The Soviet Romanishin Confirmed the Prediction

Lluis Gonzalez Mestres was the revelation

This tournament, which appears under a high ordinal number within a new denomination, is nothing more than the “Costa Brava” tournament born in Sant Feliu de Guixols, where three editions were held from 1973 to 1975, and continued last year between Blanes and Malgrat, that is, on the border between the Costa Brava and the Costa del Maresme.

After Blanes withdrew, Malgrat was left alone with the event, whose organization was entrusted to the Barcinona 39/69 Association of Barcelona, with the local club also taking part.

With its new location, the former name was changed to “Costa Catalana Tournament”, together with the award of the Costa Maresme Trophy.

The tournament was held entirely at the Hotel Guillem, where the players were also accommodated.

The category of the event was the same as in the previous year, when the expected participation of Miles, duly arranged and accepted by him, had been expected to raise it. But Miles withdrew at the last moment, as he was in Tilburg in the Netherlands playing an important tournament, and argued that the three-day advance of the starting date with respect to the date originally scheduled had not been communicated to him in time to avoid taking on other commitments in between.

On this occasion Soviet participation resumed and fell to a young rising player, Oleg Romanishin, aged 25. Romanishin can be described as the Soviet revelation of the year, in rivalry with Karpov and Tal, judging by the results achieved in recent competitions. He has gone very far, since his failure at Olot in 1975, where he finished third or fourth out of twelve, together with the Pole Schmidt and behind Csom and Kurajica.

His performance at Malgrat was followed with great expectation and, although the final victory was his, he had to reach the last round before it became certain. There Romanishin had to beat Pinter to catch Kurajica, who drew with Ogaard after realizing the futility of his effort.

Romanishin did not fully give the impression of being a great figure, because he found it difficult to overcome some of his opponents and did not always emerge unscathed. For example, he had three long games against Rodriguez, Ogaard and Kurajica without much success, and drew luckily with Gonzalez Mestres in a game he had lost from the opening. Even so, his high class was reflected in his overall performance, and he deservedly won the event.

He also gave an impression of great seriousness, constantly remaining in his room, supposedly resting or training, which gives an idea of his professionalism.

Kurajica, aged 29, has a fine record in this event, since in the third edition of the old “Costa Brava” he achieved the grandmaster title, and in Barcelona, where in 1965 he had been proclaimed world junior champion, years earlier. He has now become a solid player, and it was not difficult for him to secure second place. He would have posed an even greater threat to Romanishin had he not been surprised by Gonzalez Mestres in the fourth round.

The other Yugoslav, Marovic, aged 39, performed similarly to his compatriot but with somewhat less drive, and therefore finished third.

Castro, aged 24, scored four consecutive victories at the start that promised an excellent result, but in the fifth round, in a better position, he allowed his queen to be trapped by Gonzalez Mestres and from then on did nothing good.

Jozsef Pinter, aged 23, is a new player in Spain. He showed fine qualities, especially in terms of solidity, since he was the one who obtained the most draws. He lost only to Romanishin in the final round, falling victim to the Soviet player’s need to win, who used a recipe that confused him and quickly ruined his position.

The great revelation was our Lluis Gonzalez Mestres, aged 29, who surpassed Garcia-Conesa’s performance in the same event the previous year. Gonzalez Mestres is rather detached from active chess because he normally resides in Paris for higher studies, but it should be borne in mind that he successfully competed in the World Junior Championship won precisely by Kurajica, and has always remained interested in chess, for which he has a scientific disposition. His good sense in this type of event was nevertheless reflected in the irregularity of his results, since alongside some very good achievements he was not at the corresponding level against the bottom players.

The sensation was his game with Romanishin, who, failing to take advantage of his superior position, produced an exceptional ending that led to a draw from a heterogeneous position in which the advantage could not be converted.

Another new participant was the Norwegian Ogaard, aged 25, who did not let his compatriot Zwaig’s participation from the previous year be forgotten. Ogaard is not yet experienced enough for greater ambitions despite holding the international master title.

Orestes Rodriguez, aged 34, has still not justified his recent grandmaster title, perhaps because he has not concentrated on his new category and on how to manage his effort. He went completely unnoticed.

The Catalan Martin, aged 24, and the Canary Island player Fraguela, aged 23, both former Spanish champions, are suffering the consequences of a lack of sporting control that leads them to compete without planning. This has to force them to reconsider whether they do not want to burn themselves out prematurely, if they have not already done so. We hope they react in time to recover what they are worth, since their youth still allows it, and to rethink their sporting attitude in order to make better use of their abilities. In glaring cases such as this—and many examples could be cited—there is often a failure to correct the situation; it is when we most remember the figure of the coach as technical and sporting guide to our promising players.

JORDI PUIG