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Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal (1951) "Iceland and Israel did not send any players, and Sweden only sent two players because Grandmaster Stahlberg withdrew due to illness. Thus, 17 masters from 12 nations took part in the tournament: 3 Hungarians, 3 Czechoslovaks, 2 Swedes, 1 each from Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Egypt and South Africa. Even before the tournament, the entire chess-playing public expected a fight between Hungarian and Czechoslovak players for the first five places, which would mean a spot in the next year's Stockholm zone finals, for whom only the long-known Swedish master Stoltz was considered dangerous. The course and the final result of the competition justified the expectations and essentially did not bring any surprises. Before we turn to the evaluation of the competition, it should be mentioned that the Czechoslovak Chess Federation, which was entrusted with the organization, with the support of the Central Council of Czechoslovak Trade Unions, did everything possible to ensure the success of the competition. Thus, the competition was conducted in accordance with its importance and left pleasant memories for the participants. In addition to first-class accommodation and food, well-organized excursions and cultural programs provided for mental refreshment. Visiting the world-famous spas of Karlovy Vary and Frantiskovy Lázně, as well as the patinated castles of Ellenbogen and Karnstein left lasting memories for the foreigners." (Jozsef Szily in Sakkélet, transl.) Marianske Lazne and Prague, Czechoslovakia, 6-28 August 1951 Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pts ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— 1 IM Pachman 27 ● ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 13 2 GM Szabó 34 ½ ● ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 12 3 IM Barcza 40 ½ ½ ● ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 10½ 4 IM Stoltz 47 0 ½ ½ ● ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 10½ 5 IM Foltys 42 ½ 0 ½ ½ ● 1 ½ 1 0 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 10 6 IM Benkö 23 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ● ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 10 =7 IM Lokvenc 52 0 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ● ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 8½ =7 IM Sajtar 29 0 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ● ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 8½ =9 Barda 42 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ● 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 7½ =9 Pytlakowski 32 ½ 0 0 1 1 1 ½ ½ 0 ● 0 1 1 ½ ½ 0 0 7½ 11 Basjuni -- 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 1 ● 1 1 0 1 ½ 1 7 12 Sköld 39 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ● 1 0 0 1 1 6 =13 Balanel 25 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ● 1 ½ ½ ½ 5½ =13 IM Tsvetkov 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 0 ● 1 0 1 5½ 15 Fred 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ● 1 1 5 =16 Heidenfeld 40 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 ● 0 4½ =16 Pedersen 34 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 ● 4½ ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Gideon Stahlberg was ill, the Israeli player did not turn up, and Gudjon Sigurdsson could not obtain his visum, so after a one-day delay they ended up with 17 players. Seventeen rounds in 23 days, starting on Monday 6 August, with one bye each round (136 games). The last two rounds were played at the Radio Palace in Prague. Rest days 10, 14, 17, 21, 25 & 27 August. Rounds generally started at 3 pm. Organizers/arbiters: Josef Louma and Viacheslav Ragozin. Pachman won with 13/16, as the only undefeated player. Pachman, Szabó, Barcza, Stoltz, and Foltys on Sonneborn-Berger score ahead of Benkö, qualified for the Stockholm Interzonal (1952). Tournament book: https://rezised-images.knhbt.cz/880... Sources Wikipedia article: Radiopalác Wikipedia article: Mariánské Lázně Olimpbase (https://www.olimpbase.org/ind-wcc/w...) Mark Weeks (https://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/zo...) Szachy w Polsce website (http://www.szachypolskie.pl/turniej...) Skakbladet, 10/1951, pp. 178-180 (https://danbase.skak.dk/skakbladet/...) Norsk Sjakkblad, 8/1951, pp. 108-112 (https://dnkjuhc6if10z.cloudfront.ne...) Magyar Sakkélet, 10/1951, pp. 217-219 (https://adt.arcanum.com/en/view/Sak...) Tidskrift för Schack, 9/1951, pp. 225-227, 234-241 (https://tfsarkiv.schack.se/pdf/1951...) Népsport, 6 August 1951, p. 4 (https://adt.arcanum.com/en/view/Nem...) Rudé Právo, 1951.08.17, p. 4 (https://adt.arcanum.com/en/view/Rud...) Rudé Právo, 1951.08.30, p. 4 (https://adt.arcanum.com/en/view/Rud...) Other newspaper issues at https://adt.arcanum.com/en/discover  page 1 of 6; games 1-25 of 136  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. S Basjuni vs Szabo   0-1 49 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal A10 English 2. O Barda vs A Tsvetkov   1-0 48 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal D75 Neo-Grunfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O c5, 8.dxc5 3. I Balanel vs J Foltys   ½-½ 25 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal D22 Queen's Gambit Accepted 4. Benko vs A Pytlakowski 0-1 39 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal C50 Giuoco Piano 5. W Heidenfeld vs J Lokvenc   0-1 43 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal B56 Sicilian 6. J Sajtar vs Pachman   0-1 41 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal E17 Queen's Indian 7. K Skold vs E Pedersen   1-0 38 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal C79 Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defense Deferred 8. G Stoltz vs Barcza   ½-½ 19 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal E18 Queen's Indian, Old Main line, 7.Nc3 9. Szabo vs O Barda   1-0 35 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal E72 King's Indian 10. Barcza vs Benko   ½-½ 24 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal A13 English 11. A Tsvetkov vs G Stoltz   0-1 49 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal A87 Dutch, Leningrad, Main Variation 12. J A Fred vs S Basjuni 0-1 37 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal C78 Ruy Lopez 13. J Lokvenc vs J Sajtar   ½-½ 23 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal A15 English 14. Pachman vs I Balanel   1-0 47 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal E41 Nimzo-Indian 15. E Pedersen vs W Heidenfeld   1-0 45 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal C07 French, Tarrasch 16. A Pytlakowski vs K Skold   1-0 27 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal D72 Neo-Grunfeld, 5.cd, Main line 17. G Stoltz vs Szabo   ½-½ 47 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal E27 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch Variation 18. O Barda vs J A Fred   ½-½ 18 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal A53 Old Indian 19. I Balanel vs J Lokvenc   1-0 34 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal E80 King's Indian, Samisch Variation 20. Benko vs A Tsvetkov 1-0 61 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal D13 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Exchange Variation 21. J Foltys vs Pachman   ½-½ 19 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal C55 Two Knights Defense 22. W Heidenfeld vs A Pytlakowski 1-0 35 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal C23 Bishop's Opening 23. J Sajtar vs E Pedersen   1-0 37 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal D51 Queen's Gambit Declined 24. K Skold vs Barcza   ½-½ 62 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal B83 Sicilian 25. Szabo vs Benko   ½-½ 27 1951 Marianske Lazne / Prague Zonal D56 Queen's Gambit Declined  page 1 of 6; games 1-25 of 136    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)     There is no kibitzing for this page, yet.   NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. 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