23rd Chess Olympiad

Official logo of the Olympiad

The 23rd Chess Olympiad (Spanish: La 23^a Olimpíada de ajedrez), organized by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 25 and November 12, 1978, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

After the boycott two years earlier, the Eastern Bloc countries were back, including the Soviet team who, as usual, were huge favourites——but in the end they had to settle for the silver medal. Hungary, led by Lajos Portisch, caused quite an upset by taking the gold medals by a full point. The United States took the bronze.

This tournament also witnessed the debut of China, which placed 20th with six untitled players, and later became a chess power and won the Chess Olympiad in 2014 and 2018.

Open event

Sixty-five nations played a 14-round Swiss system tournament. To make for an even number of teams, the Argentine hosts also fielded a "B" team. In the event of a draw, the tie-break was decided first by using the Buchholz system, then by match points.

Open event

#	Country	Players	Average rating	Points	Buchholz
1	Hungary	Portisch, Ribli, Sax, Adorján, Csom, Vadász	2570	37
2	Soviet Union	Spassky, Petrosian, Polugaevsky, Gulko, Romanishin, Vaganian	2620	36
3	United States	Kavalek, Browne, Lein, Byrne, Tarjan, Lombardy	2553	35
4	West Germany	Hübner, Unzicker, Pfleger, Darga, Hecht, Borik	2540	33
5	Israel	Dzindzichashvili, Liberzon, Kagan, Bleiman, Birnboim, Gruenfeld	2509	32½	442.5
6	Romania	Gheorghiu, Ciocâltea, Ghițescu, Suba, Ghindă, Troianescu	2468	32½	422.5
7	Denmark	Hamann, Jakobsen, Kristiansen, Fedder, Høi, Blom	2416	32	440.5
8	Poland	Schmidt, Kuligowski, Sznapik, Adamski, Pytel, Filipowicz	2449	32	437.0
9	Spain	Díez del Corral, Pomar, Calvo, Bellón López, Sanz Alonso, Rivas Pastor	2429	32	430.5
10	Switzerland	Korchnoi, Hug, Lombard, Wirthensohn, Huss, Bhend	2484	32	426.0
11	Canada	Hébert, Biyiasas, Day, Piasetski, Nickoloff, Coudari	2388	32	422.5
12	England	Miles, Stean, Keene, Hartston, Mestel, Nunn	2508	31½	452.5
13	Bulgaria	Radulov, Ermenkov, Tringov, Padevsky, Spasov, Inkiov	2486	31½	437.0
14	Netherlands	Timman, Sosonko, Donner, Ree, Ligterink, Langeweg	2538	31½	432.5
15	Yugoslavia	Gligorić, Ljubojević, Matanović, Ivkov, Velimirović, Parma	2558	31	438.0
16	Sweden	Andersson, Ornstein, Schneider, Kaiszauri, Schüssler, Wedberg	2453	31	437.5
17	Argentina	Emma, Bronstein, Hase, Cámpora, Szmetan, Grinberg	2409	31	418.0
18	Cuba	García González, Hernández, Rodríguez Céspedes, Vilela de Acuña, García Martínez, Lebredo Zarragoitia	2486	30½	437.0
19	Austria	Robatsch, Hölzl, Stoppel, Wittmann, Janetschek, Dür	2389	30½	417.0
20	China	Qi Jingxuan, Chen De, Liu Wenzhe, Liang Jinrong, Chang Tung Lo, Zhang Weida	2273	30½	413.5
21	Mexico	Sisniega, Campos López, Villarreal, Aldrete, Escondrillas, Navarro	2361	30½	393.5
22	Finland	Westerinen, Rantanen, Hurme, Saren, Raaste, Kivipelto	2389	30	421.0
23	Colombia	García, Gutierrez, Rodríguez, Zapata, de Greiff, Agudelo	2359	30	400.5
24	Philippines	Torre E., Rodríguez, Mascariñas, Bordonada, Torre V., de Guzman	2405	29½	407.0
25	New Zealand	Sarapu, Chandler, Small, Stuart, Anderson, Weir	2270	29½	396.0
26	Indonesia	Suradiradja, Ardiansyah, Bachtiar, Wotulo, Sampouw, Kileng	2346	29½	394.0
27	Brazil	Trois, van Riemsdijk, Segal, Braga, Másculo, Carvalho	2355	29½	393.5
28	Iceland	Ólafsson F., Sigurjónsson, Ólafsson H., Pétursson, Árnason, Ásmundsson	2480	29	423.0
