World Chess Championship 1963
Encyclopedia
At the World Chess Championship 1963 Tigran Petrosian
narrowly qualified to challenge Mikhail Botvinnik
for the World Chess Championship
, and then won the match to become the ninth World Chess Champion. The cycle is particularly remembered for the controversy surrounding the Candidates' Tournament at Curaçao
in 1962, which resulted in FIDE changing the format of the Candidates Tournament to a series of knockout matches
.
, the World Chess Federation,
which set the structure for the fifth world championship series at the 1959 FIDE Congress in Luxembourg
.
The cycle began with the zonal tournaments of 1960. The top finishers in the zonals met at the Interzonal
, with the top six players from the Interzonal qualifying for the Candidates' Tournament. They were then joined by Mikhail Tal
(loser of the last World Championship match in 1961) and Paul Keres
(runner-up at the 1959 Candidates) in the eight player Candidates Tournament in 1962. The winner of the Candidates would qualify to play a World Championship match against Mikhail Botvinnik, the incumbent champion, in 1963.
Previous championship cycles had used only eight zones.
Each zone was allocated from one to four qualifiers based on the relative strengths of its leading players.
, with Jan Hein Donner
(Netherlands), Svetozar Gligorić
(Yugoslavia), Arturo Pomar
(Spain), and Lajos Portisch
(Hungary) in a four way tie for first place with 10½/15.
A Madrid playoff qualified Gligorić, Pomar, and Portisch.
, Netherlands
.
Due to Cold War
political tension, Wolfgang Uhlmann
(East Germany) was refused a visa
, causing the players from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Yugoslavia to withdraw.
The winners of the diminished tournament were Friðrik Ólafsson
(Iceland) first with 7½/9 and Andreas Dückstein
(Austria) and Rudolf Teschner
(West Germany) tied for second with 7.
The Zonal tournament was replayed in the summer of 1961 at Mariánské Lázně
, Czechoslovakia, with Ólafsson, Miroslav Filip
(Czechoslovakia), and Uhlmann qualifying.
At its 1961 Congress at Sofia
, FIDE decided that Dückstein and Teschner would be allowed to play a match for a place in the Interzonal.
With the match tied 3–3, Dückstein withdrew giving the final qualifying spot to Teschner.
, with Gedeon Barcza
(Hungary) finishing first with 10½/15, followed by Mario Bertok
(Yugoslavia), István Bilek
(Hungary), Aleksandar Matanović
(Yugoslavia), and Theo van Scheltinga
tied for second at 10.
A playoff between the second place finishers at Berg en Dal ended with Bilek 3½, Bertok and Matanović 3, von Scheltinga 2½.
An artificial tie-break selected Bertok over Matanović, resulting in Barcza, Bilek, and Bartok qualifying for the Interzonal.
An early 1961 USSR Championship
was held as the Zonal tournament.
Tigran Petrosian
won the championship with 13½/19, and the remaining qualifiers were Victor Korchnoi with 13 and Efim Geller
and Leonid Stein
with 12.
Notable players who failed to qualify from this zone were former world champion Vasily Smyslov
at 11, former world champion challenger David Bronstein
at 9, and former Candidates Boris Spassky
at 11, Yuri Averbakh
at 10½, Mark Taimanov
at 10, and Isaac Boleslavsky
at 9.
The USSR Federation tried unsuccessfully at the 1961 FIDE Congress to get Smyslov seeded into the Interzonal.
designated the 1960 U.S. Championship
as the Zonal tournament.
Top finishers in the championship were Bobby Fischer
with 9/11, William Lombardy
with 7, Raymond Weinstein
with 6½, and Arthur Bisguier
, Samuel Reshevsky
, and James Sherwin
with 6.
Zone 5 was alloted three players, but the lack of true chess professionals in America aside from Fischer greatly affected the players the U.S. sent to the Interzonal.
Lombardy was too busy to play as he was in seminary
, and Weinstein was also busy with college studies.
Reshevsky declined a spot in the Interzonal, and Sherwin could not get enough time off work to participate.
Fischer and Bisguier won the first two spots, and Pal Benko
was nominated to fill the final position.
, a former Canadian champion
and British champion
was nominated for the one qualifying spot alloted.
