1965 Candidates Matches
After the controversy surrounding the previous Candidates tournament, the 1965 tournament was the first to be played as a knock-out series of matches.
Two players were seeded directly into the tournament: Mikhail Botvinnik (loser of the last championship match) and Paul Keres (2nd place in the 1962 Candidates). Botvinnik declined, and his place was taken by Efim Geller, who finished 3rd in the 1962 Candidates.
| 1st Round |
Semifinals |
Final |
|||||||||||||
| Boris Spassky | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| Paul Keres | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Boris Spassky | 5½ | ||||||||||||||
| Efim Geller | 2½ | ||||||||||||||
| Vassily Smyslov | 2½ | ||||||||||||||
| Efim Geller | 5½ | ||||||||||||||
| Boris Spassky | 7 | ||||||||||||||
| Mikhail Tal | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Bent Larsen | 5½ | ||||||||||||||
| Borislav Ivkov | 2½ | ||||||||||||||
| Bent Larsen | 4½ | ||||||||||||||
| Mikhail Tal | 5½ | ||||||||||||||
| Lajos Portisch | 2½ | ||||||||||||||
| Mikhail Tal | 5½ | ||||||||||||||
Spassky won, earning the right to challenge champion Petrosian for the title.
Larsen and Geller played a third place playoff in Copenhagen, Denmark in March 1966. Larsen won 5-4.
Read more about this topic: World Chess Championship 1966
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