29	Chile	Donoso Velasco, Frias Pablaza, Morovic, Silva Sánchez, Scholz Solis, Cifuentes Parada	2395	29	417.0
30	Australia	Jamieson, Fuller, Shaw, Rogers, Woodhams, Viner	2399	29	408.0
31	Norway	Wibe, Helmers, Øgaard, Hoen, Johannessen, Heiberg	2409	29	398.0
-	Argentina "B"	Giardelli, Seidler, Barbero, Braga, Bernat, Monier	2329	28½	413.0
32	Paraguay	Franco Ocampos, Gamarra Cáceres, Riego Prieto, Bogda, Ferreira, Ingolotti	2278	28½	411.5
33	Scotland	Pritchett, Levy, Jamieson, Upton, Giulian, Reid	2309	28	404.5
34	Venezuela	Ostos, Fernández, Diaz, Gamboa, Dounia, González	2253	28	401.5
35	Syria	Arafeh, Hakki, Catalan, Khatib, Kassen M., Khattab	2200	28	373.0
36	France	Haïk, Giffard, Preissmann, Roos, Sellos, Letzelter	2358	27½	425.0
37	Uruguay	Estrada Degrandi, Dienavorian Lacherian, Silva Nazzari, Bademian Orchanian, Lamas Baliero, Pazdur González	2270	27½	381.5
38	Dominican Republic	Gonzáles, Delgado, Álvarez, Mateo, Pérez Nivar, Liao Yuan Eu	2229	27½	380.5
39	Sri Lanka	Weeramantry, Aturupane D. H. C., Goonetilleke, Parakrama	2200	27½	373.5
40	Hong Kong	Jhunjhnuwala K., Valdellon, Kan Wai Shui, Jhunjhnuwala R., Schepel, Jhunjhnuwala N.	2235	27½	367.0
41	Wales	Cooper, Williams, Hutchings, Jones, Trevelyan, Tyrrell	2324	27	403.5
42	Peru	Rodríguez Vargas, González Bernal, Vásquez Horna, Vásquez, Pelaez Contti, Robbiano Taboada	2271	27	399.5
43	Guyana	Broomes M., Broomes G., Wharton, Warsali, Brooms	2200	27	369.0
44	Japan	Takemoto, Matsumoto, Sakurai, Ozaki, Oda, Tanuma	2200	27	359.0
45	Luxembourg	Stull, Schammo, Milbers, Kirsch, Welz, Philippe	2219	27	353.0
46	Faroe Islands	Jacobsen, Apol, Petersen, Ziska, Midjord, Durhuus	2200	27	346.0
47	Belgium	Schumacher, Wostyn, Mollekens, Van Herck, Larsen, De Hert	2223	26½	374.5
48	Guatemala	De León, Batres, Canda, Grajeda, Garrido, Cruz Lorenzana	2200	26½	358.0
49	Morocco	Chorfi, Al-Hamido, Arbouche, El-Amri, Khatib S., Bakali	2200	26½	356.0
50	Tunisia	Bouaziz, Belkadi, Tabbane, Kchouk, Hmadi, Zargouni	2279	26	390.0
51	Ecuador	Verduga, Pazos, Salvador, Freile, Frank, Márquez	2266	26	381.5
52	Bolivia	Chávez Chávez, Zarco Castillo, Mendivil, Alborta, Orestes, Palacios Alvarez	2213	26	368.0
53	Trinidad and Tobago	Cecil Lee, Payne, Courtney Lee, Duchesne, Lum Tong, Chin Fong	2200	26	356.5
54	Jordan	Arafat, Shoumali, Al-Mallah, Bakr, Haddad, Saqqa	2200	26	327.5
55	Jamaica	Wong S., Grant, Wong A., Powell	2200	25½
56	Puerto Rico	Moraza Choisme, Freyre, Torres, Ochoa, Martínez Buitrago, Ferrao	2214	25	373.0
57	Malaysia	Tan Bian Huat, Woo Beng Keong, Hon Kah Seng, Liew Chee Meng, Foo Lum Choon, How	2200	25	365.5
58	Libya	Shabsh Abdulatif, El-Ageli, Tawengi, Isgeta, Talha, Aburziza M.	2200	23½	321.0
59	Mauritania	Bouasria, Radhy Sol, El-Mokhtar, Louly, Maouloud	2200	23½	319.5
60	Andorra	Clua Ballague, Pantebre Martínez, Gómez Abad, Pantebre Martínez, Fité Barris, Vañó	2200	22½
61	United States Virgin Islands	Van Tilbury, Hoyt, Grumer, Chiu Yum San, Hanno, John Turner	2200	22
62	Bermuda	Yerbury, Radford, Harris, Chudleigh, Dill, Lattyak	2200	20½
63	Zaire	De Vries, Ciezkowski, Merali, Biringanine	2200	16
64	United Arab Emirates	Hassan, Saleh, Abdulghafour, Abdul Rahman, Al-Kaitoob, Zainal	2200	12½	328.5
65	British Virgin Islands	Hook, Georges, Pickering, Campbell, Downing	2213	12½	327.5

Team standing

The following ratings were used to determine the placement (#).

