Situated 48 kilometres from Córdoba, the provincial capital, in the direction of Málaga, lies the beautiful district of Montilla-Moriles, as famous for its generous wines as for its incomparable Fiestas de la Vendimia. This alone would be attractive enough to justify the 930-kilometre journey separating San Sebastián from this distinctive Andalusian region. But that was only an indirect reason for the long trip. The real objective was the celebration of the 5th Montilla-Moriles International Tournament, on this occasion scheduled as the strongest event in Spain in 1975: Category 12 Elo.

After thirteen hours of travel, I arrived at the Hotel Don Gonzalo, the venue of the event, half an hour before the draw was to be made for the round schedule. I immediately exchanged impressions with Don Rafael Molina, President of the Córdoba Chess Federation, who was arranging for the player originally programmed as deputy arbiter, IM Antonio Medina, to replace the Soviet player Antoshin, who had been unable to attend because of illness. According to the telegram sent by the Russian Federation, he was to be replaced by IM Igor Zaitsev, but despite the efforts of the organization there was no time to arrange the necessary visa formalities, and he had to remain in Moscow at the last moment.

This created problems concerning the number of participants, since all this happened on the eve of the start of the tournament, on 18 August, without enough time to hire another player of similar strength. Despite the great strength of the tournament and his lack of preparation, Medina agreed to complete the planned field of ten participants. The tournament, however, dropped to Category 11, with an average rating of 2512, and 5.5 points were required to obtain a grandmaster norm. Only three Spanish players had access to such a norm, since the rest were already in possession of the coveted title.

At 12 noon on the 19th, the draw among the participants was carried out, producing the following numbers:

1. Polugaevsky
2. Toran
3. R. Byrne
4. Csom
5. Medina
6. Szabo
7. Kavalek
8. Radulov
9. Bellon
10. Pfleger

Don Rafael Molina then gave a few words of greeting and welcome, and the chief arbiter, GM O’Kelly, explained the technical characteristics of the event to players and journalists. A Spanish wine was then served. There was no lack of humour from IM Román Torán, who remarked that the numbers had already determined the final classification.

The first rounds

In the afternoon came the first round and the first surprises, caused by the two former Candidates. Lev Polugaevsky, still not acclimatized and still affected by his arrival at four o’clock that same morning, as well as by the conference he had held with Moscow only hours earlier concerning the “Igor Zaitsev” case, during which he was informed that he would be the only Soviet representative in the event, was a shadow of himself. He lost with the white pieces to the West German Helmut Pfleger in only 30 moves. The two hours and twenty-five minutes used by the Soviet player were clear evidence of his lack of concentration.

Robert Byrne also lost, against last year’s winner, the Bulgarian GM Ivan Radulov, likewise with the white pieces. The two favourites thus began with two zeros. Medina, marking the course his tournament performance would follow, after achieving a winning position against Szabo, lost under time pressure when he had one minute left to make 13 moves.

In my opinion, it was this first round that produced an unusual competitiveness in a tournament which, because of its small number of rounds, lends itself to a disastrous final classification after any unexpected defeat, since the capacity to react, as GM Laszlo Szabo commented to us, is very limited.

The second round brought a sensational victory by Bellon over Byrne in 24 moves, one that will enter the annals of surprising miniature games. Polugaevsky was not only unable to defeat Toran, but when the point was split the Spanish player had a great superiority. In this third round came the defeats of Medina and Bellon against Radulov and Csom, respectively.

Thus the first rest day was reached with the following standings:

• 1. Radulov, 2.5
• 2–5. Csom, Szabo, Kavalek and Pfleger, 2
• 6–8. Toran, Polugaevsky and Bellon, 1.5
• 9–10. Medina and R. Byrne, 0

And to relax our nerves that night, there was a dance, including a flamenco group, which delighted all those of us who attended the delightful setting of the swimming pool at the Hotel Don Gonzalo. Beside us, Polugaevsky, Pfleger, Radulov and O’Kelly did not hide their admiration for Andalusian folklore, and who knows whether some of them might have been willing to go up onto the stage, even if only to the rhythm of a “balalaika”...

Byrne, perhaps affected by his two previous defeats, scored his third consecutive zero, this time against Polugaevsky, both of them now among the bottom three. A paradoxical battle of “red lanterns” that one rarely has the chance to see.

The middle stage

In the following four rounds the saying “after the storm comes the calm” proved true, and of the 20 games, 14 ended in draws. The most notable results were Bellon’s victories over Medina and Szabo, and the physical setback suffered by Szabo because of a toe fracture, later compounded by a mouth infection, which led to three consecutive losses.

