chessgames.com
Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing

🏆
TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
Moscow Tournament

Vasily Smyslov11.5/15(+8 -0 =7)[games]
Mikhail Tal10.5/15(+7 -1 =7)[games]
Svetozar Gligoric10/15(+8 -3 =4)[games]
Vladimir Antoshin9.5/15(+5 -1 =9)[games]
Boris Vladimirov9/15(+7 -4 =4)[games]
Vladimir Liberzon8.5/15(+6 -4 =5)[games]
Paul Keres8.5/15(+5 -3 =7)[games]
Vladimir Simagin8/15(+6 -5 =4)[games]
Laszlo Szabo8/15(+5 -4 =6)[games]
Vlastimil Hort7.5/15(+3 -3 =9)[games]
Aleksandar Matanovic7.5/15(+3 -3 =9)[games]
Wolfgang Pietzsch6/15(+2 -5 =8)[games]
Nikola Padevsky5.5/15(+2 -6 =7)[games]
Eleazar Jimenez Zerquera4.5/15(+2 -8 =5)[games]
Frans Kuijpers3/15(+1 -10 =4)[games]
Witold Balcerowski2.5/15(+0 -10 =5)[games]
*

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
Moscow (1963)

This tournament was played at the Moscow Central Chess Club. (1)

Moscow, Soviet Union (Russia), 29 October - 20 November 1963 (2, 3)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pts 1 Smyslov * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 11½ 2 Tal ½ * 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 10½ 3 Gligoric 0 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 10 4 Antoshin ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 9½ 5 Vladimirov ½ 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 =6 Liberzon 0 1 ½ 1 0 * 1 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 8½ =6 Keres ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 * 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 8½ =8 Simagin 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 * 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 8 =8 Szabó ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 0 0 0 * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 8 =10 Hort ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 7½ =10 Matanovic ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 7½ 12 Pietzsch 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 6 13 Padevsky 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 1 ½ 5½ 14 Jimenez 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 * ½ ½ 4½ 15 Kuijpers 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ * 1 3 16 Balcerowski 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 * 2½

(1) Rusbase [rusbase-1]
(2) Crosstable from Magyar Sakkelet, 1963, p. 181. In Di Felice, Chess Results 1961-1963, pp. 329-330.
(3) Rounds and game dates from: Alexander Khalifman, ed., Mikhail Tal Games II (Chess Stars 1995), pp. 34-43.

Original collection: Game Collection: Moscow 1963 by User: sneaky pete. Unfinished collection completed by User: TheFocus.

 page 4 of 5; games 76-100 of 120  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
76. Antoshin vs Szabo  ½-½411963MoscowE15 Queen's Indian
77. Tal vs B Vladimirov 1-0671963MoscowB28 Sicilian, O'Kelly Variation
78. F Kuijpers vs N Padevsky  0-1401963MoscowC18 French, Winawer
79. W Pietzsch vs V Liberzon  0-1291963MoscowC95 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer
80. W Balcerowski vs E Jimenez Zerquera  ½-½341963MoscowD84 Grunfeld, Grunfeld Gambit Accepted
81. Hort vs W Balcerowski 1-0271963MoscowB07 Pirc
82. Smyslov vs Keres  ½-½171963MoscowE32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical
83. B Vladimirov vs Simagin  0-1321963MoscowD97 Grunfeld, Russian
84. Szabo vs Tal  ½-½351963MoscowE78 King's Indian, Four Pawns Attack, with Be2 and Nf3
85. N Padevsky vs Antoshin  0-1501963MoscowD43 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
86. E Jimenez Zerquera vs Gligoric 0-1571963MoscowB42 Sicilian, Kan
87. V Liberzon vs F Kuijpers  1-0351963MoscowE71 King's Indian, Makagonov System (5.h3)
88. A Matanovic vs W Pietzsch  ½-½301963MoscowC05 French, Tarrasch
89. Gligoric vs Hort 1-0311963MoscowE42 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 c5, 5.Ne2 (Rubinstein)
90. Keres vs W Pietzsch  ½-½511963MoscowD37 Queen's Gambit Declined
91. Simagin vs Szabo  1-0451963MoscowC97 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin
92. Smyslov vs E Jimenez Zerquera 1-0541963MoscowB39 Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Breyer Variation
93. Tal vs N Padevsky 1-0281963MoscowC16 French, Winawer
94. Antoshin vs V Liberzon  0-1381963MoscowE75 King's Indian, Averbakh, Main line
95. F Kuijpers vs A Matanovic  ½-½651963MoscowE66 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Yugoslav Panno
96. W Balcerowski vs B Vladimirov  0-1241963MoscowE70 King's Indian
97. Hort vs Smyslov ½-½261963MoscowA06 Reti Opening
98. E Jimenez Zerquera vs Keres 0-1591963MoscowC73 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense
99. N Padevsky vs Simagin  ½-½321963MoscowB15 Caro-Kann
100. Szabo vs W Balcerowski 1-0351963MoscowE70 King's Indian
 page 4 of 5; games 76-100 of 120  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
Feb-03-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  WCC Editing Project: <TheFocus>, <Sneaky Pete>

I can't thank you enough for constructing this event, with the round numbers and dates also.