• BP (sum of board points)
• TP (sum of team points)

#	Team	Code	BP	TP	+	=	-	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
1	Hungary	HUN	37	23	10	3	1	SCO 3½	POL 3	NED 3	ESP 2½	USA 2	URS 1½	DEN 2	ENG 3	BUL 2½	GER 2	ISL 3	SWE 3½	ISR 2½	YUG 3
2	Soviet Union	URS	36	23	10	3	1	WLS 3	ARG2 3½	ROM 3	CUB 3	ENG 2	HUN 2½	BUL 2½	USA 3	GER 1½	ISR 2	SWE 2	POL 2½	CAN 3	NED 2½
3	United States	USA	35	23	10	3	1	PAR 3	AUT 2½	CAN 3	AUS 3	HUN 2	ENG 2½	YUG 2½	URS 1	DEN 4	CUB 2½	GER 2½	ISR 2½	POL 2	SUI 2
4	West Germany	GER	33	17	6	5	3	NZL 4	CHI 2½	CUB 1	FIN 3	DEN 1½	SWE 2	WLS 4	ARG 3	URS 2½	HUN 2	USA 1½	YUG 2	ENG 2	ISR 2
5	Israel	ISR	32½	18	7	4	3	ECU 4	BRA 2½	ESP 1	CAN 2½	PHI 2	FRA 2½	ROM 2	FIN 3	POL 2½	URS 2	CUB 3½	USA 1½	HUN 1½	GER 2
6	Romania	ROM	32½	16	6	4	4	PUR 4	CAN 1½	URS 1	INA 1½	CHN 2½	TUN 4	ISR 2	BUL 2	FRA 2	ARG2 3	YUG 1½	ISL 3	ESP 2	ENG 2½
7	Denmark	DEN	32	20	8	4	2	JPN 3	MEX 2½	COL 3	YUG 2	GER 2½	CAN 3½	HUN 2	CUB 2	USA 0	SUI 2½	ENG 1	CHI 3½	BUL 2	AUT 2½
8	Poland	POL	32	17	7	3	4	MAS 3½	HUN 1	HKG 2½	BRA 4	SWE 2½	PHI 2	ENG 2½	YUG 1½	ISR 1½	FRA 3	ESP 2½	URS 1½	USA 2	CAN 2
9	Spain	ESP	32	15	6	3	5	GUA 4	VEN 2½	ISR 3	HUN 1½	BUL 1½	FIN 2	FRA 1½	AUS 3½	SUI 1½	AUT 3	POL 1½	CUB 2	ROM 2	SWE 2½
10	Switzerland	SUI	32	19	8	3	3	BEL 3	FRA 1½	MEX 2½	CHN 2½	CHI 3½	YUG 1	BRA 2½	SWE 2	ESP 2½	DEN 1½	PHI 3	ENG 2	AUT 2½	USA 2
11	Canada	CAN	32	16	7	2	5	LBA 4	ROM 2½	USA 1	ISR 1½	SCO 3½	DEN ½	DOM 3½	CHI 2	ENG 1	PER 3	PAR 2½	FRA 4	URS 1	POL 2
12	England	ENG	31½	15	6	3	5	DOM 4	COL 3½	ARG 2½	BUL 2½	URS 2	USA 1½	POL 1½	HUN 1	CAN 3	SWE 1½	DEN 3	SUI 2	GER 2	ROM 1½
13	Bulgaria	BUL	31½	16	7	2	5	LUX 4	INA 3	FRA 2½	ENG 1½	ESP 2½	CUB 3	URS 1½	ROM 2	HUN 1½	ISL 1	ARG 3	NED 1½	DEN 2	FIN 2½
14	Netherlands	NED	31½	17	7	3	4	URU 4	FIN 3	HUN 1	ARG 2½	CUB 1	COL 2	SWE 1½	CHN 2	PAR 2½	BRA 3	ARG2 3	BUL 2½	YUG 2	URS 1½
15	Yugoslavia	YUG	31	18	7	4	3	TUN 3½	AUS 2½	NOR 2½	DEN 2	FRA 2	SUI 3	USA 1½	POL 2½	CUB 1½	ARG 2½	ROM 2½	GER 2	NED 2	HUN 1
16	Sweden	SWE	31	17	7	3	4	HKG 3	NOR 1½	BEL 3½	CHI 2½	POL 1½	GER 2	NED 2½	SUI 2	CHN 3½	ENG 2½	URS 2	HUN ½	FIN 2½	ESP 1½
