ThePiatigorsky Cup was a triennial series of doubleround-robingrandmasterchess tournaments held in theUnited States in the 1960s. Sponsored by the Piatigorsky Foundation, only two events were held, in 1963 and 1966. The Piatigorsky Cups were the strongest U.S. chess tournaments sinceNew York 1927.
Jacqueline Piatigorsky (née Rothschild) was married tocellistGregor Piatigorsky. One of the strongest woman chess players in the U.S. and a regular competitor in theU.S. Women's Chess Championship, she designed the cup and was the primary organizer of the tournament. The prize funds were among the largest of any chess tournament up to that time. Every player was guaranteed a prize and all traveling and living expenses were paid.
The First Piatigorsky Cup was held inThe Ambassador Hotel,Los Angeles in July 1963. The tournament field of eight included players from five countries. TheSoviet representativesPaul Keres andWorld ChampionTigran Petrosian finished equal first to share the cup with a score of 8½/14, receiving more than half of the $10,000 prize fund ($3000 for first). Since dollars brought back to the USSR were exchanged by the Soviet government forrubles at an unfavorable rate, Keres and Petrosian were reported to have bought automobiles (Ramblers) with their winnings. Keres's Rambler is today preserved inHalinga Car Museum near Pärnu in Estonia.[1] Keres won the most games in the tournament (six), but lost twice toSamuel Reshevsky. The Cup was Petrosian's first tournament since winning the1963 World Championship match withMikhail Botvinnik and was one of two first prizes he shared in his six-year reign as champion. He was the first reigning champion to play in an American tournament sinceAlexander Alekhine atPasadena 1932. After losing in the second round toSvetozar Gligorić, Petrosian was never in danger the rest of the tournament.
The remainder of the tournament field included two Americans, Reshevsky andPal Benko, two Argentinians,Oscar Panno andMiguel Najdorf, and two Europeans, Gligorić (Yugoslavia) andFriðrik Ólafsson (Iceland).U.S. ChampionBobby Fischer declined an invitation after his demand for a $2000 appearance fee was refused by the tournament organizers.
Gligorić led halfway through the tournament with 4½/7, but he scored only three draws in the last seven games and finished fifth behind Najdorf and Ólafsson. Petrosian finished the strongest, with 5/7 in the second half. Before the last round, Petrosian led with 8 points, followed by Keres with 7½ and Najdorf and Ólafsson with 7. Both Petrosian and Keres had Black in the final round. Petrosian drew his game against Reshevsky, but Keres beat Gligorić to result in a tie for first place with 8½ points each.
Isaac Kashdan served astournament director and edited a tournament book published in 1965, with the annotations mostly by Reshevsky.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Paul Keres (Soviet Union) | – | ½ ½ | ½ 0 | 1 1 | 0 0 | ½ 1 | 1 1 | ½ 1 | 8½ |
| 2 | Tigran Petrosian (Soviet Union) | ½ ½ | – | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | 0 1 | 1 1 | ½ 1 | 8½ |
| 3 |  Miguel Najdorf (Argentina) | ½ 1 | ½ ½ | – | ½ 0 | 1 ½ | ½ ½ | 0 ½ | 1 ½ | 7½ |
| 4 |  Friðrik Ólafsson (Iceland) | 0 0 | ½ ½ | ½ 1 | – | ½ 1 | ½ 1 | 1 0 | ½ ½ | 7½ |
| 5 |  Samuel Reshevsky (United States) | 1 1 | ½ ½ | 0 ½ | ½ 0 | – | ½ ½ | 1 ½ | 0 ½ | 7 |
| 6 |  Svetozar Gligorić (Yugoslavia) | ½ 0 | 1 0 | ½ ½ | ½ 0 | ½ ½ | – | ½ 0 | 1 ½ | 6 |
| 7 | Pal Benko (United States) | 0 0 | 0 0 | 1 ½ | 0 1 | 0 ½ | ½ 1 | – | 1 0 | 5½ |
| 8 | Oscar Panno (Argentina) | ½ 0 | ½ 0 | 0 ½ | ½ ½ | 1 ½ | 0 ½ | 0 1 | – | 5½ |
The second and final tournament in the series was held in July and August 1966 at the Miramar Hotel,Santa Monica. The field was increased from eight players to ten and the prize fund was doubled to $20,000 (first prize: $5000, second: $3000, third: $2500, fourth: $2000, fifth: $1750, sixth: $1500, seventh: $1300, eighth: $1150, ninth: $1050, tenth: $1000). This time all invited players accepted, including Fischer. With the increased tournament field, eight countries were represented. Although Soviet-U.S. tension over theVietnam War seemed to threaten Soviet participation in the event, theSoviet Chess Federation sent World ChampionTigran Petrosian and challengerBoris Spassky. Petrosian and Spassky had finished a World Championship match in the spring in which Petrosian retained his title. The remainder of the field includedBobby Fischer andSamuel Reshevsky (U.S.A),Bent Larsen (Denmark),Lajos Portisch (Hungary),Wolfgang Unzicker (West Germany),Miguel Najdorf (Argentina),Borislav Ivkov (Yugoslavia), andJan Hein Donner (Netherlands).
Interest in the tournament was unusually high for a chess event in the United States, with over 500 spectators attending most sessions. The 17th-round game between tournament leaders Spassky and Fischer drew over 900 spectators, with many turned away. Positions of the games in progress were displayed to the crowds using a novel projection system devised by Jacqueline Piatigorsky rather than the usual wall boards.