Miguel Cuéllar
(Colombia) qualified from the Caracas
Zonal.
Zonal were Julio Bolbochán
(Argentina) first with 13½/17, Samuel Schweber
(Argentina) second with 13, and Eugênio German
(Brazil), Rodrigo Flores
(Chile), and Bernardo Wexler
tied for third with 11½.
After a playoff for third place, the qualifiers were Bolbochan, Schweber, and German.
The Southeast Asia and Pacific subzone tournament was held in Sydney, with C. J. S. Purdy winning.
As the West and Central Asia subzone tournament at Madras had only two players, it was decided in match play.
Manuel Aaron
(India) beat Sukien Momo (Mongolia) 3–1.
Aaron qualified by beating Purdy 3–0 in the Zonal final match also held at Madras.
in 1961, but the sponsors could not guarantee that visas
could be obtained for all participants.
Subsequently efforts were made to play in Moscow
, and then Madrid
, but these arrangements also fell through.
Finally the Interzonal was played in Stockholm
under the direct sponsorship of FIDE, from 26 January to 8 March 1962. The 23-player single round-robin tournament
was won convincingly by 18 year old American Bobby Fischer
with 17½ points out of 22 (13 wins, 9 draws, no losses), a margin of 2½ points. The next four places were taken by the Soviets Tigran Petrosian
and Efim Geller
with 15 points, and the Soviet Victor Korchnoi and Miroslav Filip
of Czechoslovakia
with 14 points.
For the sixth and final qualifying spot there was a three-way tie at 13½ points. Leonid Stein
(USSR), Pal Benko
(USA), and Svetozar Gligorić
(Yugoslavia
) played a double round-robin playoff tournament which was dominated by Stein and Benko. Although Stein won, a rule adopted in 1959 allowed no more than three players from a single Federation to qualify from the Interzonal. Stein could play in the Candidates only if one of the other qualifiers from the USSR (Geller, Petrosian, or Korchnoi) was unable to participate. With Stein excluded, Benko took the final place in the Candidates Tournament.
and Paul Keres
.
in Curaçao
in 1962. The field was largely the same as at the 1959 Candidates Tournament in Yugoslavia
, with Mikhail Tal
(USSR), Paul Keres
(USSR), Tigran Petrosian
(USSR), Bobby Fischer
(USA), and Pal Benko
(USA) as the five returning players. The three new players were Yefim Geller (USSR), Miroslav Filip
(Czechoslovakia), and Viktor Korchnoi
(USSR), in place of former champion Vasily Smyslov
(USSR), Svetozar Gligorić
(Yugoslavia), and Friðrik Ólafsson
(Iceland). Only Korchnoi was really new to this level of competition, as Geller was a candidate at Zurich in 1953 and Filip at Amsterdam in 1956.
many games, and it was unclear if his tendency to split points might prevent him from reaching the championship. At age 46, Keres was the oldest player in the tournament. Although a veteran of championship play since the 1938 AVRO tournament
, it was thought by some that this might be his last shot at the championship title. (Ultimately Keres had another opportunity for the title in 1965, but again came up just short.) Although Korchnoi had already established a dominant career record over Tal (five wins, no losses at the time of the tournament), both he and Geller had very imaginative and adventurous styles, which often got them into trouble and led to erratic results. Filip had been ill and had not played many major events between 1958 and 1960, and had the reputation as a solid player who scored many draws. Benko was not a full-time professional chess player (he worked as an investment broker in New York) which limited his opportunities to play against grandmaster-strength opposition. In addition, his tendency to get into time trouble also weighed against his chances.
Korchnoi took the early lead, scoring 5/7 in the first cycle, ahead of Petrosian, Geller and Keres with 4 points. But in the twelfth round, Korchnoi blundered against Fischer in a winning position and lost, and soon after lost four games in a row. The tournament became a three-way race between Petrosian, Keres and Geller. With two rounds to go Petrosian and Keres shared the lead, but Keres unexpectedly lost in the penultimate round to Benko. Petrosian, who drew his last five games of the tournament, emerged as the winner.
