Dresden International 1956
Ratmir Kholmov and Yuri Averbakh shared first at the 1956 Dresden International with 12/15. Their equal score stood a point and a half above Victor Ciocaltea in a complete 16-player, 120-game round robin.
An international field in Dresden
Sixteen players met once each over 15 rounds, making 120 official played games. The field joined Soviet visitors Kholmov and Averbakh with leading players from Eastern Europe, including Ciocaltea, Luděk Pachman, Wolfgang Uhlmann, and István Bilék.
Kholmov later remembered playing in Dresden's city centre while the wartime destruction was still plainly visible. He also recalled that no player from West Germany took part.
Two paths to twelve
Kholmov reached 12 with ten wins, four draws, and one loss. Averbakh arrived at the same total unbeaten, with nine wins and six draws. Ciocaltea took the next place on 10½, followed by Pachman on 9.
The historical result is shared first even though Kholmov recorded one more win. The event outcome metadata must therefore name both co-winners instead of allowing a wins-based ordering to present Kholmov alone as champion.
The games
All 120 scores are present: 74 decisive games and 46 draws. The direct crosstable, Kholmov's published recollection, and the computed point totals agree on 12/15 for both winners.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Kholmov, Ratmir D | 12/15 | +10 -1 =4 | games |
| =1 | Averbakh, Yuri L | 12/15 | +9 -0 =6 | games |
| 3 | Ciocaltea, Victor | 10½/15 | +7 -1 =7 | games |
| 4 | Pachman, Ludek | 9/15 | +5 -2 =8 | games |
| 5 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | 8½/15 | +5 -3 =7 | games |
| =6 | Bilek, Istvan | 8/15 | +5 -4 =6 | games |
| =6 | Padevsky, Nikola Bochev | 8/15 | +5 -4 =6 | games |
| =8 | Dittmann, Sieghart | 7½/15 | +6 -6 =3 | games |
| =8 | Sliwa, Bogdan Stanislaw | 7½/15 | +5 -5 =5 | games |
| =8 | Fuchs, Reinhart | 7½/15 | +4 -4 =7 | games |
| 11 | Muehlberg, Siegfried | 6½/15 | +3 -5 =7 | games |
| 12 | Sefc, Jan | 6/15 | +4 -7 =4 | games |
| =13 | Golz, Werner | 4½/15 | +2 -8 =5 | games |
| =13 | Sterner, Olof | 4½/15 | +0 -6 =9 | games |
| =15 | Andersen, Borge | 4/15 | +2 -9 =4 | games |
| =15 | Trajkovic, Dusan | 4/15 | +2 -9 =4 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kholmov, Ratmir D | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Averbakh, Yuri L | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Ciocaltea, Victor | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 4 | Pachman, Ludek | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Bilek, Istvan | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 7 | Padevsky, Nikola Bochev | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | Dittmann, Sieghart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 9 | Sliwa, Bogdan Stanislaw | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | Fuchs, Reinhart | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Muehlberg, Siegfried | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Sefc, Jan | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 13 | Golz, Werner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 14 | Sterner, Olof | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 15 | Andersen, Borge | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | |
| 16 | Trajkovic, Dusan | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.