Five Grandmasters at the Head of the Krems Tournament

At one time Austria, and Vienna above all, was one of the centres of world chess. Marco, Schlechter, Becker and Hans Müller are names that need only be mentioned; their memory can still be found today in the columns of the Wiener Schachzeitung, which bore witness to an exceptionally rich and flourishing chess life. After the Second World War, however, the picture gradually changed. Whether because the older generation died out or because the international strength of Austrian chess declined considerably, the results were unmistakable. At the Chess Olympiads, the enthusiastic and capable Austrian teams generally achieved only modest results.

The international tournament held in Krems between 15 and 30 September, and the statements made in connection with it, showed that Austrian chess was receiving serious support and that efforts were being concentrated on developing a strong, youthful generation capable of competing successfully at international level. One manifestation of these efforts was the organisation of international tournaments, and this year's event in Krems was held on that basis.

The Krems chess club was founded forty years ago, and the present tournament was dedicated to the memory of one of its founders, Karl Eybl. Krems lies about eighty kilometres from the Austrian capital, and its transport connections with Vienna present no difficulty. It is largely thanks to this that we found a good many strong chess players in Krems, despite the fact that the town itself is not large. The chief organiser of the tournament was Franz Willhelm, one of the town's prominent citizens and himself an enthusiastic chess player.

The tournament was one of the strongest events held in Austria in recent years: alongside five international grandmasters and two international masters, seven talented young players represented the Austrian colours.

The first round already brought a major surprise. In general the Austrians were paired against the foreign players, and the score was 3–1 in favour of the home side. Moreover, two world-class players, Bronstein and Szabó, both suffered defeats with White.

Despite these defeats and draws, the grandmasters quickly recovered the lead, and until the eighth round all of them still had a chance of taking first place. Bronstein immediately rehabilitated himself in the third round with a masterly strategic performance, while Unzicker, who was standing alongside him at the front, increased his score with an easy victory.

Bronstein's fate was sealed in the eighth round. He tried too forcefully to win against the Dane Andersen, who at that point was otherwise one of the tournament's back-markers: he had scored only 1½ points in the first six rounds. Andersen, however, collected 4½ points from his last seven games and did not lose a single one.

In that round Hort, Szabó and Unzicker temporarily moved into the lead, and one round later Szabó was leading alone. In the tenth round he was caught again, and with three rounds remaining Hort and Szabó, as well as Bronstein, Ćirić and Patzl, still had chances of winning the tournament. One might have thought that two draws and a victory against Patzl would at least secure second place, but excessive risk-taking can sometimes produce an even greater slide in the standings. Hort carried out his plan against Patzl completely, but against apparently weaker opponents he unexpectedly fell short of expectations. In his game with Winiwarter he lost control of the position, while Unzicker ruthlessly won all three of his remaining games and thereby secured sole first place.

The German grandmaster had repeatedly shown in recent years that he had made great progress, especially in fighting positions. Dr. Winiwarter's victory in the final round was a good example of this.

The five grandmasters finished, as expected, in the first five places. Not all of them, however, produced the level of play normally expected of them; indeed, Ćirić, despite his relatively modest placing, could speak more of good fortune than bad luck.

Among the Austrians, Lambert was still doing very well after the tenth round, but in the final three rounds he suffered losses that worsened his final score.

Dr. Dueckstein showed very uneven form and only in the last three rounds, with more composed play, secured his place among the leading Austrians. His results against the prize-winners were nevertheless respectable.

Of the younger players, Holaszek displayed perhaps the greatest courage and promise. This assessment is based not only on his result but also on the content of his games. It should not be forgotten that at the university team world championship in Harrachov he scored seven points from nine games on first board for the Austrian team. As early as 1965 in Sinaia he had scored 8½ points from 11 games on first board.

This time the author of these lines disproved those who, after the surprising results of the first round, had expected a complete collapse. A number of games at the top of the table also justified confidence in the future of Austrian chess. This was visible in the final standings as well. The result in Krems was encouraging, but even more important were the lessons that could be drawn from the games. We hope that the current generation will emerge from the trough — a period of decline that, like a long valley, alternates with periods of achievement — and that the tournaments of the coming years will confirm this.

The tournament was played under pleasant conditions. The local tournament director, International Arbiter R. A. Philipp, and the president of the Austrian Chess Federation, Dr. Wilfried Dorazil, did everything possible to ensure that the competitors felt comfortable.

László Szabó