17	Argentina	ARG	31	16	8	0	6	BOL 3	CHN 3½	ENG 1½	NED 1½	COL 2½	INA 3	ISL 2½	GER 1	PER 3	YUG 1½	BUL 1	AUT 1	NOR 2½	VEN 3½
18	Cuba	CUB	30½	17	7	3	4	PER 2½	MAR 4	GER 3	URS 1	NED 3	BUL 1	PHI 3	DEN 2	YUG 2½	USA 1½	ISR ½	ESP 2	ISL 2½	CHN 2
19	Austria	AUT	30½	15	7	1	6	GUY 2½	USA 1½	SCO 2½	NZL 1½	PAR 2	CHN ½	HKG 3	MAS 3½	AUS 4	ESP 1	FIN 2½	ARG 3	SUI 1½	DEN 1½
20	China	CHN	30½	15	6	3	5	ISL 3	ARG ½	DOM 3½	SUI 1½	ROM 1½	AUT 3½	FIN 2	NED 2	SWE ½	VEN 1½	TUN 2½	SYR 2½	ECU 4	CUB 2
21	Mexico	MEX	30½	16	7	2	5	TRI 3	DEN 1½	SUI 1½	URU 3	VEN 1½	PAR 1	PUR 3	PER 1	DOM 2½	NOR 2	BOL 3	ECU 3	COL 2	ISL 2½
22	Finland	FIN	30	14	6	2	6	JAM 4	NED 1	ARG2 2½	GER 1	PER 3	ESP 2	CHN 2	ISR 1	NZL 3	COL 3	AUT 1½	VEN 3	SWE 1½	BUL 1½
23	Colombia	COL	30	15	5	5	4	UAE 4	ENG ½	DEN 1	HKG 4	ARG 1½	NED 2	SCO 2½	NOR 3	ISL 2	FIN 1	CHI 2	PHI 2½	MEX 2	BRA 2
24	Philippines	PHI	29½	16	6	4	4	AND 2	PER 2½	WLS 3½	ISL 2½	ISR 2	POL 2	CUB 1	INA 2½	ARG2 1½	CHI 2½	SUI 1	COL 1½	SCO 3	NZL 2
25	New Zealand	NZL	29½	15	7	1	6	GER 0	SRI 3	LUX 3½	AUT 2½	INA 1½	BRA 1½	MAS 3½	ARG2 2	FIN 1	TUN 2½	ECU 1	JPN 3½	PER 3	PHI 2
26	Indonesia	INA	29½	14	6	2	6	ZAI 4	BUL 1	CHI 1½	ROM 2½	NZL 2½	ARG 1	VEN 2½	PHI 1½	NOR 1	ECU 2	SCO 1½	GUA 4	AUS 2	PAR 2½
27	Brazil	BRA	29½	14	6	2	6	IVB 4	ISR 1½	VEN 2½	POL 0	TUN 3	NZL 2½	SUI 1½	WLS 2½	CHI 1½	NED 1	AUS 2	BOL 4	PAR 1½	COL 2
28	Iceland	ISL	29	13	6	1	7	CHN 1	JPN 4	PAR 3	PHI 1½	AUS 2½	VEN 3	ARG 1½	FRA 2½	COL 2	BUL 3	HUN 1	ROM 1	CUB 1½	MEX 1½
29	Chile	CHI	29	14	5	4	5	SRI 4	GER 1½	INA 2½	SWE 1½	SUI ½	SCO 2	JAM 4	CAN 2	BRA 2½	PHI 1½	COL 2	DEN ½	ARG2 2½	AUS 2
30	Australia	AUS	29	15	6	3	5	ISV 3½	YUG 1½	FAI 3½	USA 1	ISL 1½	NOR 2½	PAR 2½	ESP ½	AUT 0	SRI 4	BRA 2	ARG2 2½	INA 2	CHI 2
31	Norway	NOR	29	14	6	2	6	BER 3½	SWE 2½	YUG 1½	FRA 1	ECU 3	AUS 1½	ARG2 2	COL 1	INA 3	MEX 2	VEN 1½	PAR 2½	ARG 1½	WLS 2½
-	Argentina "B"	ARG2	28½	12	5	2	7	JOR 4	URS ½	FIN 1½	PAR 2	WLS 1½	SYR 4	NOR 2	NZL 3	PHI 2½	ROM 1	NED 1	AUS 1½	CHI 1½	FRA 2½
