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First Piatigorsky Cup (1963) In 1963, famous cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and his wife Jacqueline gave a cup through the Piatigorsky Foundation for a chess tournament (1) that would include two grandmasters from the USSR and two grandmasters from the USA. Four grandmasters from other countries filled out the playing list. The final player line-up consisted of Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian, Paul Keres, Samuel Reshevsky, Pal Benko, Fridrik Olafsson, Svetozar Gligoric, Oscar Panno and Miguel Najdorf. The tournament ran from the 2nd of July to the 30th of July 1963 in Los Angeles, USA. The players met in a double round all-play-all and the joint winners Petrosian and Keres returned to the Soviet Union with more than half of the $10,000 prize fund offered by the Piatigorsky Foundation. After the New York (1927) event, this tournament was the strongest to this time to be held in the USA. 1 Keres ** ½½ ½0 11 00 ½1 11 ½1 8½ 2 Petrosian ½½ ** ½½ ½½ ½½ 01 11 ½1 8½ 3 Najdorf ½1 ½½ ** ½0 1½ ½½ 0½ 1½ 7½ 4 Olafsson 00 ½½ ½1 ** ½1 ½1 10 ½½ 7½ 5 Reshevsky 11 ½½ 0½ ½0 ** ½½ 1½ 0½ 7 6 Gligoric ½0 10 ½½ ½0 ½½ ** ½0 1½ 6 7 Benko 00 00 1½ 01 0½ ½1 ** 10 5½ 8 Panno ½0 ½0 0½ ½½ 1½ 0½ 01 ** 5½ The main source for this collection was the First Piatigorsky Cup tournament book edited by Isaac Kashdan. ISBN 0-486-24066-5. The Second Piatigorsky Cup (1966) was second and last tournament that contested this trophy. [1) Wikipedia article: Piatigorsky Cup. Original collection: Game Collection: First Piatigorsky Cup 1963, by User: Benzol.  page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 56  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Keres vs Petrosian ½-½ 30 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup B18 Caro-Kann, Classical 2. F Olafsson vs Gligoric ½-½ 32 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup B93 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6.f4 3. Reshevsky vs Benko 1-0 41 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup E60 King's Indian Defense 4. Najdorf vs Panno 1-0 37 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup A56 Benoni Defense 5. F Olafsson vs Najdorf   ½-½ 16 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup E19 Queen's Indian, Old Main line, 9.Qxc3 6. Gligoric vs Petrosian 1-0 43 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup C95 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer 7. Panno vs Reshevsky 1-0 63 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup E88 King's Indian, Samisch, Orthodox, 7.d5 c6 8. Benko vs Keres 0-1 42 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup E15 Queen's Indian 9. Najdorf vs Gligoric   ½-½ 32 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup E88 King's Indian, Samisch, Orthodox, 7.d5 c6 10. Reshevsky vs F Olafsson ½-½ 41 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup E41 Nimzo-Indian 11. Petrosian vs Benko 1-0 43 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup D81 Grunfeld, Russian Variation 12. Keres vs Panno   ½-½ 41 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup E76 King's Indian, Four Pawns Attack 13. F Olafsson vs Keres 0-1 86 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup A07 King's Indian Attack 14. Panno vs Petrosian ½-½ 111 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup E11 Bogo-Indian Defense 15. Najdorf vs Reshevsky   1-0 41 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup E19 Queen's Indian, Old Main line, 9.Qxc3 16. Gligoric vs Benko   ½-½ 28 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup D58 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) Syst 17. Petrosian vs F Olafsson   ½-½ 39 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup D32 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch 18. Benko vs Panno 1-0 58 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup E77 King's Indian 19. Keres vs Najdorf ½-½ 45 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup B43 Sicilian, Kan, 5.Nc3 20. Reshevsky vs Gligoric   ½-½ 24 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup E92 King's Indian 21. Reshevsky vs Keres 1-0 42 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup A23 English, Bremen System, Keres Variation 22. Gligoric vs Panno 1-0 31 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup D48 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, Meran 23. Najdorf vs Petrosian ½-½ 25 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup D58 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) Syst 24. F Olafsson vs Benko 1-0 57 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup B48 Sicilian, Taimanov Variation 25. Benko vs Najdorf 1-0 26 1963 First Piatigorsky Cup A57 Benko Gambit  page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 56    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   Dec-14-12    wordfunph: tournament toppings :) <At the opening ceremony of the Piatigorsky Cup in 1963 in Los Angeles, it was announced that the winner would receive a car in addition to the prize money. Keres shared victory in the tournament with Petrosian, and they both got a car. A few months later Petrosian came to Tallinn and Keres met him at the train station. "We really got great cars from America, Paul Petrovich," Petrosian remarked, sitting next to Keres in the front seat. "They're fantastic," the Estonian grandmaster agreed, "although if I hadn't rushed with the move h5 in our game, the car would only have gone to me."