Tournament Life
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STATES 1::1 Volume XXIV February. 1969 EDITOR: Burt Hochberg CHESS FEDERATION CONTENTS PRESIDENT Observation Point, by Mira Radajcic ............... .. .. ................................... 5 1 Marshall RohJand " I Was Lucky ...", Interview with Korchnoi, by Dimitrije Bjelica ..... ..... 53 VICE·PRESIDENT Isaac Kashdan Brilliancy Prize, by Bernard Zuckerman .................................................. 55 SECRETARY Lazos Wins American Open, by Andrew Kempner .................................. 57 Dr. Leroy Dubeck By Larsen .............. ....... .. ..... , ... , .... " .... ........... ........ ............................. .... 58 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Chess Life, Here and There ... ...................... ...... ...... .... .. ... ..................59 , 63 E. B. Edmondson College Chess News, by Peter Meschter .. .. ........................ ... ................. .. 59 REGIONAL VICE·PRESIDENTS Olympiad Games, by Robert Byrne ... ...................................................... 60 NEW ENGLAND J;o.mes Bolton Sl even J . F r yrner Manhattan-Marshall Awards ........... , .............. ........... ............................ 63 Benj amin Landey Pachman On the Openings, by Ludek Pachman ...................................... 66 EASTERN Allen Kaufman Michael Raimo WIlliam Goiehber g From the Student Team, by Andrew Soltis .............................................. 68 MID·ATLANTIC Sieve Caruthers The Vi rgin Islands in Lugono, by Bill Hook ...... .................................... ..70 Dr. Fred A. Sorensen Lewis Hucks A Visit to Petros ian's Home, by D. Bjeli ca ..... ..... .. .. ..... ................... .. ... .. .71 SOUTHERN Ph!lip Lam b Robert Cole A Letter of Special Interest, by Richa rd Dermer .................. ... ... ............ .. 72 Donald Schultz USCF Directors' Meeting ,." .. ,', .. " ... " .. ... .... ..................... ....... .. ... .. ... ... ... .74 GREAT LAKES Robert By rne V. E. Vandenburg Theo dore Pehnec Industrial Chess, by Matt Pavitt ......................... .. ... ...... ... ................. .. .... 75 NORTH CENTRAL Dr. George Tiers Benko's Bafflers, by Pal Benko ............................... ........ .. .................... .76 Pete.. Woll Aleku nder Lie pniek.s 12 X 12, by E. B. Edmondson ....................... ........................................... 78 SOUTHW~$TERN John A. Howell Robert S. Brieger Rating Reports Received ..........................................................................78 Dr. Alfred Sorensen Tournament Life .... .................................... ...... ...... .. ........................... ... .. 80 PACIFIC A. M. Ga rdner Burrant Eddy Col. Charles Daly National High School Championship .. .. .... .. .. ... ..... .. ... .................... .. ... .... 89 NATIONAL CHAIRMEN and OFFICERS ARMED FORCES CHESS ........ .. Maj. Arthur Joy BYLAWS ,. ........ " ... .. .""".,, ......... ..... ... ..... .Frank Skoff CHESS EDUCATION ... .... .. ..... ... ... Dale GU5 tafson COLLEGE CHIiSS ............... ,.... .... .. Peter Meschter COUNSEL ... TItI ... URIR..... ... O. vld Hottm.nn INDUSTRIAL CHIII. .............M . tt.hew A. P.vltt JUNIOR CH ........... .................. .......... Robert Erkel MASTERS AflflAI ...................... ___ Robert Byrne JOIN THE UNITED STATES CHESS FEDERATION MERIT AWARDS .................................. EII Bourdon NOMINATIONS ..............................Jame s Van Horn USCF is a. nOD'profit demO(:ralic or,anlz.a llon, the official RATINGS & ,..... INOS .......... __ ... _.Arpad E . Elo Chess Fe4er.tlon) unit for chess In the USA. ,\ nyone TAX DIOUCTI.ILlTY. ............... __ Hamld Dondls Is ell,lb.le (or membership, with belll'fits which inelude a TOURNAMENT AOM ........... Georce KoltaDowUl for USCF r.UDa:. TOURNAMENT RULES ............ __.. J.mes Sherwln U. S. CHAMP.ONSHIP .............. __ M.urke KasPer Re,uln Membership: 1 year, $10.00. 2 )·ean . $19.00; 3 years, $27.00. Junior Membership U. S. OPEN ........... .................... ... ..........Fra n k Skoft CUnder 21 .t expiration date): I year, $$.00; 2 )'ea r5, $9.50; 3 years, $13.50. S.. "t. lnlng Member· WOMEN'S CH!SS........... .. ....... ............l!lYa Aronson ship (become. Life after 10 e onseeutl~c annual paymen ts): $20.00. Once a Su.t.lnln, Member. Women'. Intern.Uon.I .............. Kathryn Slater ship hu becu n, each successive yur', dun must be paid berore the expiratiOn date. Other' wl. e, the sustaining cycle starts over acaln . t year one and at whatever r. tes are then in .ffeet. Llf. Membenhlp: 5200.00. WORLD CHESS FEDERATION CHrss LIFE 15 published monthly by USCF and entered as seeond-cl.U m. tter at East (F.r.D.E.) Dubuque, l !l1nols. Non·member l·yr. subscription: $e .