The final two rounds became a true spectacle of chess ambition, led by the great favourite Lev Polugaevsky, who was sharing second place with Bellon, half a point behind the likeable GM Radulov. The clash Polugaevsky–Radulov ended in a draw after precise defence by the Bulgarian. Toran, undefeated until the eighth round, tried to force matters against Kavalek in search of his second grandmaster norm, and after missing several drawing chances had to resign. Szabo recovered by defeating the disoriented R. Byrne, who may remember this tournament as the greatest disaster of his career.

The final and decisive round was truly dramatic. The standings were:

• 1. Radulov, 5.5
• 2–4. Bellon, Polugaevsky and Kavalek, 5

Quick draws in the games Radulov–Toran and Kavalek–Byrne meant that the drama centred on the game between Bellon and Polugaevsky, in which the following was at stake:

1. First place in the tournament for the winner;
2. A special prize of 30,000 pesetas for the first player to score four victories;
3. With a draw, Bellon would obtain his second grandmaster norm.

It was too much responsibility for our compatriot, who also forgot that he was facing a man who, in addition to occupying one of the top places in the world ranking, had been hardened in a thousand decisive battles. Experience triumphed over the poor play shown by the Spanish player’s nerves.

In short, it was a last-minute victory for the favourite, although helped by the Sonneborn-Berger score.

In fairness, it should be noted that, in general terms, the Soviet player’s performance, except in his games with Byrne, Csom and Szabo, was modest in terms of play. Against Medina he was completely lost, but Medina failed to see a queen win while in time trouble; against Toran he was clearly inferior. Radulov, excessively conservative, “lived” off the income supplied by his three victories in the first four rounds.

There is little left to say about GMs Pfleger and Kavalek. The German achieved a resounding victory over Polugaevsky in the opening round. Csom, playing along his usual lines, obtained a placing consistent with his possibilities.

The performance of Juan Manuel Bellon was sensational. He was the true driving force of the event, with two victories over grandmasters, and was deprived at the last moment of the second grandmaster norm which he truly deserved, given the play he showed. It was a fine performance and a promising sign for the leading figure of our young chess generation ahead of the Zonal in Pula, Yugoslavia, where this month he will defend the national colours.

Szabo, after a hopeful start, collapsed for the reasons already mentioned, recovering somewhat at the end of the tournament. Toran performed well; he might have finished undefeated had he risked less in his game against Kavalek, when trying for his second grandmaster norm. But the truth is that it was worth trying once he had secured the points necessary to maintain his Elo rating.

The former Candidate Robert Byrne, who had just shared fourth place with Reshevsky in the U.S. Championship, was like a shadow in the tournament hall. His fighting spirit was badly affected from the start, and he went from being second favourite to the man to beat in every round. His play was governed by risk at all times, hence his four losses and very poor final score.

Special mention must be made of Medina, who lacked adequate preparation for a tournament of this strength. Although his final position corresponded to what was expected, the single point he obtained did not. Against Szabo and Polugaevsky he could have scored two more points had he not run into his eternal rival: time. For the same reason, he also spoiled an advantageous position against Pfleger in the last round. The award of 10,000 pesetas as a special prize to the most combative player of the tournament was justified, although it could also have been given to him as a consolation prize.

The arbitration, which caused no inconvenience whatsoever, was handled by GM Alberic O’Kelly.

Closing ceremony

After the final round, the closing dinner and prize distribution took place, presided over by the Mayor of Montilla, the President of the Córdoba Chess Federation and organizer of the tournament, Don Rafael Molina, the Vice-President of the Spanish Chess Federation, Don Rafael Mesa, and other chess personalities.

The first prize, offered by Bodegas Alvear S.A., went to Lev Polugaevsky; the second, from Carbonell y Cía. S.A., went to Ivan Radulov; the prize for Pfleger came from the Caja Provincial de Ahorros, and so on, reaching a total of almost half a million pesetas, in addition to various gifts for all those attending the event, which was enlivened by the Trío Montilla.

If the organization was generous in distributing prizes to these gladiators of the chessboard, it is also fair to record the overflowing work carried out by the organizers themselves, with Don Rafael Molina at their head, in staging this unique international tournament. Each year it makes it possible for all Spanish and international chess lovers to regard this beautiful and pleasant Andalusian town as the capital of chess during the month of August, thanks to the inimitable effort of great enthusiasts and even better friends.

For everything, and for chess: many thanks!

/ Revista JAQUE No 046, Oct 1975 /