Asztalos Memorial in Pécs

During the preparations for the 7th Lajos Asztalos Memorial Tournament, a particularly fitting circumstance presented itself: had he lived, the tournament's namesake would have celebrated his 75th birthday. For that reason his native city was chosen as the venue. Pécs, a developing and increasingly attractive city with a history of two thousand years, had not yet hosted an international chess tournament of this standard. It was also felt that the memory of the great Hungarian chess organizer and teacher should be honoured with a Category I/A event.

Unfortunately, the crowded programme of competitions in an Olympiad year disrupted the organizers' plans. A number of international masters were taking part at the same time in the Amsterdam zonal tournament, which was to qualify players for the Interzonal. The organizers therefore received many refusals from both Hungarian and foreign grandmasters. In the end the field consisted of two grandmasters, eleven international masters and three national masters, representing eight countries.

At the railway station, young pioneers wearing red neckerchiefs welcomed the guests arriving from Budapest and presented them with flowers. That afternoon another pleasant and solemn event took place: in the presence of local officials and the tournament participants, a memorial plaque was unveiled on the house in Pécs where Lajos Asztalos had been born. Ivánfi Kálmán spoke on behalf of the city's chess players, while Flórián Tibor, secretary of the Hungarian Chess Federation, gave a short account of Asztalos's life. In the evening the tournament was formally opened and the drawing of lots was held in the presence of Kőrösi Lajos, chairman of the Executive Committee of the Pécs City Council.

The tournament began the following day, 6 June, in the Pécs Armed Forces Club in Szalai Street. The players were driven there from the Fenyves Hotel on the Mecsek hills. The traditional time control was used: five hours for 40 moves, with adjourned games resumed the following morning at the hotel.

From the outset Aivars Gipslis, a champion of the Latvian Soviet Republic, came to the fore. In several games he played with astonishing speed, seized the initiative and almost hypnotized his opponents. Grandmaster Milko Bobotsov also made a good start, although his results in his two previous tournaments had been more modest. Here, especially with White, he played confidently, though his opponents sometimes failed to prepare their attacks carefully enough.

Among the Hungarians, the newcomer Péter Szilágyi initially performed best. This was his first individual international tournament, and he scored 3½ points from his first five games. At that stage it seemed possible that he might reach the international-master norm, for which he still needed another four points. Later, Flesch and Dely were the only Hungarian players to exceed fifty percent, while Bárczay, Haág and Honfi remained exactly on fifty percent. Dr Pogáts completely lost his form.

In the middle phase of the event Gipslis, Bobotsov, Dely and Bogdanović moved clearly ahead. They maintained their early form while the other players became increasingly uncertain. The tournament did not go well for grandmaster Ratmir Kholmov, the strongest previous winner of an Asztalos Memorial. He was unable to dominate either in long, exhausting games or in rapid play, and his ambition only increased his nervousness.

During the third phase of the tournament physical fitness became decisive. The leaders from the opening stages remained in front. The FIDE qualification regulations were not entirely satisfactory, however: 10½ points were required for a grandmaster norm and 7½ for an international-master norm. In both cases the requirements were too modest for a player in genuinely good form. Gipslis benefited most, since in his last five games he faced players from outside the leading group. Only a small margin separated the strength of this event from the middle section of the Soviet Championship, where only two players out of eighteen qualified further.

The two leaders met only in the final round. Their game ended in a draw, in full accordance with the FIDE thirty-move rule then in force. Consequently the closing phase of the tournament was not especially dramatic. The final order among the leaders had already largely taken shape, and only the last prize places remained in dispute. The last adjourned game, Honfi–Dr Pogáts, was not completed until the farewell banquet; by winning it, Honfi caught the players occupying places five to eight.

The event also offered an opportunity to assess Hungary's second, partly younger generation of masters against comparable foreign players. The answer was not entirely satisfactory. When in good form, the Hungarian masters could fight on equal terms and sometimes defeat foreign colleagues of similar strength. They were not consistent enough, however. A small decline in form was sufficient to make not only victory but even a draw difficult to achieve.

Grandmaster Bobotsov and international master Gipslis fully deserved to share first place. Bobotsov successfully repaired the impression left by several weaker recent performances and achieved a convincing result. Gipslis quickly became popular with the spectators because of his energetic style, although he slowed considerably toward the end of the event.

Péter Dely finished third with a score that was theoretically sufficient for a grandmaster norm. In the middle of the tournament he contracted influenza, and secured the norm only by scoring 3½ points from his last four, relatively weaker, opponents. In the previous round he had been close to defeat against Czerniak, and the draw also deprived him of a possible share of first place. Nevertheless, Dely's performance was satisfactory and represented a major improvement over his form at the beginning of the year. With stronger physical preparation he should be capable of more consistent results.