Petrosian scored 17½ points out of 27, half a point ahead of Keres and Geller. Fischer finished fourth with 14 points, followed by Korchnoi (13½), Benko (12), Filip (7) and Tal (7 from 21 games played). Since the championship rules provided an automatic berth into the next cycle's Candidates Tournament to the Candidates runner-up, Keres and Geller played a match to determine second place. Keres won the 1962 Moscow
playoff match 4½–3½ to earn a seed into the 1965 Candidates Tournament.
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Soon after the tournament, Fischer publicly alleged that the Soviets had colluded to prevent any non-Soviet – specifically him – from winning. His allegations were twofold: first, that Petrosian, Geller and Keres had pre-arranged to draw all their games; and second, that Korchnoi had been instructed to lose to them.
The first allegation, of the drawing pact, is often assumed to be correct. All of the three players involved have since died, but Yuri Averbakh
, who was head of the Soviet team, stated in a 2002 interview, that Keres was old and wanted to conserve energy, and that Petrosian and Geller were good friends with a history of drawing with each other.
The second allegation, of Korchnoi throwing games, is more doubtful. Korchnoi defected from the USSR in 1976, and has never alleged he was forced to throw games. Korchnoi has also written on his surprise at the short draws. So apparently there was a drawing pact among Petrosian, Keres and Geller, which was unknown even to the fellow Soviet Korchnoi. The other point against the second allegation, is that Fischer was so far behind that it was unnecessary for Korchnoi to throw games in order for a Soviet player to win.
There are also allegations that, in the ultimately decisive Benko-Keres game, Petrosian and Geller (who were good friends) conspired against Keres by helping Benko. Benko has written that Petrosian and Geller offered to help analyse the adjourned position, but that he refused the offer.
was replaced by a series of elimination matches
(initially best of 10 quarter-finals, best of 10 semi-finals, then a best of 12 final), to eliminate the possibility of collusion which exists in a round-robin tournament.
The championship rules were changed so that, unlike in 1957 and 1960, Botvinnik was not entitled to a rematch. Botvinnik had lost both those championships (to Vasily Smyslov
and Mikhail Tal
, respectively), but regained his title in the rematches in 1958 and 1961. Although the loser of the World Championship match was entitled to an automatic seed in the next Candidates Tournament, Botvinnik chose not to exercise this right and retired from championship play, although not competitive chess. Except for two brief periods, Botvinnik had been the champion since 1948. Petrosian's championship crown was next at stake in the 1966 World Championship
match.
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...
narrowly qualified to challenge Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
for the World Chess Championship
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....
, and then won the match to become the ninth World Chess Champion. The cycle is particularly remembered for the controversy surrounding the Candidates' Tournament at Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
in 1962, which resulted in FIDE changing the format of the Candidates Tournament to a series of knockout matches
Single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
.
Structure
The world championship cycle was under the jurisdiction of FIDEFédération 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...
, the World Chess Federation,
which set the structure for the fifth world championship series at the 1959 FIDE Congress in Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
.
The cycle began with the zonal tournaments of 1960. The top finishers in the zonals met at the Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
, with the top six players from the Interzonal qualifying for the Candidates' Tournament. They were then joined by Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
(loser of the last World Championship match in 1961) and 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....
(runner-up at the 1959 Candidates) in the eight player Candidates Tournament in 1962. The winner of the Candidates would qualify to play a World Championship match against Mikhail Botvinnik, the incumbent champion, in 1963.
Zonal tournaments
FIDE now had more than fifty member Federations that were divided into nine zones: 1–Western Europe, 2–Central Europe, 3–Eastern Europe, 4–USSR, 5–USA, 6–Canada, 7–Central America, 8–South America, and 9–Asia.Previous championship cycles had used only eight zones.
Each zone was allocated from one to four qualifiers based on the relative strengths of its leading players.
Zone 1 (Western Europe)
The Zonal was held at MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, with Jan Hein Donner
Jan Hein Donner
Johannes Hendrikus Donner was a Dutch chess grandmaster and writer. Donner was born in The Hague and won the Dutch Championship in 1954, 1957, and 1958. FIDE, the World Chess Federation, awarded him the GM title in 1959. He played 11 times for the Netherlands in the Chess Olympiads...
(Netherlands), 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...
(Yugoslavia), Arturo Pomar
Arturo Pomar
Arturo Pomar Salamanca is a Spanish chess Grandmaster .A chess prodigy , and a pupil of Alexander Alekhine, he became quite famous...
(Spain), and Lajos Portisch
Lajos Portisch
Lajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...
(Hungary) in a four way tie for first place with 10½/15.
A Madrid playoff qualified Gligorić, Pomar, and Portisch.
Zone 2 (Central Europe)
The Zonal was allocated to Berg en DalBerg en Dal
Berg en Dal is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located to the southeast of the city of Nijmegen. The largest part of the village lies in the municipality of Groesbeek, but a small part lies in Ubbergen....
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Due to Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
political tension, 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:...
(East Germany) was refused a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
, causing the players from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Yugoslavia to withdraw.
The winners of the diminished tournament were Friðrik Ólafsson
Friðrik Ólafsson
Friðrik Ólafsson is an Icelandic chess Grandmaster and former president of FIDE.Friðrik was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. A first-time winner of the Icelandic Championship in 1952 and of the Scandinavian Championship a year later, he rapidly became recognised as the strongest Icelandic player of his...
(Iceland) first with 7½/9 and Andreas Dückstein
Andreas Dückstein
Andreas Dückstein an Austrian chess master.Born in Hungary, he left for Austria at the age of 22. Dückstein was thrice Austrian Champion ....
(Austria) and Rudolf Teschner
Rudolf Teschner
Rudolf Teschner was a German chess master and writer.Teschner was seven times Champion of Berlin. In 1948, he won an East-Zones Championship in Bad Doberan, and later in 1951 took the German Championship .Teschner was leading member of the German Chess Olympic team in 1952 and 1956...
(West Germany) tied for second with 7.
The Zonal tournament was replayed in the summer of 1961 at Mariánské Lázně
Mariánské Lázne
Mariánské Lázně is a spa town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. The town, surrounded by green mountains, is a mosaic of parks and noble houses...
, Czechoslovakia, with Ólafsson, 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...
(Czechoslovakia), and Uhlmann qualifying.
At its 1961 Congress at Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, FIDE decided that Dückstein and Teschner would be allowed to play a match for a place in the Interzonal.
With the match tied 3–3, Dückstein withdrew giving the final qualifying spot to Teschner.
Zone 3 (Eastern Europe)
The Zonal was held in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, with Gedeon Barcza
Gedeon Barcza
Gedeon Barcza was a Hungarian chess master.In 1940, Barcza took third place, behind Max Euwe and Milan Vidmar, at Maróczy Jubiläum in Budapest. In September 1942, he took sixth place at the first European Championship in Munich; the event was won by Alexander Alekhine...
(Hungary) finishing first with 10½/15, followed by Mario Bertok
Mario Bertok
Mario Bertok was a Croatian chess master and sports journalist, writing for the Sportske novosti daily sports newspaper. He was born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia....
(Yugoslavia), 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...
(Hungary), 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...
(Yugoslavia), and Theo van Scheltinga
Theo van Scheltinga
Tjeerd Daniel van Scheltinga was a Dutch chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1950 ....
tied for second at 10.
A playoff between the second place finishers at Berg en Dal ended with Bilek 3½, Bertok and Matanović 3, von Scheltinga 2½.
An artificial tie-break selected Bertok over Matanović, resulting in Barcza, Bilek, and Bartok qualifying for the Interzonal.
Zone 4 (USSR)
Even though FIDE allocated the USSR four qualifying spots, Zone 4 was the hardest zone from which to qualify.An early 1961 USSR Championship
USSR Chess Championship
This is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship. It was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners...
was held as the Zonal tournament.
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...
won the championship with 13½/19, and the remaining qualifiers were Victor Korchnoi with 13 and 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...
and Leonid Stein
Leonid Stein
Leonid Zakharovich Stein was a Soviet chess Grandmaster from Ukraine. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s , and was among the world's top ten players during that era.- Early life :...
with 12.