Spassky jumped out to an early lead with wins over Unzicker, Ivkov, and Fischer. At the halfway point he was tied with Larsen for first with 6/9. Petrosian fell out of contention early, after a loss in the third round to Portisch and another loss in the seventh round after Larsen made aqueen sacrifice. Fischer lost three games in a row in the second week of play (rounds 6, 7, and 8) and was next to last with 3½/9 at the halfway point. Fischer then won four straight games (all beforeadjournment), drew one, then won two more to catch up to Spassky with two rounds remaining. Spassky had defeated Fischer in the eighth round, but they met for the second time in the penultimate round. Although Fischer hadthe advantage of the white pieces, Spassky used theMarshall Attack in theRuy Lopez to draw easily in 37 moves. In the final round tied with 10½ points each, Spassky defeated Donner while Fischer drew with Petrosian, making Spassky the tournament winner by half a point, as he was the only undefeated player. Fischer and Larsen won the most games (seven each), but Fischer could not overcome his slow start. Larsen was tied for the lead as late as round 11, but although he defeated Petrosian in both their games his four losses (including three in rounds 12 to 15) dropped him to third place. Sharing the fourth and fifth prizes, Portisch and Unzicker were the only other players with a plus score. World Champion Petrosian's sixth-place finish was a disappointment, but he may have still been feeling the strain of his recent World Championship match with Spassky, who was eight years his junior.
The tournament bookSecond Piatigorsky Cup (1968) edited by the tournament directorIsaac Kashdan was unusual in that it featured notes by most of the participants. Seven players annotated all of their games, Fischer provided notes for one of his games (against Najdorf).
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boris Spassky (Soviet Union) | ½ | 1½ | 2 | 2½ | 3 | 3½ | 4½ | 5½ | 6 | 6½ | 7 | 7½ | 8½ | 9 | 9½ | 10 | 10½ | 11½ |
| Bobby Fischer (United States) | ½ | 1 | 2 | 2½ | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3½ | 4½ | 5½ | 6½ | 7½ | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10½ | 11 |
 Bent Larsen (Denmark) | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1½ | 2½ | 3½ | 4½ | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7½ | 7½ | 8½ | 9½ | 10 |
 Lajos Portisch (Hungary) | ½ | 1 | 2 | 2½ | 3 | 3½ | 4 | 4½ | 4½ | 5 | 5 | 5½ | 6 | 6½ | 7½ | 8½ | 9 | 9½ |
 Wolfgang Unzicker (West Germany) | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1½ | 2 | 2½ | 3 | 3½ | 4½ | 5 | 5½ | 6½ | 7 | 7½ | 8 | 8½ | 9 | 9½ |
| Tigran Petrosian (Soviet Union) | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1½ | 2 | 2½ | 2½ | 3½ | 4 | 4½ | 5 | 5½ | 6 | 7 | 7½ | 7½ | 8½ | 9 |
| Samuel Reshevsky (United States) | ½ | 1 | 1½ | 2 | 2½ | 3½ | 4 | 4½ | 5 | 5 | 5½ | 6 | 6½ | 7 | 7½ | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Miguel Najdorf (Argentina) | ½ | 1½ | 2 | 2½ | 2½ | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4½ | 5 | 5½ | 6½ | 7 | 7½ | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Borislav Ivkov (Yugoslavia) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1½ | 2 | 2½ | 2½ | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3½ | 3½ | 4 | 4½ | 4½ | 5 | 6 | 6½ |
 Jan Hein Donner (Netherlands) | ½ | 1 | 1½ | 2 | 2½ | 2½ | 3 | 3½ | 4 | 4½ | 5½ | 5½ | 5½ | 5½ | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boris Spassky (Soviet Union) | – | 1 ½ | ½ 1 | ½ ½ | 1 ½ | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | 1 ½ | ½ 1 | 11½ |
| 2 | Bobby Fischer (United States) | 0 ½ | – | 0 1 | ½ 1 | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | ½ 1 | 0 1 | 1 1 | ½ 1 | 11 |
| 3 | Bent Larsen (Denmark) | ½ 0 | 1 0 | – | 1 ½ | ½ 0 | 1 1 | ½ 1 | 1 ½ | 0 1 | ½ 0 | 10 |
| 4 | Lajos Portisch (Hungary) | ½ ½ | ½ 0 | 0 ½ | – | ½ ½ | 1 ½ | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | ½ 1 | ½ 1 | 9½ |
| 5 | Wolfgang Unzicker (West Germany) | 0 ½ | ½ ½ | ½ 1 | ½ ½ | – | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | 1 ½ | ½ ½ | 9½ |
| 6 | Tigran Petrosian (Soviet Union) | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | 0 0 | 0 ½ | ½ ½ | – | ½ ½ | 1 1 | ½ ½ | ½ 1 | 9 |
| 7 | Samuel Reshevsky (United States) | ½ ½ | ½ 0 | ½ 0 | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | – | ½ 1 | ½ ½ | 1 ½ | 9 |
| 8 | Miguel Najdorf (Argentina) | ½ ½ | 1 0 | 0 ½ | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | 0 0 | ½ 0 | – | 1 ½ | ½ 1 | 8 |
| 9 | Borislav Ivkov (Yugoslavia) | 0 ½ | 0 0 | 1 0 | ½ 0 | 0 ½ | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | 0 ½ | – | ½ 1 | 6½ |
| 10 | Jan Hein Donner (Netherlands) | ½ 0 | ½ 0 | ½ 1 | ½ 0 | ½ ½ | ½ 0 | 0 ½ | ½ 0 | ½ 0 | – | 6 |