> Sep-29-13    GrahamClayton: The tournament was held at the Ambassador Hotel, which was a major LA landmark until it was demolished in 2005: http://www.theambassadorhotel.com/ Oct-09-13    offramp: The Piatigorskys must've been saddened that Fischer didn't take part. Apr-30-14    GrahamClayton: Some background information about the tournament can be found here: http://www.chessdryad.com/articles/... Apr-30-14    Brown: <offramp: The Piatigorskys must've been saddened that Fischer didn't take part.> Maybe not. May-01-14    AylerKupp: There was some friction between Fischer and the Piatagorskys as a result of the aborted 1961Fischer - Reshevsky match, happily seemingly resolved in time for the 2nd Piatagorsky Cup in 1966. May-01-14    Benzol: I have the impression that Bobby would have liked to have played in this tournament since he would only be facing two Soviet players and ganging up as a group wouldn't have happened. But he was probably still smarting over the aborted Reshevsky match and felt he had to decline. May-01-14    Petrosianic: Considering that he sat out almost all of 1963 and 1964, I don't know why you think he wanted to play in this tournament particularly. Especially since, as you pointed out, he still hadn't buried the hatchet with the Piatigorsky's yet over the Reshevsky-Fischer match. Of course in a double round robin, one player could throw two games to the other, which might be more than enough to prevent Fischer from winning the tournament. Or they might draw both games (which did happen), and again keep Fischer from winning, according to the official excuse. What you've got to understand is WHY he sat out '63 and '64. Sure, he had his excuses. "Korchnoi threw games. My opponents drew too much. The sun was in my eyes." But the excuses were for the masses. Fischer the chessplayer was too good a player not to recognize the serious deficiencies in his play that had turned up at Curacao. They had to be corrected before he was ready to make another serious try. They weren't yet corrected in 1963, so he likely wouldn't have played at Piatigorsky I even if he had been on good terms with them. May-01-14    Howard: Personally, I suspect that his bitterness over the aborted Reshevsky match was the main reason he sat out the tournament---rather than any concerns about honing his chess skills. Keep in mind that Fischer did play at the Western Open in 1963, and that event was held around the same time as the Piatagorsky event. Not only that, he wrote an "over the top article" (as Soltis stated in his book of 100 of Fischer's best games) afterward claiming that his games in the Western Open were of a higher quality than most of the games from the Piatagorsky cup (!). Sounds, therefore, that Fischer didn't have too many qualms about his quality of play in 1963. Rather, he was still bitter towards the Piatigorskys, and he played in the much, much weaker Western Open just to spite them. May-01-14    AylerKupp: Fischer's possible concern that one player (presumably Keres) would throw two games to another player (presumably Petrosian) clearly was not enough to dissuade him from playing in the Second Piatagorsky Cup in 1966. Or perhaps his concerns were less since he was a better player in 1966 than he was in 1963. And, if nothing else, the prize fund for the First Piatagorsky Cup was $ 10,000, with $ 3,000 going to the winner. This was a large amount of money for a chess event in 1963 so Fischer probably would have at least considered it, assuming that he was invited to play. However, I don't know if he was, for all the reasons already mentioned. Unfortunately Mrs. Piatagorsky passed away almost 2 years ago (age 100) and cannot comment on the subject. May-01-14    Petrosianic: <Fischer's possible concern that one player (presumably Keres) would throw two games to another player (presumably Petrosian) clearly was not enough to dissuade him from playing in the Second Piatagorsky Cup in 1966. Or perhaps his concerns were less since he was a better player in 1966 than he was in 1963.> The second is more likely. Bad sportsmanship aside, I question whether Fischer ever believed what he was saying at all. Tim Crabbe asked Korchnoi about it when he defected, and Korchnoi said the subject had never come up when they met a few years later. It was his opinion that Fischer had realized how ridiculous it was, and just quietly changed his mind. And of course, Fischer sent him the congratulatory telegram when he defected. That was before Korchnoi once again became "one of the lowest dogs around" for daring to play for the world title. <assuming that he was invited to play. However, I don't know if he was, for all the reasons already mentioned. Unfortunately Mrs. Piatagorsky passed away almost 2 years ago (age 100) and cannot comment on the subject.> No need to ask her. I'm pretty sure that Chess Life reported that Fischer had been invited and turned it down. It would be pretty difficult to hold a major international tournament in the US, and not invite the US Champion. May-01-14    Howard: There seems to be no doubt that Fischer WAS invited to the 1963 Cup. But he requested a $2,000 appearance and the Piatagorsky's ended up inviting Benko is his place. How much of a factor that was, as opposed to bitterness over the Reshevsky match, is hard to say. Perhaps Fischer never really wanted to play in the 1963 Cup because of the latter factor, so he demanded the $2,000 fee figuring that it would probably be refused. Thus, the matter about the fee could have been used by him as a "smokescreen" for his reason for not playing. And if the request for the $2,000 (over $12,000 in 2014 dollars !) fee HAD been agreed to, he still could have come up with a reason for not playing anyway.....or, on the other hand, he could have just headed off to Los Angeles to play. Never mind the Reshevsky match, in other words----money might have been more impt to Fischer. But, to repeat, he WAS originally invited. May-01-14    Benzol: <Petrosianic> <Considering that he sat out almost all of 1963 and 1964, I don't know why you think he wanted to play in this tournament particularly. Especially since, as you pointed out, he still hadn't buried the hatchet with the Piatigorsky's yet over the Reshevsky-Fischer match.> <Of course in a double round robin, one player could throw two games to the other, which might be more than enough to prevent Fischer from winning the tournament. Or they might draw both games (which did happen), and again keep Fischer from winning, according to the official excuse.> I believe Fischer wanted to play because it would have been a chance to play and defeat the World Champion ( in this case Petrosian ) and this tournament wasn't an FIDE event which Fischer was boycotting at this stage. Regarding the second point as Keres pointed out in an article after the 1962 Candidates Tournament draws between the Soviet players would tend to favour the other competitors who were intent on winning. May-01-14    Petrosianic: <I believe Fischer wanted to play because it would have been a chance to play and defeat the World Champion> According to Profile of a Prodigy, Fischer was at that time considering the possibility of getting backing and making a pre-WWII style challenge for the world title. It's not clear that Fischer was ever boycotting FIDE before 1975. The only thing he explicitly refused to play in again was a Candidates Tournament. He played in the Varna Olympiad right after Curacao, and that was a FIDE event. He reasons for not playing in the 1964 Interzonal were varied and contradictory, but didn't involve a boycott of FIDE. <Regarding the second point as Keres pointed out in an article after the 1962 Candidates Tournament draws between the Soviet players would tend to favour the other competitors who were intent on winning.> Yes, for example, if Petrosian had won that 4th cycle game against Keres, then Fischer would have finished 4 points out of first, rather than 3½. When you're trailing one person, all you need is for that one person to lose points. When you're trailing 3 or 4, then you have to gain ground on all of them. I remember once when I was a kid, not grasping this, when we were talking about the last week of a pennant race. I was rooting for the 3rd place team, and thought they had a chance because they were only like 2 or 3 games back. The guy I was talking to was of the opinion that they would have a chance if they were in 2nd, but being in 3rd, it was almost impossible. And the teams in 1st and 2nd were playing each other that week, so they couldn't both lose on any of those days. It turned out the last week played out almost exactly the way the other guy predicted. May-01-14    Benzol: <According to Profile of a Prodigy, Fischer was at that time considering the possibility of getting backing and making a pre-WWII style challenge for the world title.> Yes, that's why I think he wanted to play. Beating the World Champion would have strengthened his case and this tournament was an excellent chance to show it. <It's not clear that Fischer was ever boycotting FIDE before 1975. The only thing he explicitly refused to play in again was a Candidates Tournament. He played in the Varna Olympiad right after Curacao, and that was a FIDE event. He reasons for not playing in the 1964 Interzonal were varied and contradictory, but didn't involve a boycott of FIDE.> Very true. Perhaps I should have said FIDE World Championship Candidates Tournament. Fischer certainly wasn't happy about what happened at the 1962 Curacao event. May-01-14    TheFocus: Now the second Piatigorsky Cup (1966) was originally to be held in 1965, and Fischer was given a very early invitation to it (in 1964). Here is Bobby's reply to Mrs. Piatigorsky: http://www.chessdryad.com/articles/... May-01-14    andrewjsacks: <Howard> is correct, and it is not really much of a secret that the Piatigorskys tried to get Fischer to play in the First Cup. Mrs. P. herself, about 8 years ago, told me they tried, but that they simply "couldn't come to terms." A ladylike comment, befitting her, as usual. Sep-20-17    Stonehenge: Petrosian, Keres and Panno: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C7HgfiE... Aug-05-18    siggemannen: Anyone know what car models did the winners receive? And how they shipped 'em home? Aug-05-18    Sally Simpson: According to here: http://www.chessdryad.com/articles/... Petrosian and Keres bought cars with their winnings and they were 'Ramblers'. Aug-06-18    AylerKupp: <Sally Simpson> My first car was a 1959 Rambler. Nice to know that Petrosian, Keres, and I had something else in common besides our love of chess. However, they should have spend the same amount of time learning about American cars as they did learning about openings. Aug-07-18    siggemannen: Never heard of that model. Probably the only two Ramblers in USSR then Sep-18-20    GrahamClayton: The tournament book by Reshevsky and Kashdan had a very distinctive front cover, with the red tinge to the diagram. Was the diagram taken from one of the games played during the tournament? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show... Sep-18-20    perfidious: A '63 Rambler was one of the family cars growing up: unpretentious by American standards, but probably luxurious in the Workers' Paradise. Sep-19-20    harrylime: Usual fools on this site talking garbage about Fischer. NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion. Please observe our posting guidelines: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. 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