Copenhagen Chess Club celebrated its centenary on 24 October and, after extensive preparations, marked the occasion by organising a strong international tournament featuring seven grandmasters, five international masters and four untitled Danish players. Under the qualification regulations of the World Chess Federation, the latter could earn the international master title by scoring 7 points, while the international masters could become grandmasters by scoring 9½ points.

This was the first time in Denmark that a single club had undertaken such a large and costly event. It could only be carried out thanks to financial and other assistance from many quarters. The Copenhagen municipal authorities showed particular goodwill towards the celebrating club, both by providing a substantial cash grant and by inviting the tournament participants and a number of specially invited guests to a reception at Copenhagen City Hall on the evening before the start of the tournament. The drawing of lots among the players also took place there.

Under the honorary chairmanship of Minister of Culture Hans Sølvhøj, Lord Mayor Urban Hansen and Henry Stjernquist, chairman of the City Council, tournament director Kargård Jensen was able to open the first round on Sunday, 3 October, and note with satisfaction that all the invited players had arrived.

The original plan had been for the Swedish grandmaster Ståhlberg to participate. This meant that Copenhagen Chess Club’s international master Børge Andersen, who had carried out a great deal of work in preparing the event, was to remain “on the substitutes’ bench”. Because final confirmation had not been received from several players, one player too many had deliberately been invited as a precaution.

In the end Andersen took part after all, because Ståhlberg preferred to play in a Soviet tournament in Yerevan. This was apparently due to a misunderstanding: Ståhlberg had only indicated that he was willing to participate and had subsequently heard nothing further from the organisers.

When Lundin therefore criticised Copenhagen Chess Club — the oldest chess club in the Nordic countries — in Dagens Nyheter for allegedly failing to give sufficient consideration to Nordic participation in the centenary tournament, the criticism was unjustified. Invitations had been sent to Ólafsson of Iceland, Svein Johannessen of Norway, Ståhlberg of Sweden and Böök of Finland, but all of them declined. Since the tournament had to comply with the World Chess Federation’s regulations for title tournaments, the organisers were consequently obliged to find qualified players elsewhere.

The tournament was played in a fine hall at the Odd Fellow Palace, where both the players and spectators enjoyed excellent conditions. Every game was reproduced move by move on large demonstration boards, allowing everyone to follow the course of play. Although the number of spectators could perhaps have been greater, there was a noticeable increase in interest whenever the Danish players were doing well.

Bent Larsen’s poor start was therefore something of a disappointment to the club and the spectators. Fortunately, he later found his rhythm, and then things really began to happen on the board. Even a grandmaster cannot always be in top form, however, and this was also true of the Yugoslav grandmaster Janošević. He never found his rhythm, but nevertheless put an obstacle in the way of Bent Larsen’s bid for first place.

Apart from Bent Larsen’s encouraging recovery, Svend Hamann was the greatest Danish success. He fully deserved the international master title. He may have had some luck in one game, but in return he also encountered adversity in several advantageous positions.

This was not Hamann’s first appearance in international chess. We may recall his excellent result in the zonal tournament in Halle and in the Nimzowitsch Memorial tournament in Copenhagen. Hamann is very difficult to defeat, and those sceptics who regard him as somewhat too passive could take encouragement from seeing him involved in several sharp battles during this tournament.

Players such as Børge Andersen and Ole Jakobsen had been expected to finish higher in the standings. In Andersen’s case, however, it must be remembered that alongside playing in the tournament he also had to attend to a newly established business. In Jakobsen’s case, his nerves let him down several times in favourable positions, and under such circumstances it is understandable that a player may lose heart.

“The grand old man”, Jens Enevoldsen, had the opportunity to demonstrate that he could still compete in international company, and he played several games as though he were once again in the springtime of his youth. Jørn Sloth’s result should also be highlighted, as it was excellent. He needs only a little more weight in his punches to achieve a truly outstanding result.

The progress of the tournament can best be followed from the tournament tables. The round-by-round table shows that the Soviet grandmasters Suetin and Taimanov, together with the Yugoslav grandmaster Gligorić, remained at the head of the field throughout the event.

Although Larsen scored heavily against the three of them — 2½ points from three games — he only just managed to come within reach of first place. After his failure against Janošević, he was unable to catch up.

The tournament ended on 22 October, and the prize-giving ceremony took place in connection with Copenhagen Chess Club’s centenary celebration on Saturday, 23 October. Many invited guests paid tribute to the tournament winners and delivered speeches in honour of the celebrating club.