~o ($7.50 outside USA); sln,le copy: 65g (75¢ outs\(\ e USA). ChlnS)I of a.ddntn: Allow six wee ks noUce; please give us both the new address Fred Cramer I n(\ the old ad(\ress, Inelu(\lng the n!,l mber. and dates on the top li ne of your steneU . Vice·President, Zone 5 (U.S.A.) Address aU communlcatlon$, and make all checks payable to: UNITED STATES CHESS FEOIRATION, 4H IIroa.dway, Newbursh, N.Y. 12550 50 CHESS UFE by Miro Radojcic "Nothing New In Mallorcall The story of this particular tourna to the fore the names of Victor Korch. already accepted as part of his style ment in that famous Spanish resort noi and Bent Larsen. Ali in all, when and as part of his Laskerian philosophy: could perhaps best be summed up in the everything has been counted, these two there is no chance to win without a title of the famous book by Erich Maria must be regarded as the two best tourna· light, and there can be no fight without Remarque: "Nothing New in Mallorca." ment players of the past season. If "the upsetting the balance. SIX Grandmasters, who before the start terrible Viking" was incomparable in FUller del ails can be gleaned from the of the tournament were both officially 1967, so was "the terrible Victor" in cross·table, but as u.iual, it does nOl tell and unofficially considered the best, 1968. the whole story: it does not show, for took the top six places when the tour· If you throw a glance at the tourna instance, that Donald Byrne was too nament was finished. Ideally, consider ment cross·table, you will find it hard often in terrible time pressure to have ing the chess crown and the awarding to believe that both Korchnoi and Larsen a chance to improve his score, or that of chess titles, World Champion Petro· lost their matches to Spassky so disas· Benko had some really bad luck, losing sian should logically have been first, but trously. This fact, however, brings back touch in some promising-even winning nobody was surprised that he wasn't. the thought that there must be quite a -position. As has been a habit with him, It has long been known and actually difference between a match and a tour Benko was the greatest fighter, if you accepted that the present champ is not nament. One also may think that Spassky consider the number of played moves really a chess king like his illustrious has that wonderful excellence of being in all these games. He played altogether predecessors were. That explains the able to play best when he needs it most! 768, while on the other end, Ivkov play prosaic fact that with all the compli But how to explain such excellence by ed the least with 557. Benko took more ments to his fine play in Mallorca, he Korchnoi and Larsen in so many tourna time than anyone else, spending alto came only fourth-in fact, conSidering ments? For one hardly needs reminding gether 47 hours and 29 minutes, while some of Petrosian's tournament results that in 1967 the Danish Grandmaster Gligoric was the fastest thinker, taking in the recent past, his score in Spain was won five big tournaments in succession, only 32:54. Altogether 11,483 moves were taken as a rather good success and a and that the Soviet Grandma~ter is cred made by all eighteen players, the longest sign of his very satisfying form. Thanks ited, half-jokingly and half.seriously, game being between Benko and Matano· mainly to Petrosian we have come to with the habit of winning nine out of vic which took nine hours fifty·one min a point where the great difference be· e\'ery ten tournaments he plays in ! utes. The shortest game was between tween tournament and match play has In the c a ~ e of these two chess war Korchnoi and Calvo - it lasted nine been constantly stressed--even to the riors, one thing seems to be certain: be· moves and took foul' minutes, but that point where people are talking about sides their unqucstionably great chess \\'as t\\'o rounds before the end when two different kinds of chess! With this talent and enormous strength, both Korchnoi was already sure of first prize. in mind, one could say that after Mal Korehnoi and Larsen have anothcr ex The brilliancy prize was shared by Korch lorca the World Champion retained the ceptional quality: fearlessness. And even noi, for his win over Larsen, and Medina reputation he had earlier: while be may here, it seems, there is a difference be and Toran for tneir exciting draw. not be too impressive as a tournament tween the two: while the f"arlessness of To conclude the Mallorca story, it player, as a match player he may be a Larsen looks even now like youthful should be added the 1968 "Oscar" for colossus. optimism, that of Korchnoi looks more best player of the year was given to That, of course, will be up to Boris like the reasoning of a great gambler. Spassky. A spccial international jury Spassky to find out. By sheer logic again,