Asztalos Memorial in Zalaegerszeg

When Grandmaster Taimanov learned that he would be taking part in this year's Asztalos Memorial, he asked by telephone where the tournament was to be held. Even after the name Zalaegerszeg had been repeated several times, he could not remember it. He was finally helped by being told that the tournament would take place in the home town of Lajos Portisch. This enabled him to remember the place and then locate the town on a map of Hungary.

The struggle had scarcely begun when Taimanov—showing due respect for the word “Zala”—and the other foreign participants also learned the second half of the town's name. Together they came to regard Zalaegerszeg as one of the jewels of the Göcsej region.

Dr Lajos Asztalos, after whom the tournament was named, would have celebrated his eightieth birthday in October had he lived to see the eleventh memorial tournament held in Zalaegerszeg. The outstanding chess teacher, affectionately known to many as “Uncle Lajos”, whose pupils are represented among the leading Hungarian players of today, would certainly have been pleased by the Hungarian Chess Federation's development plans. This time the organisers did not limit themselves to staging a Category I/A tournament and inviting famous names. Within a Category II/A event they also created opportunities for ordinary national masters.

Of the four invited players—László Vadász, Pavlos Geszos, Ferenc Portisch and the eighteen-year-old Zoltán Ribli—it was Ribli who most clearly justified the idea. Thanks to the organisers' initiative and the well-chosen field, the tournament was colourful and interesting. Although Ribli ultimately failed to achieve the international-master norm, he will undoubtedly make use of the experience gained in Zalaegerszeg in the near future.

The tournament can be divided into three sections. The first lasted from rounds one to five. At that stage it was still difficult to identify a clear favourite. It was not even Taimanov, who had drawn starting number one, but the experienced Cuban communications worker Eldis Cobo, who led after this section with 3½ points. Taimanov tried in vain to make full use of his games with White.

In the first round Ribli, playing Black, produced an excellent, imaginative and substantial game against the East German international master Lothar Zinn. In the second round Pavlos Geszos defeated János Flesch in an attractive game.

The second section, covering rounds six to ten, changed the situation completely. Taimanov began a winning streak that not only carried him into the lead but also gave him a one-point advantage over István Honfi. Honfi moved into second place after crushing the Romanian reserve player Radovici in the romantic style of the old masters. Radovici had entered the tournament in place of an international master who was unable to participate because of his father's death.

Bílek also began this phase very well. After winning the first two games of the section, however, he was content with draws until the final round. Taimanov agreed several quick draws, but in his other games he fought uncompromisingly for victory. Geszos's initial momentum also faded; against stronger opponents his optimism proved insufficient.

In the final five rounds Taimanov played with the confidence of a leader. Of those pursuing him, Bílek came closest. In the last round Bílek won with Black in a game that was impressive not only because of the result but also, in Taimanov's judgement, because of its quality. It received the second brilliancy prize. The first brilliancy prize was awarded to János Flesch for his victory over Cobo.

At the same time Honfi defeated the young Ribli. With this victory Honfi reached 9½ points, while Ribli nevertheless completed the international-master norm with his own final score of 9½ points.

A three-way tie developed for places two to four: Bílek, Honfi and Ribli all finished on 9½ points. Cobo, Lengyel and Jansa followed with eight points each. Cobo weakened somewhat in the second half, but he could still regard his result as the finest achieved by a Cuban player in a European tournament since Capablanca. Lengyel did not win a single game, but he also remained unbeaten, drawing all fourteen of his games.

Jansa played unevenly, alternating good performances with setbacks. Half a point behind the group on eight points, Dely Péter and Iivo Nei finished on fifty per cent. Dely began the tournament hesitantly and uncertainly. He had intended to rest for several days before the event, but was unable to do so. The extremely consistent Nej may in turn have experienced problems with acclimatisation.

The remaining players were dangerous in individual games, but their overall performances were uneven.

Taimanov regarded Zoltán Ribli as the most interesting of the young Hungarian players. In his opinion Ribli already possessed a modern repertoire and attacked well, but still lacked strategic experience. His last-round game showed that the young player was not yet able to assess manoeuvring play correctly.

From our own point of view, Ribli's play was above all modern, especially in the Sicilian Defence. Lengyel, by contrast, was less convincing with Black. It should also be noted that young players need to become more familiar with the classical periods of chess history, because even a well-qualified grandmaster sometimes commits elementary mistakes under time pressure. The competitors in Havana should likewise be advised to behave in a calmer and more restrained manner, because their conduct occasionally bordered on youthful irresponsibility.

Returning to Taimanov's observations, he found the style of the young Hungarian players somewhat different from that of the others. He recognised in it an element of the old Hungarian school, in which strategic and positional ideas predominated. In his opinion, the younger generation's handling of the middlegame lacked the simplicity exemplified by Barcza.

We do not wish to argue with the grandmaster, but it is worth recalling that after the Spassky–Petrosian match the new world champion included among his most highly praised “classical” achievements the game Réti–Zollner, a product of Hungarian chess. Our players therefore know the classics, although putting that knowledge into practice is not always easy.

We shall not assess the remaining competitors one by one. There were new ideas, and some players displayed great endurance, but the high number of agreed draws and the uneven standard of the games were disappointing.

One new and welcome feature deserves special emphasis: the event was held in an exceptionally pleasant and friendly atmosphere. The organisers and players spent long excursions together, and almost collegial relationships developed. At the closing ceremony neither the organisers nor the competitors had any complaints about one another. Everyone expressed the hope that the prizegiving would not mark the end of the tournament and that Zalaegerszeg would stage a similar event the following year.

The county and city authorities supported this idea. Through the tireless work of Dr Lajos Mezőfi, chairman of the Zala County Sports Council, and László Balogh, chairman of the Zalaegerszeg City Sports Council, as well as the county and city chess federations and their active officials, the tournament was maintained at a standard worthy of an international master event.

At a time when international chess tournaments follow one another in quick succession and the world's finest cities and resorts compete for the favour of the players, organisers are often left with a certain sense of disappointment. Here, however, a tournament was created whose atmosphere was shaped by a large and friendly community.

Chess life in Zalaegerszeg is developing. Antal Csuti, a former pupil of Lajos Portisch, is the coach of a first-division team. Its best players—Tamás Horváth, Mária Porubszky and the Rosta brothers—have achieved success in national youth competitions. The OB II team finished in the leading group, while the county champion is seeking promotion to a higher division. The number of chess players in Zala County is steadily increasing.

There is therefore every reason to believe that the eleventh Lajos Asztalos Memorial was the first, but not the last, major chess tournament to be organised in Zalaegerszeg.

Tibor Flórián, International Master

Photograph caption

The XI Asztalos Memorial. Seated: Cobo; László Balogh, tournament arbiter; Lengyel; Dr Lajos Mezőfi, chairman of the Zala County Sports Council; Taimanov; Bílek; Honfi; Nej. Standing: Imre Németh, secretary of the county chess federation; Geszos; János Berecz, secretary of the city chess federation and tournament director; Zinn; Marszałek; Nikolić; Dely; Flesch; Vadász; Ribli; Jansa; Ferenc Portisch; and István Németh, chairman of the city chess federation.