Participants and Creativity

How should a player distribute his strength in a tournament? What is the best strategy against a particular opponent? Which style is most successful? What role is played by psychology and by nervous endurance? Every chess player asks such questions before a tournament, but the concrete answers are always supplied by the result.

Looking at the recently completed international tournament in Varna, the most striking examples of uncompromising play from beginning to end were Kavalek, Rashid Nezhmetdinov and Victor Ciocaltea.

Grandmaster Lubomir Kavalek, the youngest participant, was already a player of considerable international experience. He demonstrated sound opening knowledge, excellent judgment in complicated attacking and defensive positions, and good endgame technique. It was no accident that he again reached the very top of the Varna tournament.

The oldest participant, International Master Rashid Nezhmetdinov of Kazan, fought just as stubbornly. In every game he searched for attacking chances and complications, but age and poor health occasionally betrayed him. Against Barcza, for example, he lost an easily winning position in the fifth hour of play, and other missed opportunities also pushed him down the standings. After the tournament he ruefully remarked on the advantages of youth.

Several Bulgarian players had chances to challenge the leaders, but their results were uneven. Padevsky took excessive risks in an important game against Kavalek and was punished when his attack was repelled. Bobotsov played his customary careful chess but without his usual sharpness, and two defeats with Black came after difficult opening positions.

Hungarian grandmaster Gedeon Barcza performed unexpectedly badly. A highly risky attack brought his first defeat; his attempts to recover immediately led to further losses. He appeared to take the setbacks too heavily and seemed to lack the physical and nervous endurance required by such a demanding tournament.

The other participants did not quite reach the level of the leaders, although almost everyone produced at least one good creative performance. The tournament once again showed that sustained energy, willpower and fighting spirit from the first round to the last are as important as purely technical chess strength.