12th Chess Olympiad

The official logo of the 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