With justified pride, Örebro Chess Society was able on Saturday, 20 August, to open the doors to the eighteenth Nordic Chess Congress. The competitions were held in Örebro’s excellent tennis hall, richly decorated with flowers and the flags of the Nordic countries. The arrangements as a whole came as close to the ideal as possible, both for the players and for the public.

After the manufacturer J. E. Ekelund had welcomed the participants on behalf of Örebro Chess Society, he handed the floor to the chairman of the city council, editor Harald Åkerberg.

The city of Örebro, said editor Åkerberg, feels honoured that the Nordic Chess Championship has been assigned to Örebro this year, all the more so because this is the first time that a provincial society has been entrusted with such a task. To make such a statement, one must admittedly do some violence to the facts by designating Gothenburg as a capital, but we hope that this need not cause a state of war between Örebro and the other major cities. There is a special reason why this championship has, contrary to custom, been placed here, namely that Örebro Chess Society is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary this year. Örebro Chess Society is not only an organisation venerable in years, but also a large one; according to the information supplied, it is the largest chess society in our country. These competitions have attracted exceptionally lively interest. Entries have arrived from east and west, and many applicants have had to be refused. This testifies not only to the pressure on the available places, but also to the lively interest enjoyed by chess, the most ingenious of the by-products of human thought, the noblest of games and the most intelligent of mental exercises.

Editor Åkerberg concluded by addressing a special greeting to the participants from the other Nordic countries and expressing the hope that they would have an opportunity to take a look at our city and its sights. Örebro has not only the advantage of a central location, making it easily accessible from every direction, but is also a very ancient city whose history reaches back into the twilight of legend, a legend shared by the other Nordic countries as well. After the speaker had declared the games open, the tournaments began immediately.

The competitions had 60 participants, including six from Finland and five each from Denmark and Norway. Victory in the national-team class, together with the King’s magnificent honorary prize, went to the Swedish champion Gideon Ståhlberg, who conducted the tournament in convincing style and, as usual, distinguished himself through his great technical assurance. He was followed across the finishing line by Henrik Carlsson of Gothenburg and E. Lundin of Stockholm.

The Gothenburg player’s fine success was fully deserved; judging by the games, his final score was more likely too low than too high. Well trained in theory, he has recently made his style of play considerably sharper. The Stockholm champion Nils Bergqvist, a habitual and reliable prize-winner, took sole possession of fourth prize. Fifth place was shared by the Finnish champion Salo and the experienced Munich Olympiad representative Bertil Sundberg. Sundberg had originally been entered in the master class, but at the last moment had to replace the Dane Jens Enevoldsen.

After the prize-winners came the Gothenburg champion Ernst Larsson and the former Swedish champion Allan Nilsson on the same score. Larsson’s result in such strong competition was excellent, whereas expectations of Allan had probably been misplaced. According to his own statement, it had been ten years since he last played serious tournament chess, and this “anniversary” had its consequences: his judgement of distance was evidently somewhat rusty.

In the first group of the master class, Bror Engholm of Malmö triumphed. To those familiar with his play, his success was no great surprise; in the chess circles of Scania he has long been known as a very strong player.

H. Karlsson of Järpås became the second prize-winner without losing a game. The many draws may perhaps have surprised him more than anyone else. But training and opposition are scarce in Järpås, and all promising chess masters ought really to be obliged to live in large cities.

This group also included the youngest participant in the tournament, the fifteen-year-old Vestøl of Norway. It was something of a sensation to see the bright schoolboy, playing in a fine attacking style, outmanoeuvre old and experienced masters. Norway may perhaps have a future Keres in him.

The new Nordic master Bror Engholm.

In the second group of the master class, a Finnish double victory through Kaila and Ojanen had been predicted. The latter duly finished as the clear winner, while Kaila was overtaken by Ekenberg of Lund, who thereby became runner-up for the second time, having also once shared second to fourth place in a Nordic master class. Kaila had to be content with sharing second and third place with Allan Bergkvist of Stockholm. It deserves mention that Allan Bergkvist began the tournament by losing three games in succession—but shame on him who gives up!

The first group of the first class was won without defeat by the Örebro champion N. Hult, closely challenged by W. Quist of Stockholm, while in the second group Erik Johansson of Eskilstuna finally proved himself qualified for greater tasks.

The congress proceedings took place at the Grand Hotel on 27 August. Those present were Poul Meyer as Denmark’s representative, Storm-Herseth of Norway, O. Kaila of Finland, and Ludvig Collijn and Eric Carlén of Sweden. Also attending the meeting were the secretary of the Danish Chess Union, A. Hansson, its former president G. A. K. Nielsen, and the members of the board of the Swedish Chess Federation, H. Schultz and J. E. Ekelund.

During the proceedings, among other matters, a Swedish proposal to introduce new regulations for the Nordic Championship was approved. This title had previously been decided in matches between the title-holder and a qualified challenger, but from the following year it was to be awarded to the winner of the national-team class.

It was further reported that during the World Chess Congress in Stockholm in 1937, consultations had taken place between representatives of all the chess federations affiliated with the Nordic Chess Federation regarding an expansion of the federation to include, among others, Estonia. The congress decided that the matter should be raised only if Estonia itself took the initiative to apply for membership.

Collijn stated that he might submit a proposal within the Swedish Chess Federation that the federation should take the initiative in encouraging FIDE to organise, for example every second year, a tournament between the champions of the various countries. If the Swedish Chess Federation were to take such an initiative, it would be of the greatest value if the other countries declared their support for the idea in advance. The representatives present expressed their sympathy for the proposal and declared themselves willing to present the idea within their respective national federations.

Dr Storm-Herseth, acting on behalf of Mr Smedal, presented an invitation to hold the next Nordic congress tournament in Oslo. The invitation was accepted with gratitude.

On Sunday, 28 August, all the congress participants were guests of Örebro Chess Society at a dinner at Strömparterren, where the prizes in the tournament were presented by the chairman of the Swedish and Nordic chess federations, the wholesale merchant Ludvig Collijn. Örebro Chess Society and its energetic chairman, the manufacturer J. E. Ekelund, were honoured by several speakers, while the gratitude of the tournament participants was expressed, among others, by the winner of the tournament’s highest class, Gideon Ståhlberg.

A telegram was sent to the King, from whom a reply was received later in the evening.

The tournament results were reported on the radio every evening, a much-appreciated arrangement which we hope will be repeated somewhat more frequently and more generally than only at the very largest chess events. The commentator was editor W. Bergkvist, already known as the chess announcer from the national-team competitions in Stockholm. He knew how to build up the proper suspense around the leading positions round by round, and in his final report and concluding climax he even selected, on his own initiative, a possible Buenos Aires team. Whether events and future developments will turn out as foreseen naturally remains to be seen.

With magnificent generosity, Örebro Chess Society paid all the expenses of the congress, amounting to nearly four thousand kronor. Even if the society’s financial resources could withstand such a burden, the goodwill displayed and the objective of promoting chess as a whole are no less admirable. The Nordic Chess Congress of 1938, with which Örebro Chess Society crowned its twenty-fifth anniversary, forms a fine chapter in Swedish and Nordic chess history.