Introduction
Chess Olympiads for the Hamilton Russell Cup, held every other year, are among the most popular of chess events, and this is where it all began.
During its inaugural congress at Paris in 1924 the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) ran a number of tournaments. Perhaps because all of this happened in the same city and at the same time as the Olympic Games, the results were also calculated by nationality to produce a kind of league table of the nations. It was meaningless as a competition. There were between one and four players from each country, and they could be pitted against their own nationals. In any case, most of them were there as negotiating delegates rather than players. Even so, there was a lively response. Some of the lower-placed nations stressed that their teams' were without any official status, other countries protested at being excluded. Germany and Austria were not invited, perhaps because it was too soon after the end of the First World War. The USSR was not there either, but two exiles played as Russians. FIDE was formally constituted at Zurich in 1925, and at its next congress, Budapest 1926, ran a team tournament, over four boards, between four countries. It was announced that the Hon. F.G. Hamilton Russell had donated a cup for the international team tournament to be held the following year in London.
Sixteen nations were represented at Central Hall, Westminster, for the first Olympiad (a name that became official only in 1952). The event attracted much interest throughout the world, although the games were often squeezed out of the chess press in order to give detailed coverage of the World Championship match between Capablanca and Alekhine (it was to be many years before FIDE took a hand in that supreme competition). Even so, there were moans from those who thought that the British Chess Federation should have spent its money on a 'proper' tournament like the grandmaster event held in London in 1922. Countries joined FIDE so that they could play in the Olympiads, and the erratic formation of a national body in the USA was jolted forward by its players' wish to take part. The affiliation of that country, and also those of Latvia, Poland, Portugal, and Uruguay were accepted here.
The status of the Olympiads became firmly established in the 1930s when the competition was dominated by the superb American team. Even Hitler's attempt to run a chess Olympics in Munich 1936 failed to shake FIDE's hold. The competition for the Hamilton Russell Cup is undoubtedly the most popular activity of those controlled by FIDE, especially among those countries where chess players have few other contacts with great players.
A number of features which are standard in Olympiads today were absent in the first event. Most teams had just four players. Those with a fifth varied in their policies. Some used the reserve only in emergency, while Austria used theirs as a full member, rotating their five players fairly evenly. Playing sessions began at 2.30, but 15 rounds had to be played in 11 days (there could be no question of playing on a Sunday), so on four days there was an extra round, played at 9.30 in the morning. Unfinished games were completed the following morning. A player with an adjourned game after the morning session would be greatly helped if his side had a reserve player who could step in for the afternoon match.
Teams did not have to play in order of strength. The records in this book are given in the team sequences most commonly found. Many teams played in a fixed order throughout. Some appear to have tried to rotate the side so that everyone had a go on first board. Some seem to have applied more cunning in an attempt to maximise the team's score. A weak player is sacrificed on the first board in order to give the other three players better chances. A reserve might be used as now, that is below the "regular" players, or used on the board of the player who was absent. That could be inevitable. For example, in the second round, a morning start, Yates failed to appear and so, with ten minutes to go, Spencer was thrown in as reserve. Unfortunately for him, he thought he had to play 20 moves in 10 minutes (actually 30 in 40 minutes) and blundered on his 19th move.
Those who resent the use of the word "British" in British Chess Federation may dislike the fact that I have used 'Britain' as the name of the home team in this book. It is a compromise. The team was billed at the time as "British Empire" although all of the members were English.
/By Ken Whyld, "The First Chess Olympiad London 1927", pp. 3-4/
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In conjunction with the 3rd FIDE Congress of 1927, representatives from 16 countries assembled in London to participate in the first of a series of international team competitions, which have become known as The World Chess Olympiads. The event attracted much attention from the chess world, yet its importance was overshadowed by the contest for the individual World Championship and Alekhine's memorable victory over Capablanca. The rules of this Olympiad were quite similar to the modern standards, but no fixed board order was required. The playing schedule was demanding and overloaded compared to what we see nowadays. There was no question of playing on Sundays (of course NOT!), and three games were to be played in two days, including morning adjournments. The only major teams missing from the field were the USA and Poland due to their overstepping the invitation deadline. The Polish chess authorities were suspected of having done so on purpose since they weren’t prepared to pay all the participation costs. The professionals were allowed to take part, which meant such players as Tarrasch, Mieses, Maróczy, Réti, and Grünfeld participated. Only six teams included a reserve player in their squad. The young Hungarian team led by the charismatic grandmaster Maróczy was commonly regarded as a top odds favourite. The UK, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Germany were also regarded as front runners. No one would bet a penny on the Danes, who appeared without a reserve and fielded unknown players on their boards.
The games started on July 18th at 2 pm. Hungary produced a stunning feat at the very outset by sweeping Yugoslavia 4-0. This triumph lent them wings, and a series of convincing victories saw them pull away from the rest. On their heels came a few Central European teams and, most unexpectedly, Argentina and Denmark. Hungary led at the halfway stage by a 3-point margin. Denmark and the UK were top contenders throughout the event, with Germany, Austria, and Argentina often just behind them. In the later rounds, the teams from distant countries, like Argentina, slowed down the pace and the Hungarians also suffered hard days. Denmark made up lost ground at a tremendous rate. Yet three rounds before the end, Hungary was 2½ points ahead of Denmark and stood to play the poor Finnish team. They were expected to finally sprint away and earn a decisive advantage over the Danes, who were anticipated to struggle vs. the strong Czechoslovak team. Amazingly, team Denmark outdid themselves by crushing Czechoslovakia 3½-½ while Hungary banged their heads against a Finnish wall, winning just a single game and drawing the rest. The penultimate round brought even more fascinating results. Team Holland, desperately struggling for Bronze, defeated the Hungarians, who played too riskily and lost both games with the white pieces. Denmark defeated the faltering Argentinians convincingly and finally managed to draw level with the leaders. Hungary and Denmark were jointly in the lead with 36½ game points, and they were to face teams of equal strength, Spain and Belgium, respectively. However, Denmark’s tiebreak record was superior now, thanks to a higher number of match points. The UK was in bronze medal contention with a narrow lead over Holland, Austria, and Germany. The latter had to beat the host team by not less than 3-1 to sustain their medal dreams. The host UK team secured the bronze medal thanks to Frederick Yates, who beat the elderly Jacques Mieses and contributed significantly to England’s victory over the Germans. The Hungarians took advantage of all their chances and beat Spain (only E. Steiner failed to win and drew with Marin y Llovet). The Danish players lost their cool, and both Krause on the top and Ruben on the bottom board lost. The Gold went to Hungary, team Denmark won the Silver, and the British captured the Bronze.
Hungary was led to victory by Géza Maróczy, who scored 75% on Board 1 and was a true leader to the youngsters. The brave Danes were the dark horse of the event, and their match points record (23) was superior to all, including the winners. Norman-Hansen tied with Sir Thomas for the best individual score in the tournament. England won an excellent 3rd place courtesy of Sir George Thomas, who was so nice to have won 12 points out of 15 games. The rest of the team gave mediocre performances, but it proved enough. Holland, led by future World Champion Dr. Max Euwe, came in 4th. Czechoslovakia ended in a disappointing 5th place despite their incredible final spurt (a perfect 8/8 score in the two last rounds). Germany’s top board Siegbert Tarrasch was already well past his prime and did not show anything more than a solid form. Yugoslavia was expected to have done much better, and Argentina’s finish was pathetic. Team Spain came in last, and a glance at their games easily explains why. Golmayo was their only decent player.
/ Edited by Philip Jurgens (Canada); February 10, 2023 /
