Playing for a Mercedes in Baden-Baden

By Zoltán Ribli

Baden-Baden, the resort at the foot of the Black Forest famous for its thermal baths, hosted prestigious chess tournaments as long ago as 1870 and 1925. The latter event had 21 participants: besides Alekhine, who won by a margin of one and a half points, the field included Rubinstein, Dr Tarrasch, Dr Tartakower, Réti, Marshall and Nimzowitsch!

In 1979, at the initiative of Reinhold Hoffmann, the owner of a chess travel agency, the leaders of Baden-Baden decided to revive the old traditions and once again hold regular chess tournaments, inviting the world's leading grandmasters and international masters. Large open tournaments were organised in both 1979 and 1980. Károly Honfi won the 1979 open, thereby earning the right to compete in the 1981 grandmaster tournament.

In July 1981, chess players occupied the upstairs rooms of the Kurhaus, which also houses the world-famous casino, for more than two weeks. Alongside the 14-player grandmaster tournament, the now traditional open was held with more than 100 participants; the top three qualified for the next grandmaster tournament. There was also an international women's open, in which Hungary was represented by Zsuzsa Verőci-Petronic. This list alone shows that Baden-Baden was staging a genuine chess festival.

In the Category IX grandmaster tournament, which brought together the first-, second- and third-placed finishers from the previous two years' opens and invited grandmasters, we regarded World Championship challenger Korchnoi as the clear favourite. He probably intended this event as the final test of his preparations before his World Championship match against Karpov.

The greatest sensation of this tournament, impeccably organised in every respect and set in beautiful surroundings, was undoubtedly the first prize: a white Mercedes 200, donated by Daimler-Benz. On one of the rest days, the organisers also arranged an excursion to the Mercedes factory in Sindelfingen. The car was already on display on the ground floor of the Kurhaus on the opening day, so the players could admire the magnificent prize every day. I freely admit that it had not yet occurred to me that the white Mercedes would be going to Hungary!

The tournament developed in exciting fashion. After the first four rounds, Károly Honfi led alone with a perfect score. Grandmaster Miles followed on 3½ points. I was then third with 3 points. Korchnoi had only 2½, having suffered a great surprise in the fourth round: a defeat by Bastian, the talented physics student from Saarbrücken. The most valuable of Honfi's “scalps” was his victory with Black over grandmaster Unzicker.

Miles won convincingly against Jean-Luc Roos, a member of the Roos chess dynasty. Playing Black, Roos tried to surprise his celebrated opponent with the relatively rare Dutch Defence, but Miles dealt with it effortlessly and decided the game in his favour.

In the second and third rounds, I failed to convert better positions into wins against Unzicker and de Firmian. In the fourth round, I reached the following position against the Yugoslav Stajić.

As I have mentioned, one of the biggest surprises of the fourth round, and of the tournament, was Bastian's victory over Korchnoi.

The fifth round brought the meeting between the two Hungarian players. After a hard struggle in a fluctuating game, Ribli prevailed in the adjournment session. Korchnoi again came close to defeat, this time against Miles. In the seventh round I beat Gheorghiu and took the sole lead with 6 points. Miles was second with 5½. In the eighth round, his victory over de Firmian brought him level with me, since I could manage “only” a draw against Ivkov. In the ninth round, both leaders, Miles and Ribli, won. The uncertain Korchnoi saved another apparently losing position, this time against Unzicker.

The tenth round was exceptionally interesting too. Most spectators watched Korchnoi, who was engaged in a fierce battle with the increasingly in-form de Firmian. After a poor start, the talented young American had beaten Ivkov, with a great deal of luck, then Hort, and now Korchnoi as well. This effectively ended Korchnoi's chances of first place. Bastian–Ribli and Miles–Honfi both ended in draws after varying degrees of excitement. In the next two rounds, Miles and Ribli both drew their games, while Gheorghiu beat Bastian in an exciting encounter.

Before the final round, Miles and Ribli each had 9 points and Korchnoi had 8. In the last round, Bastian defeated Borik and thereby achieved his first international master norm. Miles drew with Ivkov, leaving the outcome to be decided by Ribli–Korchnoi. The high stakes made me very nervous, and I played several weak moves from an advantageous position. Eventually, a rook ending arose in which I was a pawn down, and the game was adjourned after move 41.

There were only about seventy minutes available to analyse the adjournment, because the closing banquet was to take place that same evening. Honfi, whose game against the West German Kestler had also been adjourned in a complicated position, sacrificed work on his own adjournment and analysed only my game. I was deeply grateful for this selfless help, although my chief concern was whether I could hold the draw. Our analysis worked out very well: over the next ten moves, Korchnoi played just as we had expected.

In the resulting position Korchnoi thought for more than three-quarters of an hour, but could no longer find a winning continuation. The game eventually ended in a draw at Black's suggestion. I had managed to save my well-analysed adjournment, but Honfi lost his game. I would like to thank him here as well for his help, for he played a major part in the white Mercedes becoming mine.

Under the agreement reached with Miles and the organisers, I was able to take the car home. In fact, however, my wife drove it: with my newly acquired driving licence, I could hardly undertake the journey after such a truly exhausting chess tournament.

As for my own play, I am very pleased with the shared first place, although I was uncertain in some games. My victory against Gheorghiu gave me a decisive impetus in the fight for first place.

Miles, who shared first place with me, played confidently after a good start and deserved to finish at the top. He defeated weaker opponents with great assurance and fought with exceptional tenacity in critical positions.

The strong favourite Korchnoi survived several difficult games and had only luck to thank for not losing more of them. Once again, he fought with extraordinary tenacity in inferior positions, making use of his vast experience and tournament know-how. Both Ivkov and Hort had realistic chances of a better placing. Both were among the unlucky players. Gheorghiu and Unzicker moved up in the closing stages. Particular mention should be made of Unzicker's performance: an amateur whose professional duties allow him to play in few tournaments, he was the oldest participant but threw himself into the struggle with youthful enthusiasm.

De Firmian played every game all-out, and only three of his hard-fought encounters ended in draws. Bastian was one of the spectators' favourites, and many were delighted by his international master norm. After his splendid start of 4 points from 4 games, Károly Honfi lost a fluctuating encounter against Ribli. Unfortunately, he could not recover from this for several rounds. Although he obtained the better position in several games, he lost in unfortunate circumstances against Korchnoi, Hort and Kestler, and let a win slip into a draw against Miles. His selflessness and fighting spirit are an example for younger players to follow.

The women's tournament began a few days later and ended a few days earlier than the grandmaster event. Zsuzsa Verőci-Petronic led throughout and won convincingly and deservedly. As she said afterwards, she considered her victory over C. Roos decisive for first place. The leaders in the nine-round, 14-player international women's open finished as follows: 1. Zsuzsa Verőci-Petronic 8½; 2. C. Roos (Canada) 8; 3. Van Parreren (Netherlands) 6½; 4. I. Hund (West Germany) 6; 5. H. Vogel (Netherlands) 5½ points.

In conclusion, I feel that thanks are due to Mrs Margarete Greskowiak, who directed the tournament with great expertise and care; to Reinhold Hoffmann, the driving force behind the Baden-Baden chess festival, an energetic and experienced organiser; and to Bruno Kortenkamp, director of Daimler-Benz's Baden-Baden dealership, for their helpfulness.