International Tournament in Copenhagen, 2–10 August 1956

Apart from the junior tournament in 1953, no international tournament had been held in Copenhagen since 1923. On that occasion, through cooperation between Politiken and the Industrial Association’s Chess Club, a highly successful tournament was arranged with the participation of such famous players as Nimzowitsch, who won first prize, Tartakower, Spielmann and Sämisch, together with the leading local players J. Møller and E. Jacobsen.

As training and preparation for the major Chess Olympiad in Moscow, an international tournament is being held from 2 to 10 August. Admittedly, in terms of the strength of the field it cannot compare with the tournament of 1923, but it has nevertheless assembled a number of notable masters. Ekstrabladet has provided a substantial prize fund and has also kindly made Politiken’s lecture hall available for the tournament.

The participants are Ingi R. Jóhannsson, the new Icelandic champion; Fr. Þorbergsson, who shared second to fourth prize in the Icelandic Championship; H. Bouwmeester, an International Master who defeated Bent Larsen in two games in 1952; and Fritz Røssel, who took part in the 1953 junior tournament and this year defeated Matanović in a brilliant game at Beverwijk, published in the March 1956 issue of Skakbladet. These are the representatives from Iceland and the Netherlands.

From East Germany come R. Fuchs, who plays on fourth board for the GDR national team, and D. Bertholdt, who performed successfully, among other events, in the 1956 Student Olympiad in Uppsala.

The four Danish players hardly require any further introduction. They are Bent Larsen, Jens Enevoldsen, Eigil Pedersen and Axel Nielsen, and we hope they will uphold Denmark’s traditions and defend the national colours with distinction.

Admission costs 2 kroner, and we hope that many people, including visitors from the provinces, will look in at the venue on Rådhuspladsen, where play begins each day at 5 p.m.

H. V. T.

A tournament with foreign participation is a rarity in this country and is therefore an event of considerable importance. When the Danish Chess Union, in cooperation with Ekstrabladet, managed to arrange such a tournament from 2 to 10 August with no fewer than six foreign players, the initiative should first be welcomed with satisfaction and pleasure. One should then ask oneself, and the Union’s leadership, whether this may be the beginning of a new chapter in the Union’s history and whether more of the same can be expected in future.

The fact is that, while one major international tournament after another has been held abroad in the years since the war, we at home have scarcely been able to produce anything of that kind. And if we have not been able to do so, can we expect foreign organisers to invite players from here to their events?

The leadership of the Danish Chess Union therefore deserves full recognition for taking the initiative to organise this training tournament for the Olympiad team. Likewise, Ekstrabladet deserves thanks for its contribution in providing a prize fund of no less than 1,000 kroner and a venue free of charge.

There was general agreement, not least among the spectators, that more events of this kind were highly desirable and should not be held at excessively long intervals.

Whether everyone was equally satisfied with the initiative itself may be debated, and indeed it was debated. The question was raised whether, instead of spending money on bringing over as many as six foreign players of moderate strength, it might not have been better to invite, for example, two players of genuine class and perhaps hold a double round-robin tournament.

Other matters were also discussed. It can hardly have sounded particularly agreeable to the other Danish players when it was announced beforehand that, if Bent Larsen did not take part, the tournament would not be held at all. The fact that for a time it was uncertain whether he would participate did little to improve the situation. The truth is, however, that Bent Larsen was the only member of the Danish team then preparing to defend the national colours in Moscow who did not need training.

While we are being critical, we cannot ignore the fact that, in our opinion, the prize fund was distributed rather unfortunately. This is said out of consideration for the foreign participants. When six of them take part and have undertaken costly journeys to Copenhagen, it is not enough that only three have a chance of winning a prize. There ought to have been at least four, and preferably five, prizes.

At foreign tournaments it is also customary to award point prizes, a fixed sum for each win and half that amount for a draw. In that way everyone has a chance of taking at least a little something home. It is a good custom.

At the recent tournament in Hangö, in which Bent Larsen participated, all players received mementos or commemorative prizes. The same was true at the tournament in Jönköping in 1949, in which the editors of Skakbladet took part. Such things need not be very expensive, but they are the kind of detail that puts the finishing touch on an event.

This is therefore an area that can, and should, be improved at similar events in future when the Union lends its name and reputation to them.

Otherwise the tournament proceeded according to programme and without major difficulty. A few initial problems, including an unfortunate playing schedule and tournament board, were overcome. A minor episode in the eighth round concerning the adjudication of a game, in which the acting tournament director ought to have shown a little more tact, could not spoil the generally favourable overall impression.

A demonstration board was hung beside every game and operated by Copenhagen players who had volunteered their services. The spectators could therefore follow all the games at the same time. That was something really worthwhile.

The tournament ended in a splendid victory for our Danish champion, Bent Larsen. He finished a full three points ahead of R. Fuchs of East Germany and Eigil Pedersen of Aarhus, and was in serious danger in only one game.

In the third round Bent Larsen conceded his first draw, against R. Fuchs, after a hard struggle. Since Fuchs had defeated Enevoldsen in the preceding round, one could foresee a fierce battle between the two in the final rounds. It soon became clear, however, that Fuchs could not keep pace. First he lost to Þorbergsson and later to Eigil Pedersen, and with that the struggle for first place was decided.

This was the third tournament of the summer in which Bent Larsen finished at the top, and it was entirely deserved. He is more assured and inventive than ever, and if he can maintain this standard in Moscow, we shall certainly hear more from him there as well.

Of the other Danish players, Eigil Pedersen did best and fully deserved his second place, even though he needed a fair amount of luck in the final round. He himself had to defeat Jóhannsson, Røssel had to lose, and Fuchs could score no more than a draw. Everything worked out exactly as required.

Pedersen’s start was poor, with only half a point from the first three rounds, but in the remainder of the tournament he played excellently.

Enevoldsen and Axel Nielsen were on a fairly even level, though hardly one that inspired great confidence with Moscow in mind. In the last round they fought a dramatic game against one another which resulted in their taking roughly the middle places in the table.

Among the foreign players, Fuchs appeared the strongest, and his shared second place with Eigil Pedersen was therefore entirely in order.

Fuchs is quite a young player, only 22 years old, but he already has a permanent place in the East German national team and will also take part in Moscow.

Of D. Bertholdt and F. Røssel, who occupied the next places, the former made the stronger impression without being outstanding. More had been expected of Røssel after his fine victory over Grandmaster Matanović in the recent tournament at Beverwijk. He was not exactly unlucky in winning several of his games and, in any case, did not make a markedly stronger impression than some of the players who finished near the bottom.

More had also been expected of the two Icelanders, Ingi Jóhannsson and R. Þorbergsson, especially Jóhannsson, who had recently won the Icelandic Championship. Before the tournament Ingi had been regarded as one of Bent Larsen’s most dangerous rivals, but he was plainly completely out of form.

Time and again, however, it is shown that a chess player cannot be judged on the result of a single tournament. Ingi will surely return.

Þorbergsson’s start was poor, but towards the end he improved. His fine victory over Fuchs and his draw with Bent Larsen show that the ability is there.

Finally, the performance of International Master Bouwmeester must be described as somewhat below expectations. He did not manage to win a single game. For the most part he was too accommodating and preferred a safe draw to taking a risk.

For Bent Larsen, then, the tournament became further proof that, in purely chess terms, he stands a level above all the other Danish players. For the other three Danes, the event provided very useful training for the major tasks awaiting them in Moscow.

Hopefully, the efforts of both the players and the organisers have not been in vain. Let us finally have more events of this kind.