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TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
Teesside Tournament

Efim Geller9.5/14(+5 -0 =9)[games]
Vasily Smyslov8.5/14(+4 -1 =9)[games]
David Bronstein8/14(+4 -2 =8)[games]
Vlastimil Hort8/14(+2 -0 =12)[games]
Robert Huebner8/14(+3 -1 =10)[games]
Gyula Sax7.5/14(+4 -3 =7)[games]
Jan Timman7.5/14(+4 -3 =7)[games]
Lubomir Kavalek7/14(+0 -0 =14)[games]
Fridrik Olafsson7/14(+1 -1 =12)[games]
Tony Miles6.5/14(+3 -4 =7)[games]
Florin Gheorghiu6/14(+0 -2 =12)[games]
William Lombardy6/14(+2 -4 =8)[games]
Michael Stean6/14(+1 -3 =10)[games]
Raymond Keene5.5/14(+1 -4 =9)[games]
William Hartston4/14(+0 -6 =8)[games]
*

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
Teesside (1975)

After the successful Teesside (1972), the World Junior Championship (1973), and the World Student Team Championship (1974), the north of England organized a GM event sponsored by the Cleveland County Council, Friends of Chess, James D Slater, The Sunday Times, The British Chess Federation, The Financial Times, Harry Golombek, and others. Previous events in the series were held at the Thornaby Pavilion, Thornaby-on-Tees, but that was not possible this time, and another "Teesside" venue was found in Middlesbrough. It was intended to be a 16-player tournament, with the final spot going to either Walter Shawn Browne or Ljubomir Ljubojevic. Unfortunately, the clash of dates with Milan (1975) meant that this was impossible. A lower ranked substitute player was considered but the tournament would then have lost its Category 12 status. It was decided to go ahead with 15 players, despite a player bye being created each round. The tournament was dedicated to Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander, who had passed away in 1974. It was known also as the Alexander Memorial.

The event opened at Church House, Middlesbrough on 1 September. Round 1 started the same afternoon. All rounds were played at 2 pm, except the final round at 9:30 am. Tournament director was Gerry Walsh, associate director was Victor James Richard Soanes, and chief arbiter was Harry Golombek. The draw percentage (67.6) was high. There was a feeling that some of the players had not tried hard enough to play fighting chess. Kavalek made 14 draws! Tony Miles played more moves than the other competitors and, along with Sax and Timman, recorded the fewest draws. Category: 12 (GM norm = 7.5, IM norm = 6). Cost of tournament: £15,000. First prize: £1000.

Church House, Middlesbrough, England, 1-18 September 1975

Elo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 1 GM Geller 2600 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 9½ 2 GM Smyslov 2605 ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 8½ =3 GM Bronstein 2590 ½ 1 * ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 8 =3 GM Hort 2600 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 8 =3 GM Hübner 2615 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 8 =6 GM Sax 2510 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 ½ 1 7½ =6 GM Timman 2510 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 7½ =8 GM Kavalek 2555 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 7 =8 GM Ólafsson 2535 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 7 10 IM Miles 2435 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 0 0 ½ 0 * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 6½ =11 GM Gheorghiu 2540 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 6 =11 GM Lombardy 2515 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 1 6 =11 Stean 2370 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 6 14 IM Keene 2505 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ * ½ 5½ 15 IM Hartston 2475 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * 4

Stean took his 3rd IM norm, and became an IM at the FIDE congress in Oosterbeek 27-30 September. Miles won a special prize for the title of best British player. For Keene and Miles, who were in the race to become the first English grandmaster, it was clear by Round 13 that neither would make the 7.5 points required for GM norm. Hübner was unwilling to play as early as 9:30 am, and did not turn up for his last game versus Miles.

This page is mainly based on the report by William Ritson-Morry in British Chess Magazine, Nov. 1975, pp. 465-479. Golombek's round reports in The Times give dates, pairings and game results only.

Original collections: Game Collection: Teesside 1975 by User: suenteus po 147 and Game Collection: Teesside 1975 by User: Tabanus. This introduction would not have been possible without the help of User: Paint My Dragon.

 page 5 of 5; games 101-105 of 105  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
101. W Hartston vs Smyslov  0-1421975TeessideC60 Ruy Lopez
102. F Olafsson vs Gheorghiu  ½-½141975TeessideD27 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical
103. Hort vs Bronstein  ½-½141975TeessideD32 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch
104. Keene vs Sax  ½-½191975TeessideD74 Neo-Grunfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O
105. Kavalek vs Geller  ½-½181975TeessideC93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense
 page 5 of 5; games 101-105 of 105  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
Jan-15-16  Howard: Huebner forfeited his game to Miles, in what was their first "encounter" over the board---assuming you can call that game an "encounter" !
Feb-22-17  diagonal: England's Alexander Memorial, the Tesside tournament in 1975 was the strongest Invitational in the UK for decades!
Sep-18-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: Kavalek mentions that he had an upcoming deadline for a book manuscript, which presumably contributed to his 14 draws. https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/n...

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