On September 1, 1939, not one, but two Polish-German confrontations began. The first, widely known, began with rounds of the Schleswig-Holstein battleship aimed at the Polish outpost on Westerplatte, bombs falling on Polish cities in the morning and tanks breaking through the border barriers. The second one was a very personal duel between a group of Polish citizens, fought away from their home country, but just like the first one, it attracted the attention of audiences around the world. On September 1, 1939 in the capital of Argentina the finals of the VIII Chess Olympics began. The Olympics, organized for the first time ever outside Europe, attracted so many participants that preliminary eliminations had to be conducted. Even in this phase of the tournament politics played an important role. Although the Czech representation appeared under the banner of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the organizers rejected the demands of the German team to display only the swastika flag: the Czech flag waved in front of the Teatro Politeama. The German team was a great unknown of the tournament; it was strengthened by Eliskases and Becker, who had represented Austria so far. The Americans were a big absentee of the tournament; their financial demands exceeding the organizers’ capabilities. In their absence, the Polish team became the favorite of the Olympics, having regularly ranked second in the previous few years. When news of the outbreak of war reached Buenos Aires, the tournament hung by a thread. Several participating teams represented countries which were or were to become involved into the conflict in the coming days. A couple of other teams gave up the competition for purely practical reasons. However, the Argentine hosts did not allow the thought that the long-awaited Olympics could be interrupted, so they pushed through the continuation of the competition during the team leaders’ meeting. Doubts were soon confirmed. The matches between France, Poland and Germany did not take place and were entered into the minutes as a 2:2 draw. The jury faced a problem when the Palestinian team refused to play against Germany. The Germans demanded a default 4:0, which neither the jury nor the opponents wanted to accept. The problem was solved by the hosts, who offered to register their match against Palestine and the Palestine-Germany as a draw. All the participants considered it a generous gesture, except for the Germans, who also demanded that the Czech national team be disqualified. In their opinion the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, participating under its own flag, was now a part of the German Reich.

First Round

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发表日期：

2025年

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Marek Grajek

摘要

On September 1, 1939, not one, but two Polish-German confrontations began. The first, widely known, began with rounds of the Schleswig-Holstein battleship aimed at the Polish outpost on Westerplatte, bombs falling on Polish cities in the morning and tanks breaking through the border barriers. The second one was a very personal duel between a group of Polish citizens, fought away from their home country, but just like the first one, it attracted the attention of audiences around the world. On September 1, 1939 in the capital of Argentina the finals of the VIII Chess Olympics began. The Olympics, organized for the first time ever outside Europe, attracted so many participants that preliminary eliminations had to be conducted. Even in this phase of the tournament politics played an important role. Although the Czech representation appeared under the banner of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the organizers rejected the demands of the German team to display only the swastika flag: the Czech flag waved in front of the Teatro Politeama. The German team was a great unknown of the tournament; it was strengthened by Eliskases and Becker, who had represented Austria so far. The Americans were a big absentee of the tournament; their financial demands exceeding the organizers’ capabilities. In their absence, the Polish team became the favorite of the Olympics, having regularly ranked second in the previous few years. When news of the outbreak of war reached Buenos Aires, the tournament hung by a thread. Several participating teams represented countries which were or were to become involved into the conflict in the coming days. A couple of other teams gave up the competition for purely practical reasons. However, the Argentine hosts did not allow the thought that the long-awaited Olympics could be interrupted, so they pushed through the continuation of the competition during the team leaders’ meeting. Doubts were soon confirmed. The matches between France, Poland and Germany did not take place and were entered into the minutes as a 2:2 draw. The jury faced a problem when the Palestinian team refused to play against Germany. The Germans demanded a default 4:0, which neither the jury nor the opponents wanted to accept. The problem was solved by the hosts, who offered to register their match against Palestine and the Palestine-Germany as a draw. All the participants considered it a generous gesture, except for the Germans, who also demanded that the Czech national team be disqualified. In their opinion the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, participating under its own flag, was now a part of the German Reich.