Any reason why you haven't listed the <start-finish> dates of this event in the intro, since you have listed the dates of each game in the collection?

Might you tell me your source for these dates?

Curiosities I've found:

In In Edward Winter, ed. "Word Chess Champions" (Pergamon 1981), p.150, <Winter> lists <Smyslov> winning the <5th Central Chess Club Championship> in Moscow 1963 with +8 -0 =7.

Clearly <Winter> means this tournament here, but he's mislabeled it- here is the actual <5th Central Chess Club Championship 1962>, which wasn't played in 1963: http://al20102007.narod.ru/nat_tour...

And here is the <6th Central Chess Club Championship 1963> http://al20102007.narod.ru/nat_tour..., which *was* played in 1963 and was won by Vladimir Mikhailovich Liberzon, who also appears in the tournament on this page, which might help explain <Winter's> mistake.

So in their title for the event on this page, <Rusbase> calls it the <International Tournament of Central Chess Club 1963> and lists the correct crosstable: http://al20102007.narod.ru/it/1963/....

But when I downloaded all the games from this <Rusbase> page, I found they are all labeled <Alekhine Memorial 1963>, with "chessbase" listed as the source for the game scores.

I don't think the "chessbase" title can be correct because there was an <Alekhine Memorial> in 1956, and the next one wasn't until 1971.

So I think it likely this tournament was indeed played at the <Moscow Chess Club>. But what we know for sure is that it was an international tournament played in <Moscow 1963>.

I would really like to know where the dates for these games came from though. The "chessbase" PGNs from the <Rusbase> tournament page list the round numbers, but not the dates. So if you could help me with this information, I'd be grateful.

Feb-04-14  sneaky pete: I was only trying to build a game collection, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition.

The dates are from Complete Games of Mikhail Tal 1960-66 by Hilary Thomas, published by Batsford in 1979. A number of games in this database (I believe the Keres games and some others) already had a date. None of these dates here conflicted with the Thomas dates I used for my reconstruction of the event.

Some of the games I found here had the clearly wrong event tag Alekhine Memorial. The undated (it's probably from 1964) Yugoslav booklet by Bozic and Matanovic that I used to make the collection (and from which I submitted 17 missing games) calls it V (= 5th) Medjunarodni Turnir U Moskvi. On another page the dates are given: 28.X = 20.XI.1963. I guess October 28 was the day of the opening ceremony, the first round was played the next day and the last round November 20.

I think medjunarodni means international, so this was the 5th (in a series started in 1959) International Tournament organised by the Moscow Chess Club. I believe we have collections of some of the earlier tournaments here.

The magazines from 1963 I consulted (Deutsche Schachzeitung and Schakend Nederland) gave no details about prize money and playing hall and things like that. Matanovic wrote a 4 page introduction in the Yugoslav booklet mentioned above, but I have no idea what he's talking about.

Feb-04-14  nok: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!!
Feb-04-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  WCC Editing Project: <sneaky pete>

Thanks for giving such a thorough explanation of your data provenance, and also of the detailed process of how you put the puzzle together.

Your information supports mine. At the least, it doesn't contradict the conclusion I reached, so I'm breathing a little easier now. I'm glad to hear of the "5th" matching the number of Moscow chess club "Internationals." It also helps explain how <Winter> may have made his error.

And yes I can confirm that medjunarodni means international in <Bosnian>. At the least, when I type "medjunarodni" into the Google translator set to go from "Bosnian to English," then it coughs up the word "international."

I'm a little concerned at how heavily <Rusbase> relies on "chessbase" for its information though. That was "chessbase" that had every single game in this event mislabeled "Alekhine Memorial."

Here is some rare film footage that also supports your thesis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqr...

Dec-26-21  jerseybob: <nok: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!!> Our chief weapon is surprise!
Feb-07-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <nok: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!!>

Beware the bastinado!

Jul-19-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  PJchess: Keres reports on this tournament in the 'Chess Life' of January 1964, p. 10. He writes, "the traditional tournament of the Moscow Chess Club, which usually takes place in May, was held this year [i.e. 1963] from October 28th to November 20th. There was a really good participation with seven international grandmasters and many national masters."

He briefly discusses how the tournament unfolded, lists the final results with total scores of all participants (which matches the above crosstable), and also annotates Keres-Matanovic from Round 10 (g#1073016) and Tal-Gligoric from Round 6 (g#1139642).

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

Blow the Whistle

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.


NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific tournament only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

Spot an error? Please suggest your correction and help us eliminate database mistakes!

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC