The 19th Chess Olympiad

Chess Olympiad

The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...

, comprising an open team tournament and the Annual Congress of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs

Fédération Internationale des Échecs

The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world and acts as the governing body of international chess competition. It is usually referred to as FIDE , its French acronym.FIDE...

, took place between September 5 and September 27, 1970, in the small town of Siegen

Siegen

Siegen is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia.It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region...

, West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

.

Tournament report

Held at the Siegerland Hall venue, a total of 64 nations applied to enter the tournament. Unfortunately, space constraints and FIDE's intended model format meant that only 60 could be accommodated. Rather too conveniently it was then found that four teams were to have their applications rejected on the grounds that they had missed the deadline or some such technicality.

The tournament was run as a two-stage round-robin

Round-robin tournament

A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...

. Six preliminary Groups determined the composition of five Finals Groups, denoted A to E, the strongest qualifiers ending up as Group A and so on. There were several unsatisfactory aspects of this system however and they manifested themselves in a variety of ways.

Firstly, the pressure was raised to fever pitch at a very early stage in the proceedings. A poor result in the prelims would condemn a team to a low Group. All this proved too much for England's top player, Jonathan Penrose

Jonathan Penrose

Jonathan Penrose, OBE is an English chess player, emeritus Grandmaster, and International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster who won the British Chess Championship ten times between 1958 and 1969. He is the son of Lionel Penrose, a world famous professor of genetics, and brother of Roger Penrose...

, who in his crucial final prelims match, blundered

Blunder (chess)

In chess, a blunder is a very bad move. It is usually caused by some tactical oversight, whether from time trouble, overconfidence or carelessness. While a blunder may seem like a stroke of luck for the opposing player, some chess players give their opponent plenty of opportunities to blunder.What...

 a piece

Chess piece

Chess pieces or chessmen are the pieces deployed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. The pieces vary in abilities, giving them different values in the game...

 and fainted from the shock. A nervous player at the best of times, he was retired from the rest of the contest on medical grounds and England ended up in Group C, which they won by a hefty margin.

The Sunday Times reported instances of cheating. For example, in the Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 vs. Switzerland prelims match, a player moved his queen

Queen (chess)

The queen is the most powerful piece in the game of chess, able to move any number of squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of the first rank next to the king. With the chessboard oriented correctly, the white queen starts...

 next to the opponent's king

King (chess)

In chess, the king is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its escape is not possible . If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be...

 with check. Capturing the queen with the king was forced and so the player made the move for his opponent, declaring stalemate

Stalemate

Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. A stalemate ends the game in a draw. Stalemate is covered in the rules of chess....

 and shaking hands all in one movement. His dazed opponent ended up signing the scoresheet, before recovering his wits and realising (too late) that it was not stalemate at all.

It was possible for strong teams, sitting comfortably in favourable qualification spots, to not try as hard as they might have in other circumstances. Such actions undoubtedly influenced the qualification process below them and as a deliberate ploy, could have assisted in relegating a strong rival to a lower Group.

Then there was the whole question of apartheid. Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 decided to forfeit their game against South Africa as a protest against racial segregation and so lost 4-0. Naturally, this meant that the whole group dynamic was lost and the resulting placings, somewhat distorted. There were some teams and a small number of strong players who did not compete at all.

The teams competed for the Hamilton-Russell Cup. Matches were scored by game points, with match points being used in the event of a tie-break. The Chief Referee was International Arbiter

International Arbiter

In chess, International Arbiter is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed capable of acting as arbiter in important chess matches . The title was established in 1951....

 Harry de Graaf. Three-hundred-sixty players took part, including 35 grandmasters

International Grandmaster

The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....

 and 66 international masters.

As was customary, A FIDE congress was held during the Olympiad and the major news concerned the retirement of President Folke Rogard

Folke Rogard

Bror Axel Folke Per Rogard was a Swedish lawyer and chess official.He was born in Stockholm. He was Vice-President of the international chess governing body, FIDE, from 1947 to 1949 and then succeeded Alexander Rueb as President. He held the post until succeeded by Max Euwe in 1970.-External links:...

 after 21 years of service. He was to be replaced by former World Champion

World Chess Championship

The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....

