Miss Clare Benedict was an American nurse who spent much of her life in Lucerne, Switzerland. She was interested in chess, and in 1953 decided to sponsor a tournament.

It was an ambitious event, a team tournament for the championship of Western Europe. Six countries entered, with Holland the winner. The others, i norder of finish, were Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy and Belgium.

It became an annual tournament, and the battle for the Clare Benedict Cup attracted many of the best players in the countries involved. West Germany joined the fray in 1956, becoming the most frequent winner.

When Miss Benedict died in 1961 she left a fund to continue the tournament, which had always been held in Switzerland. This practice continued for several more years, until the legacy was used up.

By that time the tournament had been so well established that sponsors in other countries took over, and the site moved to West Germany, England, Spain and Austria.

For the 20th anniversary this year, it was back to Switzerland, with a Jubilee Tournament in Gstaad. For the first time eight countries were invited, rather than the limit of six that had previously been adhered to.

West Germany was the favorte, as usual, with two grandmasters, Wolfgang Unzicker and Lothar Schmidt, manning the top two boards. Yet in the very first round they were trounced 3-1 by the more youthful English team. Richard Keene beat Schmidt, while William Hartston held Unzicker to a draw.

Denmark, which also had a strong lineup though their one grandmaster Bent Larsen could not participate, took over the lead. After three rounds they had 9 points to 7½ for England. West Germany was in fifth place with 6.

By the sixth round the situation had changed dramatically, West Germany beat Denmark by 2½-1½ for the latter's only match loss, and led for the first time, with 15 points. Denmark and England were tied with 14½ points, the other teams all well behind.

In the final round the Germans had a difficult time with Italy, but finally won by 2½-1½. The other leaders played it safe. Denmark tying with Holland and England with Spain.

Thus it was another triumph for West Germany with a total of 17½ game points of a possible 28. The team won five matches, lost to England and tied with Switzerland.

England and denmark tied for second with 16½ points each. England had the better match record, winning four and tying three. Denmark scored 3½-½ against both Switzerland and Italy, but lost to West Germany and tied their other four matches.

/ Written by Isaac Kashdan, Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1973 /