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Alekhine Memorial (1956) For a quarter-century after he fled the Soviet Union, Alexander Alekhine was treated as a traitor and an enemy of the people. This attitude softened within a decade of his death, and in 1956 the Soviet Union held an important international event in his memory. Earlier that year, in April, a Soviet delegation, including Smyslov, Keres, Bronstein, Geller and Petrosian, had marked the tenth anniversary of his death at a ceremony, organised by FIDE, in the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris. The Alekhine Memorial was held in Moscow from October 9-November 2, 1956, and featured a star-studded field including World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik and his usual challenger at the time, Vasily Smyslov. They, along with reigning Soviet Champion Mark Taimanov, forged into the lead around the half-way point and stayed one step up on the field the rest of the way. It was Botvinnik who broke the logjam with a spurt of 4.5 points from rounds 10-14, taking a full point lead into the last round. His opponent was an out-of-form Paul Keres, who nevertheless pulled himself together to administer a stunning defeat (Keres vs Botvinnik, 1956). Taimanov settled for a short last-round draw, but Smyslov ground out a win over Gideon Ståhlberg to tie for first place. Moscow, Soviet Union (Russia), 9 October - 2 November 1956 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 Botvinnik * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11.0 2 Smyslov ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11.0 3 Taimanov ½ ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 10.5 4 Gligoric ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 10.0 5 Bronstein ½ ½ 0 1 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 9.5 6 Najdorf 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 9.0 7 Keres 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 8.5 8 Pachman ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 8.5 9 Unzicker ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 8.0 10 Ståhlberg 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 8.0 11 Szabo 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 6.0 12 Padevsky 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 ½ 5.5 13 Uhlmann 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 * 1 ½ ½ 5.5 14 Ciocaltea 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 * 1 ½ 3.5 15 Sliwa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 ½ 0 * ½ 3.0 16 Golombek 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 2.5 Original collection: Game Collection: Alekhine Memorial International Tournament, 1956, by User: Resignation Trap.  page 2 of 5; games 26-50 of 120  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 26. Bronstein vs Gligoric 1-0 79 1956 Alekhine Memorial C97 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin 27. Szabo vs Golombek ½-½ 49 1956 Alekhine Memorial D15 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 28. V Ciocaltea vs Uhlmann 0-1 32 1956 Alekhine Memorial C02 French, Advance 29. Pachman vs Botvinnik   ½-½ 20 1956 Alekhine Memorial A36 English 30. N Padevsky vs Stahlberg   ½-½ 20 1956 Alekhine Memorial D37 Queen's Gambit Declined 31. Unzicker vs Taimanov ½-½ 18 1956 Alekhine Memorial C70 Ruy Lopez 32. Najdorf vs Sliwa   1-0 27 1956 Alekhine Memorial D41 Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Tarrasch 33. Stahlberg vs Najdorf ½-½ 35 1956 Alekhine Memorial A37 English, Symmetrical 34. Gligoric vs N Padevsky 1-0 41 1956 Alekhine Memorial D06 Queen's Gambit Declined 35. Uhlmann vs Pachman   ½-½ 25 1956 Alekhine Memorial D43 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 36. Botvinnik vs Bronstein   ½-½ 19 1956 Alekhine Memorial D32 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch 37. Golombek vs Smyslov 0-1 33 1956 Alekhine Memorial E00 Queen's Pawn Game 38. Keres vs V Ciocaltea   ½-½ 21 1956 Alekhine Memorial B68 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 9...Be7 39. Sliwa vs Unzicker   1-0 86 1956 Alekhine Memorial A16 English 40. Taimanov vs Szabo   ½-½ 24 1956 Alekhine Memorial D54 Queen's Gambit Declined, Anti-Neo-Orthodox Variation 41. Unzicker vs Stahlberg 1-0 41 1956 Alekhine Memorial B64 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack 42. V Ciocaltea vs Golombek   ½-½ 48 1956 Alekhine Memorial B12 Caro-Kann Defense 43. Szabo vs Smyslov 0-1 36 1956 Alekhine Memorial E29 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch 44. N Padevsky vs Botvinnik 0-1 25 1956 Alekhine Memorial B89 Sicilian 45. Taimanov vs Sliwa 1-0 28 1956 Alekhine Memorial E58 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 8...Bxc3 46. Najdorf vs Gligoric   ½-½ 28 1956 Alekhine Memorial E64 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Yugoslav System 47. Bronstein vs Uhlmann 1-0 41 1956 Alekhine Memorial C05 French, Tarrasch 48. Pachman vs Keres 0-1 36 1956 Alekhine Memorial A28 English 49. Golombek vs Pachman   0-1 42 1956 Alekhine Memorial A15 English 50. Smyslov vs V Ciocaltea 1-0 42 1956 Alekhine Memorial B58 Sicilian  page 2 of 5; games 26-50 of 120    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)     There is no kibitzing for this page, yet.   NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. 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