ljungqvist	261⁄2
16	Belgium	O'Kelly, Dunkelblum, Limbos, Thibaut, Boey, Van den Broeck	231⁄2
17	Finland	Ojanen, Salo, Rantanen, Fred, Hänninen, Niemelä	221⁄2
18	Colombia	Cuéllar, Sánchez, De Greiff, Velandia, Restrepo, Reyes Larenas	21	11
19	Netherlands	Prins, Kramer, Bouwmeester, Mühring, Van Steenis	21	10
20	East Germany	Uhlmann, Dittmann, Herrmann, Fuchs, Koch, Platz	201⁄2
21	France	Muffang, Boutteville, Burstein, Noradounguian, Catozzi	191⁄2
22	Chile	Flores, Letelier, Hausman, Jáuregui, Jiménez Rojas, Mallett	19	9
23	Poland	Śliwa, Plater, Dworzyński, Gromek, Szapiro, Balcarek	19	7
24	Norway	Vestøl, Morcken, Lindblom, Johannessen, Barda, Rojahn	161⁄2

Final C

#	Country	Players	Points	MP
25	Philippines	Badilles, Campomanes, Benítez, Cardoso	24
26	Saar	Benkner, Lorson, Weichselbaumer, Folz V., Both G., Schmidt P.	23
27	India	Sapre, Gupta, Mhaiskar, Venkatraman S.	201⁄2
28	Iran	Safvat, Mostafavi-Kachani, Navabi, Lotfy, Assar, Nazarian	19
29	Puerto Rico	Colón Romero A., Colón Romero M., Pla, Benítez, Borrás, Reissmann	181⁄2	11
30	Mongolia	Zhugder, Zhamsaran, Möömöö, Tumurbator, Tserendagva, Namzhil	181⁄2	9
31	Scotland	Fairhurst, Fallone, McGowan, Thomson, Middleton, Rose M.	171⁄2
32	Greece	Siaperas, Angos, Loverdos, Anastasopoulos, Mastihiadis, Pavlatos	17
33	Ireland	Maher, Reilly, Walsh, Dunphy, Grogan, O'Riordan	13
34	Luxembourg	Wantz, Conrady, Schneider, Schmitz F., Philippe, Kremer	9

Final A

Final B

Final C

• Board 1: Denmark Bent Larsen 14 / 18 = 77.8%
• Board 2: Austria Andreas Dückstein 13 / 17 = 76.5%
• Board 3: Soviet Union Paul Keres 91⁄2 / 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 71⁄2 / 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).

• 12th Chess Olympiad: Moscow 1956 OlimpBase

• Chess Olympiads
• Chess in the Soviet Union
• Sports competitions in Moscow
• 1956 in chess
• 1956 in Soviet sport
• 1956 in Moscow
• August 1956 sports events in Europe
• September 1956 sports events in Europe

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