Notable players who failed to qualify from this zone were former world champion 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...
at 11, former world champion challenger David Bronstein
David Bronstein
David Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
at 9, and former Candidates 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...
at 11, Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Lvovich Averbakh is a Soviet and Russian chess player and author. He is currently the oldest living chess grandmaster.-Life and career:...
at 10½, Mark Taimanov
Mark Taimanov
Mark Evgenievich Taimanov is a leading Soviet and Russian chess player and concert pianist.-Chess:He was awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1952 and played in the Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953, where he tied for eighth place. From 1946 to 1956, he was among the world's top...
at 10, and Isaac Boleslavsky
Isaac Boleslavsky
Isaac Yefremovich Boleslavsky was a Soviet–Jewish chess Grandmaster.-Early career:Boleslavsky taught himself chess at age 9...
at 9.
The USSR Federation tried unsuccessfully at the 1961 FIDE Congress to get Smyslov seeded into the Interzonal.
Zone 5 (USA)
The United States Chess FederationUnited States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation is a non-profit organization, the governing chess organization within the United States, and one of the federations of the FIDE. The USCF was founded in 1939 from the merger of two regional chess organizations, and grew gradually until 1972, when membership...
designated the 1960 U.S. Championship
U.S. Chess Championship
The U.S. Chess Championship is an invitational tournament held to determine the national chess champion of the United States. Since 1936, it has been held under the auspices of the U.S. Chess Federation. Until 1999, the event consisted of a round-robin tournament of varying size...
as the Zonal tournament.
Top finishers in the championship were 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 9/11, William Lombardy
William Lombardy
William James Lombardy is an American Grandmaster of chess, writer, teacher, and one-time Catholic priest.- Life and career :...
with 7, Raymond Weinstein
Raymond Weinstein
Raymond A. Weinstein is an American chess master from Brooklyn, New York, who was awarded the FIDE International Master title in 1962. He has been incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital since killing a man in 1964.-Chess career:...
with 6½, and Arthur Bisguier
Arthur Bisguier
Arthur Bernard Bisguier is an American chess Grandmaster, chess promoter, and writer. Bisguier won two U.S. Junior Championships , three U.S. Open Chess Championship titles , and the 1954 United States Chess Championship title. He played for the United States in five chess Olympiads...
, Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
, and James Sherwin
James Sherwin
James Terry Sherwin is an American corporate executive and International Master in chess.Born in New York City in 1933, Sherwin attended Stuyvesant High School, Columbia College and Columbia Law School. He graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Officer Candidate School in 1956 and later...
with 6.
Zone 5 was alloted three players, but the lack of true chess professionals in America aside from Fischer greatly affected the players the U.S. sent to the Interzonal.
Lombardy was too busy to play as he was in seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
, and Weinstein was also busy with college studies.
Reshevsky declined a spot in the Interzonal, and Sherwin could not get enough time off work to participate.
Fischer and Bisguier won the first two spots, and 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...
was nominated to fill the final position.
Zone 6 (Canada)
Daniel YanofskyDaniel Yanofsky
Daniel Abraham Yanofsky, OC, QC was Canada's first chess grandmaster, an eight-time Canadian Chess Champion, a chess writer, a chess arbiter, and a lawyer.-Life in chess:...
, a former Canadian champion
Canadian Chess Championship
This is the list of all the winners of the Canadian Chess Championship, often referred to as the Canadian Closed Championship to distinguish it from the annual Canadian Open tournament. The winner of the Canadian Closed advances to the next stage of the FIDE World Chess Championship cycle...
and British champion
British Chess Championship
The British Chess Championship is organised by the English Chess Federation. There are separate championships for men and women. Since 1923 there have been sections for juniors, and since 1982 there has been an over-sixty championship. The championship venue usually changes every year and has been...
was nominated for the one qualifying spot alloted.
Zone 7 (Central America)
Zone 7 comprised Central America along with northern parts of South America.Miguel Cuéllar
Miguel Cuéllar
Miguel Cuéllar Gacharná was a Colombian chess master.Cuéllar won the Colombian championship nine times: in 1941, 1946, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961, and 1971. He played for Colombia in six Chess Olympiads: 1954, 1956, 1958, 1964, 1970, and 1972...
(Colombia) qualified from the Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
Zonal.
Zone 8 (South America)
Top finishers at the São PauloSão Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
Zonal were 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....