Fourth place went to Yugoslav international master Radovan Bogdanović. He lost only two games, both to Hungarian opponents. Against the other leading players he made excellent use of his great experience and impressive calm, even when the flag on his clock was close to falling.

Places five to nine were shared by five players: Bárczay, Haág, Honfi, grandmaster Kholmov and the East German representative Burkhard Malich. Bárczay exceeded the requirement for an international-master norm. Honfi frequently chose sharp, interesting and colourful variations, although his plans were not always sufficiently coherent and his temperament sometimes worked against him. Malich was well prepared; his strengths were opening knowledge and endurance, while tactical complications sometimes made him uncertain.

Kholmov may still have been tired from the 32nd Soviet Championship and the round-robin tournament that followed it. He usually defended accurately, but when his opponents played for a win he often failed to exploit his own chances and agreed to draws too quickly. Many observers felt that he did not show enough energy to dominate players who were clearly below him in reputation and experience.

Július Kozma of Bratislava took tenth place with fifty percent. He began well, and his games against the leading players were generally full of complicated play. Flesch showed his real ability only when an opponent forced him into a serious struggle. He reached the international norm, but for Kozma this was already his second such result within six months. In several games Flesch played without sufficient concentration or ambition, which was disappointing in view of his repeated high placings in the Hungarian Championship.

Péter Szilágyi is an active player with a healthy attitude to chess, but still has much to learn in opening theory. In defence he sometimes made errors known to experienced masters for decades. His material circumstances were more secure, and his style was straightforward: he did not always accept material equality and sometimes tried to disturb it by sacrifice.

The Yugoslav master Mato Damjanović performed much more weakly than expected. He had played well in Budapest during the winter, but in Pécs his play was often light and colourless. Czerniak and Paoli handled the clock comparatively well and in several games came close to taking points from much more highly regarded opponents.

The organization of the tournament was carried mainly by the chess players and officials of the Pécs mining clubs. The organizing committee, led by János Radnóti, worked with tireless enthusiasm to make the participants feel at home. The friendly, almost family-like atmosphere helped to solve every problem. The municipal and county authorities of Pécs and Baranya, local social organizations and the mining clubs provided particularly valuable assistance. The arbiters Vargha Dezső and Regős György also made an important contribution, together with Szabó Béla, who supervised the demonstration boards, Kiss János, who edited the bulletin, József Bognár of the MTS, and Mátyás Rózsahegyi of the city sports department.

Besides an excellently organized reception given by members of the Pécs Ércbánya team, the participants were taken on excursions around Pécs and to Harkány, Siklós, Villány and Abaliget. The natural scenery and historic monuments undoubtedly left everyone with pleasant memories of their stay in the city below the Mecsek hills.

In Memory of Lajos Asztalos

A marble plaque was unveiled on the façade of the János Pannonius Grammar School at 4 Mária Street in Pécs, marking the house where Lajos Asztalos was born on 29 July 1889. The plaque was erected through the initiative of the Hungarian Chess Federation and the social organizations of Pécs.

In his commemorative speech Flórián Tibor recalled Asztalos's work as a chess player, organizer, teacher and author. He emphasized Asztalos's contribution to Hungarian chess life and to the education of younger generations. Asztalos possessed all the qualities required of an outstanding coach: broad theoretical knowledge, the ability to communicate it clearly, and patience. His influence remained alive among his pupils and colleagues.

Asztalos belonged for many years to the leading group of Hungarian chess players. He represented his country at Olympiads and international tournaments, and in 1956 received the title of international master. He also served as secretary-general and later chairman of the Hungarian Chess Federation. He died only a few months after receiving the title.

The first memorial tournament bearing his name was held one year after his death. The Hungarian Chess Federation decided that it should be organized annually, each time in a different city. Its purpose was to give young Hungarian players international experience and to popularize chess throughout the country. The seventh edition was held in Pécs, Asztalos's native city, in the year of the 75th anniversary of his birth.

Photograph captions

Gipslis and Bobotsov, winners of the 7th Asztalos Memorial Tournament.

The memorial plaque unveiled on the house in Pécs where Dr Lajos Asztalos was born.

Players and organizers on the terrace of the Fenyves Hotel in the Mecsek hills. Back row: Dely, Bárczay, Haág, Dr Pogáts, Dr Paoli and Honfi. Middle rows: Bogdanović, Bobotsov, Tibor Flórián, tournament chairman János Radnóti, Malich, Kozma, György Asztalos, Dezső Vargha, Kholmov, Gipslis, Damjanović and Czerniak. Front: Flesch, Péter Szilágyi and Jancsi Flórián.