ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

The 18th Chess Olympiad

The 18th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), took place between October 17 and November 7, 1968, in Lugano, Switzerland. This international competition was part of a series of chess olympiads held every two years.

### Participating Countries

A total of 53 teams from various countries participated in the event, consisting of chess players from around the world. The participating countries included Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, East Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Scotland, Singapore, Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, United States, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia.

### Final Results

The final results of the competition were as follows:

* The Soviet team secured their ninth consecutive gold medal.
* Yugoslavia received a silver medal.
* Bulgaria received a bronze medal.

### Group Stage

The teams competed in group stage matches, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the finals. The groups included:
- Group A
- Group B
- Group C (won by Israel)
- Group D
- Group E
- Group F
- Group G
- Final A
- Final B
- Final C (won by Israel's team, including Moshe Chernak and Simon Asa)
- Final D

### Israeli Team Performance

The Israeli team, led by Moshe Chernak and Simon Asa, won the 18th place in the competition. The team included:
Moshe Chernak 4,2 = 7
Joseph For 2+,8 =
Yair Krisidman 9+,4 = 1 - Silver Medal
Simon Asa 9+,3 = 1 - Gold Medal
Doc Dominitz 4,6 = 2-
Kingsel Broke 5+,4 =

### Notable Matches

Notable matches included:
- Israel vs. Cyprus (0:4)
- Israel vs. Mexico (0:4)

The competition was played as round-robin tournaments for all preliminary groups and finals.

### Conclusion

The 18th Chess Olympiad, held in