Hungary vs USSR — Budapest 1955
Hungary hosted the Soviet Union in Budapest in the late spring of 1955 and lost 12–20. Each side put out four players and a reserve, four games went on in every round, and after eight rounds the visitors had won both halves of the match. Tigran Petrosian scored 5½ of 7 and Paul Keres 5 of 7; no Hungarian reached four points.
◈Two fours and two reserves
Hungary fielded Gedeon Barcza, Pál Benkő, László Szabó and István Bilek, with Gyula Kluger in reserve. The Soviet Union answered with Petrosian, Keres, David Bronstein and Georgi Ilivitzki, holding Vladas Mikenas back as their reserve. Four boards ran in each of the eight rounds, so each player met most of the opposing side twice and the reserves filled the remaining slots — thirty-two games in all.
The match was effectively settled in the first half. OlimpBase records the Soviet team ahead 10½–5½ after four rounds, then 9½–6½ in the second half for the 20–12 final.
◈Petrosian's match
Petrosian was the best scorer on either side with 5½ from 7, half a point clear of Keres on 5 from 7; Bronstein took 4½, Ilivitzki 3, and Mikenas 2 from the reserve slot.
Pál Benkő led Hungary with 3½ from eight games — the heaviest workload of anyone in the match. The Russian Chess Federation summarises his fortnight precisely: he drew both games with Keres, lost his mini-matches to Petrosian and Bronstein by ½–1½ apiece, and won 1½–½ against Ilivitzki and Mikenas. Barcza followed on 3, Szabó and Bilek on 2½ each, and Kluger scored ½ from three games.
◈The Hungarian side of it
The four Hungarian regulars were the country's front rank. László Szabó had won his first national championship in 1935 at eighteen and would represent Hungary at eleven Olympiads, five of them on board one; the year after this match he tied for third at the Amsterdam Candidates with Bronstein, Geller, Petrosian and Spassky. Gedeon Barcza took the Hungarian title eight times, one of them in 1955 itself, and gave his name to the Barcza System, 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3. Benkő would go on to team bronze with Hungary at the 1956 Moscow Olympiad.
Against the Soviet four they held the draw far more often than they lost: eighteen of the thirty-two games finished level. Only the win column separated the sides, and there the visitors took eleven to Hungary's three.
◈Final Standings
Official final match score. Our source preserves 32 of the games played; the games list carries everything we hold, in board and round order.
| # | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Hungary | 12 |
| 1 | USSR | 20 |