This collection is part of Game Collection: Tal's Tournament and Matches 1949-1973

These are all the games Mikhail Tal played at the <Havana Olympiad 1966>, dated and in correct round order.1

The event was organized by Jose Barreras, and funded lavishly by the Cuban government. There was great fan interest, prompting a Cuban newspaper to write "At this moment the whole country is one mighty chessboard."2

Tal played 3d board for an exceptionally strong Soviet team, featuring world champion Tigran Petrosian on 1st board, Boris Spassky on 2d board, and Leonid Stein on 4th board. The depth of this squad was highlighted by the fact that the 1st and 2d reserve boards were occupied by such strong international grandmasters as Viktor Korchnoi and Lev Polugaevsky. 3

In the preliminary rounds, held 25 Oct - 4 Nov, the USSR cruised easily to victory in Group 1, winning every game.2 Tal missed the first four rounds because he had been hit over the head with a bottle shortly before the tournament started.4 This bizarre mishap didn't seem to affect his play, however, as he averaged just 29 moves a game in mowing down opponents from Uruguay, Switzerland and Spain in the last 3 rounds of the preliminaries.

The finals were held 4-20 Nov, and in Group A only the Americans looked to mount any serious opposition to the Soviets.2 This was due almost entirely to the play of Bobby Fischer, who racked up an incredible score of +14 -1 =2 through the course of the tournament. The USSR-USA match came in final round 2. Spassky held Fischer to a draw, but Tal proved the hero by winning the only game of the match, against Robert Byrne. Tal maintained his stellar form to the end, winning the gold medal on 3d board with a score of +11 -0 =2. The USSR triumphed over the USA, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Spain, Norway and Cuba.5

Tal missed the last round and the closing celebrations. Since the USSR had already clinched first, the Soviet team gave him permission to fly out early to Spain, where he was slated to play in Palma de Mallorca (1966). 4

Notes

1 Alexander Khalifman, ed. "Mikhail Tal Games II 1963-1972" (Chess Stars 1995), pp.147-153

2 Árpád Földeák, "Chess Olympiads 1927-1968" Robert Ejury , Jeno Bochkor and Peter Clarke transl. (Dover 1969), pp.358-362

3 Olimpbase "17th Chess Olympiad: Havana 1966" http://www.olimpbase.org/1966/1966i... http://www.olimpbase.org/1966/1966u... http://www.olimpbase.org/1966/1966f...

4 Mikhail Tal, "The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal" (Cadogan 1997), p.334

5 Di Felice, "Chess Results 1964-1967," pp.324-332

===

More "Tal at the Chess Olympiads":

Game Collection: Tal at the Uppsala Student Olympiad 1956

Game Collection: Tal at the Reykjavik Student Olympiad 1957

Game Collection: Tal at the Varna Student Olympiad 1958

Game Collection: Tal at the Munich Olympiad 1958

Game Collection: Tal at the Leipzig Olympiad 1960

Game Collection: Tal at the Varna Olympiad 1962

Game Collection: Tal at the Skopje Olympiad 1972