This unofficial Olympiad took place in Tripoli, Libyan Arab Republic from October 24 to November 15, 1976.

After FIDE refused to change the venue, the Soviet team boycotted the tournament in Haifa in protest, as did all the Soviet satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and the Arab member nations of FIDE.

[2] While the unofficial Tripoli Olympiad was a highly charged political event, the actual chess played was on quite a different level.

The Philippines, Italy, and Uruguay were the only nations to send teams to both Olympiads, and none of them won any medals at either event.

In a somewhat surprising outcome, the completely unknown Salvadoran team, which included 17-year-old talent Boris Pineda, took home the gold medals.