Here is another of the many tournaments organized by Joaquín Espejo, one of the leading promoters of Andalusian chess. He knows how to find sponsors and, when necessary, offers his services as an international arbiter.

The Englishman Mark Hebden, who for some reason is still not a grandmaster, began the first five rounds with a perfect score. He is a very combative player and a great enemy of draws. The tournament would have been his had Popović not stopped him in the penultimate round. As a result, he was caught by Leonid Bass, whose style is completely different. He is a positional steamroller who takes no risks at all.

The Yugoslav P. Popović suffered a few setbacks against the local players, while the Estonian Aleksandr Veingold was content with a solid performance.

My own performance in this tournament was very disappointing. With three rounds remaining, I managed to “spoil” Ricardo Montecatine’s International Master norm. I was almost ashamed to hold a rook-and-queen ending while three pawns down and steer the game to a draw.

The champion of Seville should earn the International Master title, but he needs to play more often away from home, rather than only “on his own ground.” This assessment also applies to the rest of the local players.