 Max Euwe

Max Euwe

Machgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...

 and this appeared to be a universally popular decision. Another important issue was the presentation of a proposed new system for the award of FIDE Grandmaster and International Master titles; the congress adopted in full the report submitted by a committee comprising Svetozar Gligorić

Svetozar Gligoric

Svetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...

, Professor Arpad Elo

Árpád Élo

Arpad Emrick Elo is the creator of the Elo rating system for two-player games such as chess. Born in Egyházaskesző, Austro-Hungarian Empire, he moved to the United States with his parents as a child in 1913.Elo was a professor of physics at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was...

 and the Vice President, Mr Dorazil.

The tournament was very well attended by the public, particularly on the day that current World Champion

World Chess Championship

The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....

 Boris Spassky

Boris Spassky

Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...

 played future World Champion Bobby Fischer

Bobby Fischer

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...

, with an estimated 3000 spectators turning up (Spassky won).

Individual performances

World Champion Boris Spassky took the best score on board one (79.17%) and won a suit as a prize. Bobby Fischer finished a close second with 76.9% and Bent Larsen

Bent Larsen

Jørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...

 a close third with 76.5%.

Tigran Petrosian

Tigran Petrosian

Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...

 extended his amazing run of unbeaten Olympiad games to 90 (won 58, drawn

Draw (chess)

In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...

 32).

Viktor Korchnoi

Viktor Korchnoi

Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...

 lost only one game - as a result of oversleeping he defaulted to the Spaniard, Diez del Corral. There was no satisfactory explanation as to why team captain Paul Keres

Paul Keres

Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....

 or one of Korchnoi's team-mates could not have telephoned his room when noticing he was a few minutes late.

Oscar Panno

Oscar Panno

Oscar R. Panno is an Argentine chess Grandmaster.Panno won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1953, and also won the championship of Argentina the same year....

 drew a record 15 games; however this may be partially explained by his accommodation. Siegen is a small place and many competitors were housed in the surrounding area. When Korchnoi asked Panno where he was living, his reply was "in a pure field".