32	Paraguay	PAR	28½	12	5	2	7	USA 1	AND 4	ISL 1	ARG2 2	AUT 2	MEX 3	AUS 1½	VEN 3	NED 1½	WLS 2½	CAN 1½	NOR 1½	BRA 2½	INA 1½
33	Scotland	SCO	28	14	6	2	6	HUN ½	MAS 3½	AUT 1½	GUY 4	CAN ½	CHI 2	COL 1½	DOM 2	ECU 1½	URU 2½	INA 2½	WLS 2½	PHI 1	PER 2½
34	Venezuela	VEN	28	13	6	1	7	MAU 4	ESP 1½	BRA 1½	ECU 2	MEX 2½	ISL 1	INA 1½	PAR 1	PUR 3½	CHN 2½	NOR 2½	FIN 1	FRA 3	ARG ½
35	Syria	SYR	28	13	6	1	7	FRA 0	URU 1½	BOL 2½	BER 3½	DOM 1½	ARG2 0	LUX 3	SRI 2	TUN 1½	MAR 3	PUR 3½	CHN 1½	WLS 1½	TRI 3
36	France	FRA	27½	12	5	2	7	SYR 4	SUI 2½	BUL 1½	NOR 3	YUG 2	ISR 1½	ESP 2½	ISL 1½	ROM 2	POL 1	PER 3½	CAN 0	VEN 1	ARG2 1½
37	Uruguay	URU	27½	15	5	5	4	NED 0	SYR 2½	MAU 4	MEX 1	BOL 2	MAS 1	SRI 2	GUY 2½	FAI 2	SCO 1½	GUA 2½	DOM 2½	TUN 2	HKG 2
38	Dominican Republic	DOM	27½	14	5	4	5	ENG 0	UAE 3½	CHN ½	MAR 3	SYR 2½	BOL 3½	CAN ½	SCO 2	MEX 1½	TRI 2	WAL 22	URU 1½	GUY 3	SRI 2
39	Sri Lanka	SRI	27½	13	3	7	4	CHI 0	NZL 1	MAS 2	GUA 1½	AND 3½	MAU 2	URU 2	SYR 2	JAM 4	AUS 0	FAI 3½	TUN 2	LUX 2	DOM 2
40	Hong Kong	HKG	27½	12	5	2	7	SWE 1	BER 4	POL 1½	COL 0	TRI 3	JAM 1	AUT 1	JPN 3½	WLS 1	BOL 0	UAE 4	MAS 3½	BEL 2	URU 2
41	Wales	WLS	27	13	6	1	7	URS 1	TRI 3	PHI ½	BEL 3½	ARG2 2½	ECU 3	GER 0	BRA 1½	HKG 3	PAR 1½	DOM 2	SCO 1½	SYR 2½	NOR 1½
42	Peru	PER	27	11	5	1	8	CUB 1½	PHI 1½	TUN 2	FAI 3½	FIN 1	PUR 2½	GUY 3½	MEX 3	ARG 1	CAN 1	FRA ½	TRI 3½	NZL 1	SCO 1½
43	Guyana	GUY	27	12	6	0	8	AUT 1½	FAI ½	AND 4	SCO 0	LUX 1½	MAR 4	PER ½	URU 1½	BEL 2½	GUA 1	JOR 2½	BER 4	DOM 1	TUN 2½
44	Japan	JPN	27	16	7	2	5	DEN 1	ISL 0	ISV 2½	TRI 2	MAU 1	JOR 2½	GUA 2½	HKG ½	ZAI 4	LBA 3	LUX 2	NZL ½	JAM 2½	PUR 3
45	Luxembourg	LUX	27	15	6	3	5	BUL 0	ZAI 3	NZL ½	JAM 2	GUY 2½	FAI 1	SYR 1	MAR 2½	AND 3	JOR 2½	JPN 2	BEL 1½	SRI 2	IVB 3½
46	Faroe Islands	FAI	27	12	5	2	7	MAR 2	GUY 3½	AUS ½	PER ½	MAS 1	LUX 3	BEL 2½	ECU 1½	URU 2	PUR 1½	SRI ½	IVB 4	LBA 1½	ZAI 3
47	Belgium	BEL	26½	12	4	4	6	SUI 1	BOL 3	SWE ½	WLS ½	MAR 1½	BER 3½	FAI 1½	TRI 2	GUY 1½	MAS 2	JAM 3	LUX 2½	HKG 2	GUA 2
48	Guatemala	GUA	26½	14	6	2	6	ESP 0	MAU 1	LBA 2½	SRI 2½	PUR 1½	TRI 2½	JPN 1½	JAM 2	MAS 2½	GUY 3	URU 1½	INA 0	UAE 4	BEL 2
