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Gothenburg Interzonal (1955) The Gothenburg interzonal tournament was played between 15th August and 21st September 1955. It was a 21-player round robin, with the top nine players qualifying for the Amsterdam Candidates (1956) tournament. The winner was Bronstein with 15/20 (+10 =10 -0), Keres was second with 13.5, Panno had 13, Petrosian 12.5, Geller and Szabo each had 12 and the other qualifiers were Filip, Pilnik and Spassky with 11. Just missing out with 10.5 were Ilivitsky and Pachman (but see the Prague Candidates Reserve Playoff (1956)). Picture of participants: http://es.chessbase.com/portals/0/f... Of particular theoretical note is that the 14th round saw three unsuccessful tries of the novelty 9 ... g5 10. fxg5 ♘d7 by players from Argentina when three Soviets tested their sacrifices in the move-order 1. e4 c5 2. ♘f3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. ♘xd4 ♘f6 5. ♘c3 a6 6. ♗g5 e6 7. f4 ♗e7 8. ♕f3 h6 9. ♗h4, so the so-called Vespers - (Argentine or Göteborg) variation - with the main continuation being 11. ♘xe6 (11. 0-0-0 saw the game Rodolfo Cardoso vs Fischer, 1957 0-1) 11 ... fxe6 12. ♕h5 ♔f8 13. ♗b5 - and remained under a cloud for more than 2 years, until Paul Keres suggested the improvement 13 ... ♖h7 which was later played in Gligoric vs Fischer, 1958 1/2-1/2 and resurrected that Sicilian, Najdorf (B98) line. (1) Gothenburg, Sweden, 15 August - 21 September 1955 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 1 Bronstein * 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 15.0 2 Keres 0 * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 0 1 ½ ½ 1 13.5 3 Panno 0 0 * ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 13.0 4 Petrosian ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 12.5 5 Geller 0 ½ 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 12.0 6 Szabo ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 12.0 7 Filip ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 11.0 8 Spassky ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 * 1 1 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 ½ 11.0 9 Pilnik ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 11.0 10 Ilivitsky ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 10.5 11 Pachman ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 10.5 12 Najdorf ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ * 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 0 9.5 13 Guimard ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 * ½ 1 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 9.5 14 Rabar ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 9.0 15 Fuderer 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½ * 1 1 1 1 0 ½ 9.0 16 Unzicker 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 8.5 17 Stahlberg 0 1 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 8.0 18 Bisguier 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 * ½ 1 1 8.0 19 Medina Garcia 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 1 0 ½ ½ ½ * 0 0 5.5 20 Donner 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½ 0 1 * ½ 5.5 21 Sliwa 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 1 ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ * 5.5 (1) https://web.archive.org/web/2010070... Original collection: Game Collection: Interzonals 1955: Gothenburg, by User: capybara. Previous: Stockholm Interzonal (1952). Next: Portoroz Interzonal (1958)  page 1 of 9; games 1-25 of 210  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. A Bisguier vs Najdorf 0-1 43 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal E70 King's Indian 2. Bronstein vs Stahlberg 1-0 83 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal D35 Queen's Gambit Declined 3. Geller vs Sliwa   1-0 65 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal E58 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 8...Bxc3 4. Keres vs J H Donner ½-½ 56 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal B45 Sicilian, Taimanov 5. Pachman vs Filip   ½-½ 20 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal E17 Queen's Indian 6. Spassky vs Szabo ½-½ 30 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal C77 Ruy Lopez 7. Panno vs Pilnik   ½-½ 36 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal A22 English 8. B Rabar vs A Fuderer   ½-½ 31 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal B01 Scandinavian 9. A Medina Garcia vs C Guimard   1-0 41 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal C02 French, Advance 10. G Ilivitsky vs Unzicker   1-0 41 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal E52 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with ...b6 11. C Guimard vs A Bisguier   ½-½ 