Final Group A, top 10 finishers

Place of finish	Team	Players	Matches won	Matches drawn	Matches lost	Total score
First Gold medal A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...	U.S.S.R.	Boris Spassky Boris Spassky Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972... , Tigran Petrosian Tigran Petrosian Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else... , Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit... , Lev Polugaevsky Lev Polugaevsky Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title... , Vasily Smyslov Vasily Smyslov Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won... , Efim Geller Efim Geller Efim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions...	7	4	0	27½
Second Silver medal A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....	Hungary	Lajos Portisch Lajos Portisch Lajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"... , Levente Lengyel Levente Lengyel Levente Lengyel is a Hungarian chess player, who gained the Grandmaster title in 1964.-Background:Lengyel gained the title of International Master in 1962 and became a Grandmaster in 1964... , István Bilek Istvan Bilek István Bilek was a Hungarian chess Grandmaster .-Biography:Bilek was a three-time Hungarian Champion , and he played in interzonals in 1962 and 1964. His most successful tournaments were Balatonfüred , Salgótarján , and Debrecen... , Gyozo Forintos Gyozo Forintos Győző Victor Forintos is a Hungarian chess master and by profession, an economist.He first participated in the Hungarian Championship as early as 1954 and became the national champion in 1968/9.... , István Csom István Csom István Csom is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster and International Arbiter. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1967 and the Grandmaster title in 1973. He was Hungarian Champion in 1972 and 1973... , Zoltán Ribli Zoltan Ribli Zoltán Ribli is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and International Arbiter . He was twice a World Championship Candidate and three times Hungarian Champion.-A career in chess:...	8	2	1	26½
Third Bronze medal A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...	Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....	Svetozar Gligorić Svetozar Gligoric Svetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia... , Borislav Ivkov Borislav Ivkov Borislav Ivkov is a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was the first ever World Junior Champion in 1951. He won the Yugoslav Championship in 1958 , 1963 and 1972. He was a World championship candidate in 1965, and played in four more Interzonal tournaments, in 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979... , Milan Matulović Milan Matulovic Milan Matulović is a chess Grandmaster who was the second or third strongest Yugoslav player for much of the 1960s and 1970s behind Svetozar Gligorić and possibly Borislav Ivkov. He was primarily active before 1977, but has remained an occasional tournament competitor as recently as... , Aleksandar Matanović Aleksandar Matanovic Aleksandar Matanović is a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was born in Belgrade.Awarded the GM title in 1955, he was junior champion of Yugoslavia in 1948 and Yugoslav national champion in 1962 , 1969 and 1978... , Bruno Parma Bruno Parma Bruno Parma is a Slovene chess player and Grandmaster.Parma was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia . He first played in the World Junior Chess Championship in 1959, sharing second place... , Dragoljub Minić Dragoljub Minic Dragoljub Minić was a Yugoslav Grandmaster of chess....	8	3	0	26
Fourth	United States	Robert Fischer Bobby Fischer Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author... , Samuel Reshevsky Samuel Reshevsky Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster... , Larry Evans Larry Evans For the football player of the same name, see Larry Evans .Larry Melvyn Evans was an American chess grandmaster, author, and journalist. He won or shared the U.S. Chess Championship five times and the U.S. Open Chess Championship four times... , Pal Benko Pál Benko Pal Benko is a chess grandmaster, author, and composer of endgame studies and chess problems.- Early life :Benko was born in France but was raised in Hungary. He was Hungarian champion by age 20. He emigrated to the United States in 1958, after defecting following the World Student Team... , William Lombardy William Lombardy William James Lombardy is an American Grandmaster of chess, writer, teacher, and one-time Catholic priest.- Life and career :... , Edmar Mednis Edmar Mednis Edmar John Mednis was an American International Grandmaster of chess born in Riga, Latvia. He was also a popular and respected chess writer.-Biography:...	5	3	3	24½
Fifth	Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...	Vlastimil Hort Vlastimil Hort Vlastimil Hort is a chess Grandmaster of Czech nationality. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the world's strongest players and reached the Candidates stage of competition for the world chess championship, but was never able to compete for the actual title.Hort was born in Kladno,... , Miroslav Filip Miroslav Filip Miroslav Filip was a Grandmaster of chess from the Czech Republic. Filip was awarded the title of International Master in 1953, and the Grandmaster title in 1955... , Vlastimil Jansa Vlastimil Jansa Vlastimil Jansa is a Chess Grandmaster from the Czech Republic .He learned chess while in hospital at the age of eight and at fourteen, became the youth champion of Prague. In 1959, he finished second in the Czechoslovak national junior championship... , Jan Smejkal Jan Smejkal Jan Smejkal is a Czech chess player and, since 1972, an International Grandmaster. In the 1970s, he was among the world chess elite... , Josef Přibyl, František Blatný	3	6	2	23½