49	Morocco	MAR	26½	14	6	2	6	FAI 2	CUB 0	JAM 2½	DOM 1	BEL 2½	GUY 0	LBA 2½	LUX 1½	BER 3½	SYR 1	ZAI 4	PUR 2½	BOL 1½	ECU 2
50	Tunisia	TUN	26	12	4	4	6	YUG ½	ISV 3	PER 2	JOR 4	BRA 1	ROM 0	ECU 2	BOL 2½	SYR 2½	NZL 1½	CHN 1½	SRI 2	URU 2	GUY 1½
51	Ecuador	SCU	26	14	5	4	5	ISR 0	IVB 3	PUR 4	VEN 2	NOR 1	WLS 1	TUN 2	FAI 2½	SCO 2½	INA 2	NZL 3	MEX 1	CHN 0	MAR 2
52	Bolivia	BOL	26	12	5	2	7	ARG 1	BEL 1	SYR 1½	UAE 4	URU 2	DOM ½	MAU 2½	TUN 1½	TRI 2½	HKG 4	MEX 1	BRA 0	MAR 2½	JAM 2
53	Trinidad and Tobago	TRI	26	10	3	4	7	MEX 1	WLS 1	JOR 2	JPN 2	HKG 1	GUA 1½	ISV 3½	BEL 2	BOL 1½	DOM 2	AND 3½	PER ½	IVB 3½	SYR 1
54	Jordan	BOL	26	14	5	4	5	ARG2 0	JAM 2	TRI 2	TUN 0	BER 2½	JPN 1½	IVB 2½	AND 2	MAU 3½	LUX 1½	GUY 1½	LBA 2½	ZAI 2	ISV 2½
55	Jamaica	JAM	25½	12	4	4	6	FIN 0	JOR 2	MAR 1½	LUX 2	ZAI 3½	HKG 3	CHI 0	GUA 2	SRI 0	IVB 3½	BEL 1	UAE 3½	JPN 1½	BOL 2
56	Puerto Rico	PUR	25	12	6	0	8	ROM 0	LBA 3	ECU 0	ISV 4	GUA 2½	PER 1½	MEX 1	MAU 4	VEN ½	FAI 2½	SYR ½	MAR 1½	MAS 3	JPN 1
57	Malaysia	MAS	25	12	5	2	7	POL ½	SCO ½	SRI 2	LBA 3½	FAI 3	URU 3	NZL ½	AUT ½	GUA 1½	BEL 2	ISV 3	HKG ½	PUR 1	UAE 3½
58	Libya	LBA	23½	10	4	2	8	CAN 0	PUR 1	GUA 1½	MAS ½	ISV 2	ZAI 2	MAR 1½	IVB 2½	UAE 3½	JPN 1	BER 1½	JOR 1½	FAI 2½	AND 2½
59	Mauritania	MAU	23½	13	5	3	6	VEN 0	GUA 3	URU 0	AND 2½	JPN 3	SRI 2	BOL 1½	PUR 0	JOR ½	UAE 2	IVB 3	ZAI 3	ISV 1	BER 2
60	Andorra	AND	22½	10	3	4	7	PHI 2	PAR 0	GUY 0	MAU 1½	SRI ½	IVB 3	UAE 3½	JOR 2	LUX 1	ZAI 3	TRI ½	ISV 2	BER 2	LBA 1½
61	United States Virgin Islands	ISV	22	09	3	3	8	AUS ½	TUN 1	JPN 1½	PUR 0	LBA 2	UAE 3	TRI ½	ZAI 2½	IVB 2	BER 1½	MAS 1	AND 2	MAU 3	JOR 1½
62	Bermuda	BER	20½	11	4	3	7	NOR ½	HKG 0	IVB 3½	SYR ½	JOR 1½	BEL ½	ZAI 2	UAE 2½	MAR ½	ISV 2½	LBA 2½	GUY 0	AND 2	MAU 2
63	Zaire	ZAI	16	05	1	3	10	INA 0	LUX 1	UAE 1	IVB 3	JAM ½	LBA 2	BER 2	ISV 1½	JPN 0	AND 1	MAR 0	MAU 1	JOR 2	FAI 1
64	United Arab Emirates	UAE	12½	05	2	1	11	COL 0	DOM ½	ZAI 3	BOL 0	IVB 2½	ISV 1	AND ½	BER 1½	LBA ½	MAU 2	HKG 0	JAM ½	GUA 0	MAS ½
65	British Virgin Islands	IVB	12½	01	0	1	13	BRA 0	ECU 1	BER ½	ZAI 1	UAE 1½	AND 1	JOR 1½	LBA 1½	ISV 2	JAM ½	MAU 1	FAI 0	TRI ½	LUX ½