20 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal D11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 12. Unzicker vs Bronstein 0-1 42 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation 13. Szabo vs Geller   ½-½ 13 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal C01 French, Exchange 14. Petrosian vs Keres ½-½ 22 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal E43 Nimzo-Indian, Fischer Variation 15. Najdorf vs Panno 0-1 41 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal A07 King's Indian Attack 16. Stahlberg vs Pachman   ½-½ 40 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal A12 English with b3 17. J H Donner vs Spassky 0-1 32 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal E62 King's Indian, Fianchetto 18. Filip vs B Rabar   ½-½ 29 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal D30 Queen's Gambit Declined 19. A Fuderer vs A Medina Garcia   1-0 33 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal D54 Queen's Gambit Declined, Anti-Neo-Orthodox Variation 20. Sliwa vs G Ilivitsky 0-1 51 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal D87 Grunfeld, Exchange 21. A Bisguier vs A Fuderer 0-1 28 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal A07 King's Indian Attack 22. Bronstein vs Sliwa 1-0 38 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal E58 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 8...Bxc3 23. Geller vs J H Donner   ½-½ 29 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal C11 French 24. Pilnik vs Najdorf   ½-½ 55 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal A15 English 25. Pachman vs Unzicker   ½-½ 13 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal E53 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3  page 1 of 9; games 1-25 of 210    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing> Apr-26-22    Z free or die: Here's the google translation of the relevant section of <valiant>'s ref: <On 11 and 12 August, a national match was played on ten tables in the Art Gallery in Gothenburg, a kind of general rehearsal if you will before the big interzonal tournament, which begins in the same venue on Monday 15 August. The location of the venue is the best imaginable and the spaces are well-disposed, although the circular entrance hall must probably be shielded in a more efficient way from the tournament hall itself to neutralize the disturbing echo effects of the audience. The relatively small crowd, which now wandered around the Art Gallery, had a good place, but it will probably be - at least the first few days - very crowded about the bliss during the interzonal tournament. The Russians, who of course took the opportunity to get acquainted with the venue, thought that it seemed far too small - they are also used to a huge audience connection in our own country for our conditions. This time, the organizers were not put to any major tests - most of the work has already been postponed - and the showdown with the Danish friends took place in silence without any disturbing events.> This reading does say the international tn will begin at the same location, but doesn't seem to state it will be entirely held there, at least not explicitly. <Den 11 och 12 augusti utkämpades en landsmatch på tio bord i Konsthallen i Göteborg, ett slags generalrepetition om man så vill inför den stora interzonalturneringen, som tar sin början i samma spellokal måndagen den 15 augusti. Spellokalens belägenhet är den bästa tänkbara och utrymmena väldisponerade även om den cirkelrunda entréhallen nog måste avskärmas på ett mer effektivt sätt från själva turneringssalen för att neutralisera publiksorlets störande ekoeffekter. Den relativt fåtaliga skara, som nu vandrade omkring i Konsthallen, hade god plats, men förmodligen blir det - åtminstone de första dagarna - mycket trångt om saligheten under interzonalturneringen. Ryssarna, som naturligtvis passade på att bekanta sig med lokalen, tyckte att den verkade alldeles för liten - de är ju också vana vid en för våra förhållanden enorm publikanslutning i sitt eget land. Denna gång ställdes alltså arrangörerna inte på några större prov - det mesta arbetet är redan undanstökat - och kraftmätningen med de danska vännerna försiggick i stilla ro utan några som helst uppskakande händelser.