(Argentina) first with 13½/17, Samuel Schweber
Samuel Schweber
Samuel Schweber is an Argentine chess player.Schweber played in several Argentine chess championships. He was 7-8th in 1956 , 4-6th in 1960 , 2nd in 1963 , 3rd in 1965 , 5-8th in 1967 , 2nd in 1968 , 3rd-4th in 1969 , 3rd-4th in 1980 Samuel Schweber (born 16 July 1936) is an Argentine chess...
(Argentina) second with 13, and Eugênio German
Eugênio German
Eugênio Maciel German was a Brazilian chess master.In 1949, Eugênio German won a match against Jayme Schreibman Moses in Belo Horizonte . In 1949, he tied for 3rd-4th in Rio de Janeiro. In 1950, he tied for 5-6th in Rio de Janeiro...
(Brazil), Rodrigo Flores
Rodrigo Flores
Rodrigo Flores Álvarez was a Chilean engineer and chess master.-Chess:Flores was Chilean Champion eleven times: 1931, 1935, 1938, 1941, 1944, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1961, and 1965....
(Chile), and Bernardo Wexler
Bernardo Wexler
Bernardo Wexler was an Argentine chess master.-Biography:Born to Jewish parents in Bucharest, Romania, he emigrated to Argentina at the age of seven. His chess career began after World War II.In 1951, Wexler tied for 6-7th in Mar del Plata/Buenos Aires...
tied for third with 11½.
After a playoff for third place, the qualifiers were Bolbochan, Schweber, and German.
Zone 9 (Asia)
Zone 9 included Asia (except USSR) and the Pacific, and was divided into two subzones.The Southeast Asia and Pacific subzone tournament was held in Sydney, with C. J. S. Purdy winning.
As the West and Central Asia subzone tournament at Madras had only two players, it was decided in match play.
Manuel Aaron
Manuel Aaron
Manuel Aaron was the first Indian chess master in the modern tradition. He dominated chess in India in the 1960s to the 1980s, was the national champion of India ninetimes between 1959 and 1981...
(India) beat Sukien Momo (Mongolia) 3–1.
Aaron qualified by beating Purdy 3–0 in the Zonal final match also held at Madras.
Interzonal
The fifth Interzonal was planned for the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1961, but the sponsors could not guarantee that visas
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
could be obtained for all participants.
Subsequently efforts were made to play in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, and then Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, but these arrangements also fell through.
Finally the Interzonal was played in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
under the direct sponsorship of FIDE, from 26 January to 8 March 1962. The 23-player single round-robin tournament
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
was won convincingly by 18 year old American 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 17½ points out of 22 (13 wins, 9 draws, no losses), a margin of 2½ points. The next four places were taken by the Soviets 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...
and 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...
with 15 points, and the Soviet Victor Korchnoi and 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...
of 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...
with 14 points.
For the sixth and final qualifying spot there was a three-way tie at 13½ points. Leonid Stein
Leonid Stein
Leonid Zakharovich Stein was a Soviet chess Grandmaster from Ukraine. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s , and was among the world's top ten players during that era.- Early life :...
(USSR), 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...
(USA), and 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...
(Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
) played a double round-robin playoff tournament which was dominated by Stein and Benko. Although Stein won, a rule adopted in 1959 allowed no more than three players from a single Federation to qualify from the Interzonal. Stein could play in the Candidates only if one of the other qualifiers from the USSR (Geller, Petrosian, or Korchnoi) was unable to participate. With Stein excluded, Benko took the final place in the Candidates Tournament.
Crosstables
Players in bold advanced to the Candidates' Tournament, along with seeded players Mikhail TalMikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
and 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....
