13th Chess Olympiad
The 13th Chess Olympiad, organized by FIDE and comprising an open[1] team tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between September 30 and October 23, 1958, in Munich, West Germany.
The Soviet team with 6 GMs, led by world champion Botvinnik, lived up to expectations and won their fourth gold medals in a row, with Yugoslavia and Argentina taking the silver and bronze, respectively. The West German hosts finished 7th, right behind rivals East Germany. The two neighbouring nations were tied on both game and match points, but the East Germans had won the match between the two.
Results
Preliminaries
A total of 36 teams entered the competition and were divided into four preliminary groups of nine teams each. The top three from each group advanced to Final A, the teams placed 4th-6th to Final B, and no. 7-9 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 Austria. The Netherlands, Denmark, and France took the places 4-6, while Italy, Puerto Rico, and Ireland finished at the bottom of the group.
Spain caused a small surprise by taking first place in group 2, ahead of the resurrected US team and the host nation. Finland, Iceland, and Israel made up the middle part of the group, while Norway, South Africa, and Iran had to settle for the bottom.
Group 3 was won by Argentina, ahead of East Germany and England. Traditional chess power Hungary surprisingly had to settle for Final B, along with Poland and Colombia. Meanwhile, The Philippines, Scotland, and Lebanon finished at the bottom of the group.
Czechoslovakia clinched group 4, ahead of Yugoslavia and Switzerland. Canada, Sweden, and Belgium made up the middle part of the group, while Portugal, Tunisia, and Greece completed the field.
Final
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Final A # Country Players Points MP Head-to-head 1 
Soviet UnionBotvinnik, Smyslov, Keres, Bronstein, Tal, Petrosian 34½ 2 
YugoslaviaGligorić, Matanović, Ivkov, Trifunović, Đurašević, Fuderer 29 3 
ArgentinaPilnik, Panno, Eliskases, Redolfi, Sanguineti, Emma 25½ 4 
USAReshevsky, Lombardy, Bisguier, Evans, Rossolimo 24 5 
CzechoslovakiaPachman, Filip, Fichtl, Kozma, Rejfíř, Šefc 22 12 6 
East GermanyUhlmann, Malich, Dittmann, Bertholdt, Fuchs, Pietzsch 22 11 3½ 7 West GermanyUnzicker, Tröger, Schmid, Darga, Pfeiffer, Lehmann 22 11 ½ 8 
SwitzerlandKupper, Blau, Keller, Walther, Nievergelt, Bhend 19 9 23x15px Spain Pomar, Pérez, Torán Albero, Farre, Albareda, Lladó Lumbera 17½ 10 
BulgariaNeikirch, Bobotsov, Minev, Milev, Tringov, Padevsky 17 11 
EnglandAlexander, Penrose, Golombek, Clarke, Wade 16 12 
AustriaDückstein, Prameshuber, Stöckl, Beni, Lokvenc 15½
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Final B # Country Points MP 13 
Hungary31 14 
Netherlands28 15 
Canada24½ 17 16 
Colombia24½ 13 17 
Israel23½ 18 
Denmark23 19 
Poland22½ 20 
Sweden21 21 
Finland19 22 
Iceland18 23 
France15 24 
Belgium13½
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Final C # Country Points MP Head-to-head 25 
Norway30 26 
Philippines29½ 27 
South Africa28 28 
Italy26½ 29 
Scotland25½ 30 
Greece25 31 
Portugal23 32 
Iran20 33 
Puerto Rico14½ 4 2½ 34 
Ireland14½ 4 1½ 35 
Tunisia14 36 
Lebanon13½
Individual medals
- Board 1: Svetozar Gligorić 12 / 15 = 80.0%
- Board 2: Frank Anderson 10½ / 13 = 80.8%
- Board 3: Paul Keres 9½ / 12 = 79.2%
- Board 4: David Bronstein 9½ / 12 = 79.2%
- 1st reserve: Mikhail Tal 13½ / 15 = 90.0%
- 2nd reserve: Tigran Petrosian and
Győző Forintos 10½ / 13 = 80.8%
References
- ↑ Although commonly referred to as the men's division, this section is open to both male and female players.
- 13th Chess Olympiad: Munich 1958 OlimpBase
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