18th Chess Olympiad

The 18th 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 October 17 and November 7, 1968, in Lugano, Switzerland.
The Soviet team with six GMs, led by world champion Petrosian, lived up to expectations and won their ninth consecutive gold medals, with Yugoslavia and Bulgaria taking the silver and bronze, respectively.
Results
Preliminaries
A total of 53 teams entered the competition and were divided into seven preliminary groups of seven or eight teams each. The top two from each group advanced to Final A, the teams placed third-fourth to Final B, no. 5-6 to Final C, and the rest to Final D. Preliminary head-to-head results were carried over to the finals, so no teams met more than once. All preliminary groups and finals were played as round-robin tournaments. The results were as follows:
- Group 1: 1. Soviet Union, 2. Philippines, 3. England, 4. Israel, 5. Italy, 6. Portugal, 7. Mexico, 8. Cyprus.
- Group 2: 1. Denmark, 2. United States, 3. Mongolia, 4. Austria, 5. Australia, 6. Venezuela, 7. France.
- Group 3: 1. Yugoslavia, 2. Poland, 3. Spain, 4. Scotland, 5. South Africa, 6. Luxembourg, 7. Dominican Republic.
- Group 4: 1. Hungary, 2. Canada, 3. Netherlands, 4. Belgium, 5. Monaco, 6. Ireland, 7. Paraguay, 8. Costa Rica.
- Group 5: 1. West Germany, 2. Romania, 3. Switzerland, 4. Brazil, 5. Norway, 6. Puerto Rico, 7. Hong Kong, 8. Lebanon.
- Group 6: 1. Argentina, 2. East Germany, 3. Finland, 4. Sweden, 5. Greece, 6. Morocco, 7. British Virgin Islands.
- Group 7: 1. Bulgaria, 2. Czechoslovakia, 3. Iceland, 4. Cuba, 5. Tunisia, 6. Turkey, 7. Singapore, 8. Andorra.
Final
Final B # Country Points MP 15
Netherlands 33½ 16
England 33 17
Austria 30½ 18
Israel 30 19
Spain 28½ 20
Cuba 27 14 21
Switzerland 27 12 22
Iceland 26 23
Finland 24½ 24
Sweden 22½ 25
Brazil 21½ 26
Belgium 20½ 27
Mongolia 20 28
Scotland 19½ Final C # Country Points MP 29
Australia 38 30
Norway 36 31
Italy 31½ 32
Venezuela 30 33
Turkey 29½ 34
Greece 28½ 35
Portugal 27½ 16 36
South Africa 27½ 14 37
Tunisia 26 38
Ireland 21 39
Luxembourg 20½ 40
Puerto Rico 19½ 41
Morocco 16 42
Monaco 12½ Final D # Country Points MP 43
Singapore 32 44
France 30 45
Paraguay 27½ 46
Mexico 23½ 13 47
Dominican Republic 23½ 12 48
Hong Kong 22½ 49
Costa Rica 14½ 50
Lebanon 13½ 51
Cyprus 13 52
British Virgin Islands 11 53
Andorra 9
Individual medals
- Board 1:
Tigran Petrosian 10½ / 12 = 87.5% - Board 2:
Georgi Tringov 11 / 14 = 78.6% - Board 3:
Viktor Korchnoi 11 / 13 = 84.6% - Board 4:
Shimon Kagan 10½ / 13 = 80.8% - 1st reserve:
Glicerio Badilles 11½ / 14 = 82.1% - 2nd reserve:
Vassily Smyslov 11 / 12 = 91.7%
References
- ↑ Although commonly referred to as the men's division, this section is open to both male and female players.
- 18th Chess Olympiad: Lugano 1968 OlimpBase