Individual medals

• Board 1: Viktor Korchnoi 9/11 = 81.8%
• Board 2: Adam Kuligowski 10/13 = 76.9%
• Board 3: Georgi Tringov 8½/11 = 77.3%
• Board 4: Glenn Bordonada 7/9 = 77.8%
• 1st reserve: James Tarjan 9½/11 = 86.4%
• 2nd reserve: John Turner 6½/7 = 92.9%

Women's event

Thirty-two nations took part in the women's Olympiad. From four preliminary groups the teams were split into four finals. In the event of a draw, the tie-break was decided first by match points, then by using the Sonneborn-Berger system.

The Soviet team was back, and led by newly crowned world champion Chiburdanidze they secured the gold medals in a superior display, as well as all four individual board prizes. On the reserve board, Akhmilovskaya won all of her ten games, the only perfect score in Olympiad history. Hungary and West Germany took silver and bronze, respectively.

Preliminaries

• Group 1:

Final	Country	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8		+	−	=	Points
«A»	Soviet Union	-	3	2½	3	3	3	3	3		7	0	0	20½
«A»	England	0	-	1½	2½	3	3	3	3		5	1	1	16
«B»	Netherlands	½	1½	-	2½	2	3	2	2½		5	1	1	14
«B»	France	0	½	½	-	½	1½	2	3		2	4	1	8
«C»	Mexico	0	0	1	2½	-	0	2	2		3	4	0	7½
«C»	Finland	0	0	0	1½	3	-	1	2		2	4	1	7½
«D»	Venezuela	0	0	1	1	1	2	-	2½		2	5	0	7½
«D»	New Zealand	0	0	½	0	1	1	½	-		0	7	0	3

• Group 2:

Final	Country	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8		+	−	=	Points
«A»	Hungary	-	1½	3	2½	3	3	3	3		6	0	1	19
«A»	West Germany	1½	-	3	1½	2	2½	3	2½		5	0	2	16
«B»	United States	0	0	-	2	2½	3	3	3		5	2	0	13½
«B»	Argentina	½	1½	1	-	1	2½	2½	3		3	3	1	12
«C»	Denmark	0	1	½	2	-	2½	2½	2½		4	3	0	11
«C»	Scotland	0	½	0	½	½	-	2½	2		2	5	0	6
«D»	Iceland	0	0	0	½	½	½	-	3		1	6	0	4½
«D»	Monaco	0	½	0	0	½	1	0	-		0	7	0	2

• Group 3:

Final	Country	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8		+	−	=	Points
«A»	Yugoslavia	-	1½	1½	2	2½	2½	2½	3		5	0	2	15½
«A»	Poland	1½	-	2	2	2½	1½	2	3		5	0	2	14½
«B»	India	1½	1	-	1½	2	1	3	3		3	2	2	13
«B»	Sweden	1	1	1½	-	1½	2½	2	3		3	2	2	12½
«C»	Canada	½	½	1	1½	-	2½	1	2½		2	4	1	10
«C»	Brazil	½	1½	2	½	½	-	1½	3		2	3	2	9½
«D»	Wales	½	1	0	1	2	1½	-	1½		1	4	2	7½
«D»	Bolivia	0	0	0	0	0	0	1½	-		0	6	1	1½

• Group 4:

Final	Country	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8		+	−	=	Points
«A»	Spain	-	2	1	2	3	2½	3	3		6	1	0	16½
«A»	Bulgaria	1	-	1½	3	3	2½	2½	3		5	1	1	16½
«B»	Romania	2	1½	-	1½	2½	2	3	3		5	0	2	15½
«B»	Australia	1	0	1½	-	3	1½	2½	2½		3	2	2	12
«C»	Colombia	0	0	½	0	-	2	3	2½		3	4	0	8
«C»	Japan	½	½	1	1½	1	-	1	1		0	6	1	6½
«D»	Puerto Rico	0	½	0	½	0	2	-	1½		1	5	1	4½
«D»	Uruguay	0	0	0	½	½	2	1½	-		1	5	1	4½

Finals

Final A

#	Country	Players	Average rating	Points	MP	S-B
1	Soviet Union	Chiburdanidze, Gaprindashvili, Alexandria, Akhmilovskaya	2370	16
2	Hungary	Verőci-Petronić, Ivánka, Makai, Kas	2260	11	8	43.00
3	West Germany	Laakmann, Fischdick, Hund, Weichert	2143	11	8	37.50
4	Yugoslavia	Marković, Maček, Pihajlić, Prokopović	2197	11	7
5	Poland	Ereńska-Radzewska, Szmacińska, Jurczyńska, Wiese	2147	10½
6	Spain	García Vicente, Ferrer Lucas, García Padrón, Cuevas Rodríguez	2043	8½	6
7	Bulgaria	Lemachko, Krumova, Shikova, Asenova	2175	8½	4
8	England	Miles, Jackson, Caldwell, Pritchard	2130	7½

Final B

#	Country	Players	Average rating	Points	MP
9	Sweden	Borisova, Dahlin, Bengtsson, Cramling	2072	15	13
10	Romania	Polihroniade, Baumstark, Mureșan, Nuțu	2183	15	11
11	Netherlands	van der Mije, Vreeken, van Parreren, Belle	2140	10
12	Argentina	Soppe, Arias, Justo, Cazón	1953	9½	7
13	France	Merlini, Tagnon, Ruck-Petit, Warkentin	1935	9½	4
14	United States	Savereide, Haring, Herstein, Teasley	2110	9
15	India	Khadilkar R., Khadilkar J., Khadilkar V.	1800	8½
16	Australia	Pope, Kellner, McGrath, Depasquale	1975	7½

