6th Chess Olympiad — Warsaw 1935

Incomplete record. This archive holds 508 games of this event; the others are missing, and the number played is not established.

The largest Olympiad yet — twenty nations — assembled in Warsaw in August 1935 for one of the closest finishes in the event's history. The United States claimed the Hamilton-Russell Cup with 54 board points, but only after holding off Sweden (52½) and the host nation Poland (52) in a race separated by a mere two points from first to third.

◇Twenty teams in Warsaw

Contested from 16 to 31 August 1935, Warsaw assembled a record twenty national teams for a four-board round robin, with the gold again decided on total board points. The organizing committee was chaired by the famous retired Polish master Dawid Przepiórka. The United States entered as back-to-back champion and fielded Reuben Fine, Frank Marshall, Abraham Kupchik and Arthur Dake, with Israel Albert Horowitz in reserve.

The 1935 Women's World Chess Championship ran alongside the team competition, keeping Warsaw at the centre of the chess world for the second half of August.

◇Two points from top to third

The title chase was desperately tight. The United States prevailed on 54 points, with Sweden second on 52½ and Poland — roared on by the home crowd — third on 52. Hungary (51) and Czechoslovakia (49) were still within touching distance, and Yugoslavia rounded out the top six on 45½.

The individual board medals read like a roll-call of 1930s stars. Salo Flohr of Czechoslovakia took board-one gold (76.5%), Andor Lilienthal of Hungary the board-two prize (78.9%), and Erich Eliskases of Austria board three (78.9%). The American strength in depth showed on the lower boards: Arthur Dake was untouchable on board four with 86.1%, and Al Horowitz topped the reserves on 80% — precisely the kind of scoring down the order that carried the United States to a third straight Olympiad gold.