> (Besides, it's from the publication before the international was held, therefore would always be predictive in an a priori sense). Apr-26-22    Troller: The Interzonal started in "Konsthallen" where also the Sweden-Denmark match was played earlier. Apparently due to very hot weather the Interzonal during its second half relocated to the cooler hall in "Studentkåren": <man flyttede under turneringens senare hälft över til Studentkårens visserligen mere luftiga aula> (https://tfsarkiv.schack.se/pdf/1955... p.203). Unzicker played some rounds in shorts - maybe Anton Kovalyov could have pointed to this precedent when he was penalized for the same misdeed... Apr-26-22    valiant: Thanks <Troller>. My parents often talked about those hot summers of 1950s ... <Z free or die> got it right then! Apr-26-22    keypusher: Chessmetrics sees this, along with Budapest Candidates (1950) as the best performance of Bronstein's career. He also played some beautiful games; Bronstein vs Keres, 1955 made Burgess, Nunn, and Emms' greatest games collection. <Everett> wrote <I think it helped that he secured Furman as his second for the tournament. I think it shows in his focused play.> Apr-26-22    Z free or die: <keypusher> - trying to do a google search on <Bronstein's Best Tournament> is an interesting, but slightly frustrating, experience. Few claims of his "best" seem to be out their, maybe because he had so many? (Admittedly I only did a quick scan - and to tell the truth, I don't even know how many 1st's he made in his career off the top of my head) * * * * * To my Swedish colleagues - is there a clear placement for the < Studentkårens>? And do we know the actual location of the Gotenburg CC back in 1955? Just a bit curious at this point... thanks. Apr-26-22    keypusher: <Z free or die: <keypusher> - trying to do a google search on <Bronstein's Best Tournament> is an interesting, but slightly frustrating, experience.> Of course there are lots of criteria you could go by; Bronstein himself might say "X is my best tournament because it was there that I played most creatively" or "where I joined the elite" or whatever. Chessmetrics is a quantitative measure; more knowledgeable people than I can opine on how valid it is. This and Budapest are the two tournaments where Bronstein had the highest performance rating, according to Chessmetrics. Maybe I should have just said that. Here's a list of his highest-rated performances from the CM site. http://www.chessmetrics.com/cm/CM2/... Apr-27-22    Radmankaruf: Thanks everyone who contributed! Power of crowd sourcing never cease to amaze me. Apr-27-22    Z free or die: <Radmankaruf:> Be sure to check back in later to see if <Olavi> posts an update from the tb (tournament book). Apr-27-22    Olavi: <Z free or die> I intend to do so in about 10-11 hours. Is there something in particular that you would want to know? Apart from the playing site question, I trust that has been dealt with to satisfaction. Apr-27-22    Z free or die: <Olavi> Everything! I want to know everything! Just kidding (well, kinda!)... No, at the moment please just include what you think is interesting. Though I'm still wondering exactly the what & where of the Student Union. Oh, and perhaps the location of the Gotenburg CC itself. Oh, and can we perhaps get a group photo posted online? (Did I see one somewhere already? ... hmmm, I forget). Thanks. . Apr-27-22    Z free or die: A little more seriously, on a second pass... I see there is a poor quality group photo already posted above - it would be nice to get a higher resolution scan. For tournaments in general I tried to have a little template of info, ie. the facts on hand, in a format making it easy for a quick look. I tried to include most of the general stuff applicable for all tournaments. Here's an example: https://zanchess.wordpress.com/2016... Comparing to the intro above, I see we could use the time control, entrance fee(?), and actual prizes, as well as the playing session info. I also think all intro's should include a link to the tournament book (if available), or at least the biblio info for it - of course, if the tournament had one. OK, thanks again. Apr-28-22    Olavi: First bits. The tournament book is a bit disappointing on general information: Världsschackturneringen Göteborg 1955, Gideon Ståhlberg, Sveriges Schackförbunds Förlag AB 1956. Individual games analyzed by Bronstein, Botvinnik, Barcza, Geller, Furman, Keres, Flohr, Ilivitsky, Petrosjan, Kotov, Krogius, Spassky, Lilienthal, Mikenas. Includes an eleven page article by Kotov: "Världseliten i aktion"; one page by Bondarevsky: "Sagt om pristagarna"; 31 page "Teoretisk översikt" by O'Kelly de Galway; seven pages by Jostein Westberg: "Rysk offensiv på bred font", a report of simultanious exhibitions after the tournament by Botvinnik, Flohr, Bondarevsky, Lilienthal, Kotov, Tolush, Spassky, Bronstein, Keres, Geller, Petrosjan, Barcza, Gligoric, Ilivitsky, Mikenas, Furman, Fuderer. Page three informs us that the tournament moved to the house of the Student Association on the Götabergsgatan at the start of September, as was planned in advance. (No mention of a heatwave.) From Schach-Echo 17/1955 (Lothar Schmid, Unzicker's second) we learn that playing hours were 17-22 (so must have been the usual 40 moves / 2½ hours), always after two rounds a day for adjournments from 10 am. Altogether six free days. To be continued Apr-29-22    valiant: <Olavi: [..] the tournament moved to the house of the Student Association on the Götabergsgatan at the start of September [..]