.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | W | D | L | Total | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 17½ | 1 | |
| 2 | ½ | – | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 15 | 2–3 | |
| 03 | ½ | ½ | – | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 15 | 2–3 | |
| 04 | 0 | ½ | ½ | – | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 4–5 | |
| 05 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | – | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 4–5 | |
| 06 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | – | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 13½ | 6–8 | |
| 07 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | – | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 13½ | 6–8 | |
| 08 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | – | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 13½ | 6–8 | |
| 09 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | – | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 12½ | 9–10 | |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | – | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 12½ | 9–10 | |
| 11 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | – | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 11–12 | |
| 12 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | – | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 11–12 | |
| 13 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | – | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 11½ | 13 | |
| 14 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | – | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 14–15 | |
| 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | – | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 14–15 | |
| 16 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | – | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 9½ | 16 | |
| 17 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | – | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 3 | 9 | 10 | 7½ | 17–18 | |
| 18 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | – | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 13 | 8 | 7½ | 17–18 | |
| 19 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | – | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 19–20 | |
| 20 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | – | 1 | ½ | ½ | 2 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 19–20 | |
| 21 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | – | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 6½ | 21 | |
| 22 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | – | ½ | 4 | 13 | 15 | 5½ | 22 | |
| 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | – | 2 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 23 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x x | ½ ½ | 1 1 | 3/4 | |
| 2 | ½ ½ | x x | 1 – | 2/3 | |
| 3 | 0 0 | 0 – | x x | 0/3 |
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament was played as an eight player, quadruple round-robin tournamentRound-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
in Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
in 1962. The field was largely the same as at the 1959 Candidates Tournament in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, with Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
(USSR), 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....
(USSR), 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...
(USSR), 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...
(USA), and 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...
(USA) as the five returning players. The three new players were Yefim Geller (USSR), 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...
(Czechoslovakia), and 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...
(USSR), in place of former champion 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...
(USSR), 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...
(Yugoslavia), and Friðrik Ólafsson
Friðrik Ólafsson
Friðrik Ólafsson is an Icelandic chess Grandmaster and former president of FIDE.Friðrik was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. A first-time winner of the Icelandic Championship in 1952 and of the Scandinavian Championship a year later, he rapidly became recognised as the strongest Icelandic player of his...
(Iceland). Only Korchnoi was really new to this level of competition, as Geller was a candidate at Zurich in 1953 and Filip at Amsterdam in 1956.
Pre-tournament predictions
The favourites were Tal (the recently dethroned World Champion) and Fischer, based on his powerful Interzonal showing. Petrosian had been a title contender since 1953, but he already had a reputation of drawingDraw (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,...
many games, and it was unclear if his tendency to split points might prevent him from reaching the championship. At age 46, Keres was the oldest player in the tournament. Although a veteran of championship play since the 1938 AVRO tournament
AVRO tournament
The AVRO tournament was a chess tournament held in the Netherlands in 1938, sponsored by the Dutch broadcasting company AVRO. The event was a double round-robin tournament...
, it was thought by some that this might be his last shot at the championship title. (Ultimately Keres had another opportunity for the title in 1965, but again came up just short.) Although Korchnoi had already established a dominant career record over Tal (five wins, no losses at the time of the tournament), both he and Geller had very imaginative and adventurous styles, which often got them into trouble and led to erratic results. Filip had been ill and had not played many major events between 1958 and 1960, and had the reputation as a solid player who scored many draws. Benko was not a full-time professional chess player (he worked as an investment broker in New York) which limited his opportunities to play against grandmaster-strength opposition. In addition, his tendency to get into time trouble also weighed against his chances.
Results
The pre-tournament favorites were Tal and Fischer, but Tal lost his first three games and Fischer lost his first two games, indicating an unpredictable tournament could be unfolding. Tal was in bad health, withdrew after the third of four cycles, and was hospitalized with kidney problems.Korchnoi took the early lead, scoring 5/7 in the first cycle, ahead of Petrosian, Geller and Keres with 4 points. But in the twelfth round, Korchnoi blundered against Fischer in a winning position and lost, and soon after lost four games in a row. The tournament became a three-way race between Petrosian, Keres and Geller. With two rounds to go Petrosian and Keres shared the lead, but Keres unexpectedly lost in the penultimate round to Benko. Petrosian, who drew his last five games of the tournament, emerged as the winner.