Sixth	West Germany West Germany West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....	Wolfgang Unzicker Wolfgang Unzicker Wolfgang Unzicker was one of the strongest German chess Grandmasters from 1945 to about 1970.He decided against making chess his profession, choosing law instead.... , Lothar Schmid Lothar Schmid Lothar Maximilian Lorenz Schmid is a German chess grandmaster who was born in Dresden. He is best known as the arbiter of several World Chess Championship matches... , Klaus Darga Klaus Darga Klaus Viktor Darga is a German Grandmaster chess player.In 1951 Darga became German Junior Champion after winning the national under-20 championship. He also proved his strength as a young chessplayer by sharing first place in the World Junior Championship of 1953, with Oscar Panno of Argentina... , Hans-Joachim Hecht Hans-Joachim Hecht Hans-Joachim Hecht is a German chess player and twice the national champion. His first name is often abbreviated to Hajo.... , Dieter Mohrlok, Klaus Klundt	4	2	5	22
Seventh	Bulgaria Bulgaria Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...	Milko Bobotsov Milko Bobotsov Milko Georgiev Bobotsov was the first Bulgarian to attain the chess title of Grandmaster, achieving this title in 1961. Prior to gaining the title he won the Bulgarian national championship in 1958. Probably his best result was equal second at the powerful Alekhine Memorial tournament in Moscow... , Georgi Tringov Georgi Tringov Georgi Petrov Tringov was a Grandmaster of chess from Bulgaria. He won the Bulgarian national chess championship in 1963, the year he was awarded the Grandmaster title, only the second Bulgarian player thus honored... , Nikola Padevsky Nikola Padevsky Nikola Bochev Padevsky is a Bulgarian chess Grandmaster.Padevsky was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city. He became Bulgarian National Champion in 1954, going on to win it in 1955, 1962 and 1964 in a play off after which he gained the status of a grandmaster, after initially being... , Luben Popov, Ivan Radulov Ivan Radulov Ivan Radulov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster.As a chess player, he was most prominent during the 1970s, winning the Bulgarian Championship in 1971, 1974, 1977 and 1980. He just missed out at the 1976 event, finishing 2nd... , Atanas Kolarov	3	4	4	21½
Eighth	Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...	Miguel Najdorf Miguel Najdorf Miguel Najdorf was a Polish-born Argentine chess grandmaster of Jewish origin, famous for his Najdorf Variation.... , Oscar Panno Oscar Panno Oscar R. Panno is an Argentine chess Grandmaster.Panno won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1953, and also won the championship of Argentina the same year.... , Julio Bolbochán Julio Bolbochan Julio Bolbochán was the Argentine chess champion in 1946 and 1948.Born in Buenos Aires, he represented Argentina in seven Chess Olympiads from 1950 to 1970.... , Miguel Quinteros Miguel Quinteros Miguel Quinteros is an Argentine chess grandmaster.He won the Argentine Chess Championship at the age of 18 and in 1969 took eighth place at the Mar del Plata Zonal tournament... , Jorge Rubinetti Jorge Rubinetti Jorge Alberto Rubinetti is an Argentine chess master.He won four times Argentine Chess Championship and played eight times for Argentina in Chess Olympiads .... , Carlos Eleodoro Juarez	4	2	5	21½
Ninth	East Germany	Wolfgang Uhlmann Wolfgang Uhlmann Wolfgang Uhlmann is a prominent German International Grandmaster of chess. Despite being a dedicated professional chess player, and undoubtedly the GDR's most successful ever, he has also had a career in accountancy.-Chess career:... , Burkhard Malich, Heinz Liebert, Artur Hennings, Lothar Zinn, Friedrich Baumbach Friedrich Baumbach Dr Friedrich Baumbach is a German chess grandmaster of correspondence chess, most famous for being the eleventh ICCF World Champion in correspondence chess between 1983 and 1989...	1	5	5	19
Tenth	Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...	Florin Gheorghiu Florin Gheorghiu Florin Gheorghiu is a Romanian chess player and university lecturer in foreign languages.Born in Bucharest, his prodigious talent for the game was evidenced by his many early achievements; he became an International Master in 1963 and Romania's first Grandmaster just two years later... , Victor Ciocâltea Victor Ciocâltea Victor Ciocâltea was a Romanian chess master. He was awarded the International Master title in 1957 and the International Grandmaster title in 1978... , Theodor Ghiţescu, Emil Ungureanu, Gheorghe Mititelu, Emanoil Reicher	1	3	7	18½

Group A was completed by  Canada (17½ points) and  Spain (16 points).

Final Groups B-E

Of the remaining Final Groups, the top three finishers were as follows;

Group B ... 1st  Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 2nd  Poland 3rd  Australia.

Group C ... 1st  England 2nd  Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 3rd  Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

.

Group D ... 1st  Switzerland 2nd  Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 3rd  Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

.

Group E ... 1st  New Zealand 2nd  Rhodesia

Rhodesia

Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...

 3rd  Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

.

Best game

The 'Best Game' prize went to Lothar Schmid (West Germany) - Anton Kinzel (Austria) from the preliminaries.