> University of Gothenburg https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unive... Studenternas Hus https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stude... Apr-30-22    Z free or die: Thanks to both <olavi> and <valiant> - exactly the stuff filling out the details. Looking forward to <olavi>'s 2nd installment... Apr-30-22    Z free or die: PS- I was surprised to see how "young" University of Gotenburg was. Apr-30-22    MissScarlett: The Brits invented universities. Apr-30-22    keypusher: <MissScarlett: The Brits invented universities.> Bologna is older than Oxford. But according to this the Arabs may have beaten everyone. https://www.mastersavenue.com/artic... Apr-30-22    Z free or die: ! Apr-30-22    Olavi: Just a quick correction: Westberg's article is of course "Rysk offensiv på bred front", not -font. The FIDE congress was held just prior to the tournament 9.-13.8. at the Palace Hotel. Apr-30-22    Olavi: Schach-Echo 17/1955/Lothar Schmid: The congress rejected the application (it's not stated, whose) to admit Bolbochan, Pirc and Kotov to the tournament. Botvinnik's application to be allowed to play hors concours was also rejected. The drawing of lots, performed by Rogard and tournament director Fritz Andersson, was conducted so that players from the same country would play each other by the tenth round latest. Reshevsky and Evans didn't appear, they played at the concurrent US Open with a.o. a 3000$ car as prize... Otherwise Schmid gives quite detailed comments on the games (and some anecdotes) in issues 17-20. He mentions that David Oistrah was invited to the closing dinner, but not whether he actually played the violin. Back to the book next time. May-01-22    perfidious: Had never known that Botvinnik wished to play in this event; curious desire, that! May-01-22    valiant: <Z free or die: PS- I was surprised to see how "young" University of Gotenburg was."> The city isn't that old either (contemporary with New Sweden in North America, Delaware). Because of annoying neighbors, it was a troublesome part of the kingdom for a long time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8... The oldest universities ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uppsa... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lund_... May-10-22    Troller: Sweden is a "young" kingdom, as the Sveers and the Goths were two factions striving for power back in the formative 10-12th centuries. The coastal areas to the West and South were part of Denmark; the University of Lund owes its location to the fact that this was where the first archbishopric of Scandinavia was founded around 1100. Anyway, thanks to <Olavi> for shedding further light on the event. Admittedly, the article in "Tidskrift för Schack" does not claim that the move of location was due to the heatwave. But there is a lengthy paragraph on the hot weather, and the relocation is mentioned en passant here. May-11-22    valiant: <The fraternization was so great that at a meeting in Lödöse in 1257 it was decreed that:> "If any one mock a Norwegian, or call him norrbagge, or by other revil names, he shall lose nothing but his throat bone!" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%... May-11-22    Sally Simpson: I have the book on this event by Igor Bondarevsky. https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.n... I could walk 200 yards to Edinburgh University and get the intro read out to me over a cup of coffee but under the present climate if I go in and start asking where the Russian students hang out I'd get arrested and deported. All I know is that on the 7th September 1955 (round 14) the planets were in alignment and the gods smiled on chess. The was the day the Gothenburg Triangle was played... Geller - Panno, Keres - Najdorf, and Spassky - Pilnik. ...a few tables away Petrosian was playing what he called his 'greatest ever game.' Petrosian vs Guimard, 1955 and in the same round Bronstein was weaving out a mini masterpiece Bronstein vs A Medina Garcia, 1955 Jump to page #    (enter # from 1 to 3) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing> 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: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members. Nothing in violation of United States law. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members. No trolling. 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