Petrosian scored 17½ points out of 27, half a point ahead of Keres and Geller. Fischer finished fourth with 14 points, followed by Korchnoi (13½), Benko (12), Filip (7) and Tal (7 from 21 games played). Since the championship rules provided an automatic berth into the next cycle's Candidates Tournament to the Candidates runner-up, Keres and Geller played a match to determine second place. Keres won the 1962 Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
playoff match 4½–3½ to earn a seed into the 1965 Candidates Tournament.
| PET | KER | GEL | FIS | KOR | BEN | TAL | FIL | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | ½½½½ | ½½½½ | ½1½½ | ½½11 | ½½1½ | 11½− | ½11½ | 17½ | |
| 2= | ½½½½ | – | ½½½½ | 0½1½ | ½½1½ | 1110 | 1½1− | ½11½ | 17 | |
| 2= | ½½½½ | ½½½½ | – | 11½0 | ½½1½ | ½½½1 | ½11− | ½11½ | 17 | |
| 4 | ½0½½ | 1½0½ | 00½1 | – | 010½ | 01½1 | ½1½− | 1½1½ | 14 | |
| 5 | ½½00 | ½½0½ | ½½0½ | 101½ | – | ½½½0 | 10½− | 1111 | 13½ | |
| 6 | ½½0½ | 0001 | ½½½0 | 10½0 | ½½½1 | – | 10½− | 011½ | 12 | |
| 7= | 00½− | 0½0− | ½00− | ½0½− | 01½− | 01½− | – | 10½− | 7 | |
| 7= | ½00½ | ½00½ | ½00½ | 0½0½ | 0000 | 100½ | 01½− | – | 7 |
-
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Allegations of collusion
What makes this tournament famous and often-discussed is the allegations of Soviet collusion. The three top finishers (Petrosian, Geller and Keres) drew all twelve of their games against each other, in an average of only 19 moves.Soon after the tournament, Fischer publicly alleged that the Soviets had colluded to prevent any non-Soviet – specifically him – from winning. His allegations were twofold: first, that Petrosian, Geller and Keres had pre-arranged to draw all their games; and second, that Korchnoi had been instructed to lose to them.
The first allegation, of the drawing pact, is often assumed to be correct. All of the three players involved have since died, but Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Lvovich Averbakh is a Soviet and Russian chess player and author. He is currently the oldest living chess grandmaster.-Life and career:...
, who was head of the Soviet team, stated in a 2002 interview, that Keres was old and wanted to conserve energy, and that Petrosian and Geller were good friends with a history of drawing with each other.
The second allegation, of Korchnoi throwing games, is more doubtful. Korchnoi defected from the USSR in 1976, and has never alleged he was forced to throw games. Korchnoi has also written on his surprise at the short draws. So apparently there was a drawing pact among Petrosian, Keres and Geller, which was unknown even to the fellow Soviet Korchnoi. The other point against the second allegation, is that Fischer was so far behind that it was unnecessary for Korchnoi to throw games in order for a Soviet player to win.
There are also allegations that, in the ultimately decisive Benko-Keres game, Petrosian and Geller (who were good friends) conspired against Keres by helping Benko. Benko has written that Petrosian and Geller offered to help analyse the adjourned position, but that he refused the offer.
Response to allegations
FIDE, the world chess federation, responded to the allegations by changing the format of future Candidates' Tournaments. Beginning in the next (1966) cycle, the round-robin formatRound-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
was replaced by a series of elimination matches
Single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
(initially best of 10 quarter-finals, best of 10 semi-finals, then a best of 12 final), to eliminate the possibility of collusion which exists in a round-robin tournament.
Botvinnik-Petrosian match
Petrosian lost the first game of the match, but recovered and won fairly comfortably, 12½–9½. Petrosian won five games, Botvinnik won two games, and there were fifteen draws.The championship rules were changed so that, unlike in 1957 and 1960, Botvinnik was not entitled to a rematch. Botvinnik had lost both those championships (to 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...
and Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
, respectively), but regained his title in the rematches in 1958 and 1961. Although the loser of the World Championship match was entitled to an automatic seed in the next Candidates Tournament, Botvinnik chose not to exercise this right and retired from championship play, although not competitive chess. Except for two brief periods, Botvinnik had been the champion since 1948. Petrosian's championship crown was next at stake in the 1966 World Championship
World Chess Championship 1966
The 1966 World Chess Championship was played between Tigran Petrosian and Boris Spassky in Moscow from April 9 to June 9, 1966. Petrosian won.-Qualification:-The World Championship match:The match was played as best of 24 games...
match.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | style="background:black;color:white"|1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 9½ |
| align=left | |0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 12½ |