Two years after Mikhail Tal launched Reykjavík's international series with a near-perfect score, Iceland's first grandmaster gave the home crowd its own triumph. Friðrik Ólafsson went through the twelve-player field without a loss, winning seven games and finishing on 9/11 — half a point ahead of Moscow's Evgeni Vasiukov.
A young series finds its footing
The Reykjavík international began in 1964, when Mikhail Tal swept the first edition with 12½ from 13, and settled into a biennial rhythm that would carry it into the modern Reykjavik Open. The 1966 edition was organized by the Icelandic Chess Federation at the Lídó house: eleven rounds in sixteen days, most beginning at 7 pm with a classical control of two and a half hours for forty moves and adjournments around midnight. First prize was 400 US dollars, Gunnar Gunnarsson directed, and Guðmundur Arnlaugsson served as chief arbiter.
Three foreign veterans led the visiting contingent: Soviet grandmaster Evgeni Vasiukov, Belgium's Albéric O'Kelly de Galway, and the well-travelled masters Eero Böök of Finland, Robert Wade of England, and Germany's 64-year-old Georg Kieninger, alongside seven Icelanders.
The top of the table never loses
The medalists were untouchable: Ólafsson (+7 =4), Vasiukov (+6 =5), and O'Kelly (+5 =6) all finished unbeaten, stacked at 9, 8½, and 8 — and fourth-placed Guðmundur Pálmason of Iceland did not lose a game either, his 7/11 built on eight draws. Ólafsson's decisive margin came from converting against the bottom half while holding his direct rivals to draws.
For Ólafsson — then working as a lawyer in Iceland's Ministry of Justice, a decade after becoming his country's first grandmaster — it was one of several strong Reykjavík victories at home. Further down the table, the field held a glimpse of Iceland's chess future: 18-year-old Guðmundur Sigurjónsson, already the reigning Icelandic champion, finished near the bottom on 3/11 but would become Iceland's second grandmaster in 1975.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olafsson, Fridrik | 9/11 | +7 -0 =4 | games |
| 2 | Vasiukov, Evgeni | 8½/11 | +6 -0 =5 | games |
| 3 | O'Kelly de Galway, Alberic | 8/11 | +5 -0 =6 | games |
| 4 | Palmason, Gudmundur | 7/11 | +3 -0 =8 | games |
| 5 | Thorbergsson, Freysteinn | 6½/11 | +3 -1 =7 | games |
| =6 | Wade, Robert Graham | 5/11 | +3 -4 =4 | games |
| =6 | Book, Eero | 5/11 | +2 -3 =6 | games |
| 8 | Kristinsson, Jon | 4½/11 | +2 -4 =5 | games |
| 9 | Thorsteinsson, Bjorn | 4/11 | +1 -4 =6 | games |
| 10 | Kieninger, Georg | 3½/11 | +2 -6 =3 | games |
| 11 | Sigurjonsson, Gudmundur | 3/11 | +0 -5 =6 | games |
| 12 | Halfdanarson, Jon | 2/11 | +1 -8 =2 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olafsson, Fridrik | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Vasiukov, Evgeni | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | O'Kelly de Galway, Alberic | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Palmason, Gudmundur | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 5 | Thorbergsson, Freysteinn | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Wade, Robert Graham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Book, Eero | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Kristinsson, Jon | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Thorsteinsson, Bjorn | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 10 | Kieninger, Georg | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | |
| 11 | Sigurjonsson, Gudmundur | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Halfdanarson, Jon | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.