Final C

#	Country	Players	Average rating	Points	MP	S-B
17	Denmark	Høiberg, Haahr, Larsen	1967	13	9	42.25
18	Canada	Shterenberg, Day, Baltgailis	1907	13	9	41.25
19	Colombia	Guggenberger, Patiño, Gómez, Zapata	1880	12
20	Brazil	Cardoso, Simonsen, Assunção, Snitkowsky	1807	11½	9
21	Finland	Vuorenpää-Landry, Palasto, Pihlajamäki, Ristoja	1893	11½	8
22	Scotland	Houstoun, Hindle, Elder, McGhee	1813	1
23	Japan	Watai, Takahashi, Nakagawa, Shibuta	1802	6½
24	Mexico	Maurá Denis, Camps de Ocampo, Escondrillas, Salazar	1800	5½

Final D

#	Country	Players	Average rating	Points	MP	S-B
25	Wales	Garwell, Evans, Brunker, Watkins	1880	17½
26	Iceland	Torsteinsdóttir, Tráinsdóttir, Norðdahl, Samúelsdóttir	1800	13½
27	Venezuela	García La Rosa, Casique, Arteaga, Niño del Táchira	1800	12
28	Bolivia	Arias M., Zubieta S., Zubieta A. M., Arias D.	1800	10½	7	34.25
29	Uruguay	De los Santos, Villar de Armas, Ferrari Frei, Fernández Lares	1800	10½	7	26.00
30	New Zealand	Foster, Stretch, Barrowman, Davies	1800	10½	7	25.25
31	Monaco	Fässler, Santoy, Haumeder, Fleureau	1800	5½
32	Puerto Rico	Castellón de Santana, Rodríguez Ramírez, Paniagua Torres, Landrau Laureano	1800	4

Final «A»

No.	Country	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8		+	−	=	Points
1	Soviet Union	-	1½	2	2	3	3	2½	2		6	0	1	16
2	Hungary	1½	-	1½	2	2	1	1½	1½		2	1	4	11
3	West Germany	1	1½	-	1½	2	1½	1½	2		2	1	4	11
4	Yugoslavia	1	1	1½	-	2	2½	2	1		3	3	1	11
5	Poland	0	1	1	1	-	3	2	2½		3	4	0	10½
6	Spain	1	2	1½	½	0	-	1½	3		2	3	2	8½
7	Bulgaria	½	1½	1½	1	1	1½	-	1½		0	3	4	8½
8	England	1	1½	1	2	½	0	1½	-		1	4	2	7½

Final «B»

No.	Country	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16		+	−	=	Points
9	Sweden	-	1½	2	2	2	2½	2	3		6	0	1	15
10	Romania	1½	-	2	3	2	1	2½	3		5	1	1	15
11	Netherlands	1	1	-	1½	2	2	1	1½		2	3	2	10
12	Argentina	1	0	1½	-	2	2	1½	1½		2	2	3	9½
13	France	1	1	1	1	-	2	2½	1		2	5	0	9½
14	United States	½	2	1	1	1	-	1	2½		2	5	0	9
15	India	1	½	2	1½	½	2	-	1		2	4	1	9½
16	Australia	0	0	1½	1½	2	½	2	-		2	3	2	7½

Final «C»

No.	Country	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24		+	−	=	Points
17	Denmark	-	2	1½	1½	1	1½	3	2½		3	1	3	13
18	Canada	1	-	2½	1½	3	½	2	2½		4	2	1	13
19	Colombia	1½	½	-	1½	1½	3	2½	1½		2	1	4	12
20	Brazil	1½	1½	1½	-	2	2	1½	1½		2	0	5	11½
21	Finland	2	0	1½	1	-	1½	3	2½		3	2	2	11½
22	Scotland	1½	2½	0	1	1½	-	2	2½		3	2	2	11
23	Japan	0	1	½	1½	0	1	-	2½		1	5	1	6½
24	Mexico	½	½	1½	1½	½	½	½	-		0	5	2	5½

Final «D»

No.	Country	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32		+	−	=	Points
25	Wales	-	2	2½	1½	3	2½	3	3		6	0	1	17½
26	Iceland	1	-	2	1	2	2½	2	3		5	2	0	13½
27	Venezuela	½	1	-	2½	1½	2	2½	2		4	2	1	12
28	Bolivia	1½	2	½	-	1	1½	1½	2½		2	2	3	10½
29	Uruguay	0	1	1½	2	-	1	3	2		3	3	1	10½
30	New Zealand	½	½	1	1½	2	-	2	3		3	3	1	10½
31	Monaco	0	1	½	1½	0	1	-	1½		0	5	2	5½
32	Puerto Rico	0	0	1	½	1	0	1½	-		0	6	1	4

Individual medals

• Board 1: Maia Chiburdanidze 9/11 = 81.8%
• Board 2: Nona Gaprindashvili 9½/11 = 86.4%
• Board 3: Nana Alexandria 8/10 = 80%
• Reserve: Elena Akhmilovskaya 10/10 = 100%

References

• 23rd Chess Olympiad: Buenos Aires 1978 OlimpBase