An Active Fight for an International Title

This year's international tournament in Varna was weaker in both qualification level and number of participants. With thirteen players and only one grandmaster, Georgi Tringov, it was one of the smallest editions. Nevertheless, the good ratings of most of the masters - an average of about 2410 - made it possible to achieve an international-master norm. That objective became the central theme of the event.

From the outset it was clear that the one player who had come fully prepared and with an unmistakable desire to win first place was the young Hungarian international master Andras Adorjan. He took the lead early and finished as the sole winner with a clear margin. His ambitious play also enabled him to produce several attractive and creative games.

The group of players seeking an international-master norm maintained much of the tournament's dynamism. Among them were Sofrevski and the Bulgarians Bohosyan, Peev and Ermenkov. It soon became clear that Bulgarian champion Bohosyan would not reach the target. Four rounds before the end Ermenkov also damaged his chances after misjudging a position. Although he still retained theoretical possibilities, he could not recover sufficiently.

Only Peicho Peev and Yugoslav master Sofrevski eventually reached the seven points required for the international-master norm. Peev's result was particularly noteworthy: he was the only player to defeat both Podgaets and Sofrevski.

Tringov and Lyuben Popov showed little ambition for a high placing, and their final positions in the table reflected that attitude. The event demonstrated that, even without a large number of grandmasters, a carefully balanced field and meaningful title norms could produce serious competitive chess.