Anticipation Among Chess Players for the International Tournament

It will be held in the halls of the E.P.T. from 27 December to 6 January — Among the foreign masters are Rabar, Damjanovic, Honfi and Forintos — Masters Paoli and Siveri will represent Reggio chess — Bydgoszcz will not be represented — Miroslav Filip may possibly come to Reggio.

We have reached the eve of the fifth edition of the by-now traditional chess tournament in our city, which will take place from 27 December to 6 January in the hall of the Provincial Tourist Board.

This year too the tournament is particularly strong and, with the approval of the FIDE and under the aegis of the Italian Chess Federation, organized by the local Accademia Reggiana Scacchi, it will offer the possibility of obtaining the title of International Master.

The major competition will feature master Rabar of Zagreb, former Yugoslav champion; his fellow citizen Damjanovic; the Hungarian Olympiad players Honfi and Forintos; the young Dutch promise Langeweg; the Austrian Gragger, already known here for having taken part last year; the current Italian champion, the Italo-Hungarian Stefano Tatai, resident in Rome. Also coming from Rome will be the capable Zichichi, while local chess will be represented by the international master Paoli, several times champion of Italy (who also has at the same time the thankless task of organizer!), and by master Siveri.

The Polish city of Bydgoszcz too — after its “twinning” with our city — was supposed to be represented, but at the last moment it was decided to postpone its participation until next year. There is much hope that the formalities for granting a visa will be completed in time for the international grandmaster Miroslav Filip, one of the eight strongest players in the world, fresh from the fifth Candidates Tournament for the World Championship in Curaçao; in that case the competition would take on even greater importance than that of the previous Centenary tournament.

The games will be played in the afternoon and a lively participation by the public is expected. The participants will be received by the Mayor, continuing a pleasant initiative inaugurated last year.

Thanks to the substantial contribution of institutions and individuals, the tournament can take place annually in our city, which has begun to become known abroad because of the frequent reports published during the chess competition both in daily newspapers (abroad, chess columns in newspapers are plentiful!) and in the technical magazines of the various national federations or of specialized publishing houses.

We publish a first list of generous supporters: Motori Slanzi, Novellara, 100,000 lire; Provincial Administration, 80,000 lire; Municipal Administration, 70,000 lire; Dr. Klein of Florence, 10,000 lire; Banca Agricola Commerciale, 15,000 lire; Banco S. Geminiano e S. Prospero, 10,000 lire; Cassa di Risparmio, 5,000 lire; Rotary Club, 10,000 lire; Association of Industrialists, 10,000 lire; Chamber of Commerce, a gold medal; Postal and Telegraph Workers’ Club (Chess Section), a case of sparkling wine; Calza Bloch, two dozen pairs of socks.