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1st Correspondence World Championship (1950) Following the foundation of the International Correspondence Chess Union (IFSB)* in Berlin on the 2nd of December 1928 the idea of a Correspondence Chess Championship was discussed for the first time. Alexander Alyekhin who had played numerous games of correspondence chess in his youth held it in high regard and became a driving force to see the realization of a Correspondence Championship. In August 1936 an IFSB conference resolved to set up a committee to work out a draft of Alyekhin's ideas and bring them to fruition. A year later in August 1937 at another IFSB conference in Stockholm a resolution to create and regularly hold a Correspondence Championship was reached. Amongst those present at this conference were FIDE President Dr Alexander Rueb and Dr Max Euwe. The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 delayed plans but eventually in 1947 the preliminaries for the World Correspondence Championship started. There were 78 participants from 22 countries in 11 preliminary groups. This lead to a Final Tournament of 15 players. Play for this final commenced on May 1st 1950 with the tournament finishing on March 31st 1953. *The IFSB was the predecessor of the International Correspondence Chess Federation (I.C.C.F). Crosstable: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 1 Cecil John Seddon Purdy * ½ 1 1 0 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 10.5 2 Harald Malmgren ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 10.0 3 Mario Napolitano 0 0 * 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 10.0 4 Olaf Barda 0 ½ 0 * 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9.5 5 Graham Russell Mitchell 1 ½ 0 1 * ½ 0 1 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 8.0 6 Leopold Watzl 0 0 0 0 ½ * 1 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 6.5 7 Gabriel Wood 0 0 0 0 1 0 * 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 0 6.0 8 Edmund Adam 0 ½ 1 0 0 0 0 * ½ 0 1 1 1 1 6.0 9 Theo van Scheltinga ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ * 0 0 ½ ½ 1 5.5 10 Janos Balogh ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 1 * 0 ½ ½ 1 5.0 11 Sverre Madsen 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 1 * ½ ½ ½ 4.5 12 John W Collins 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 1 4.5 13 Antonio Cuadrado 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ 3.0 14 P van't Veer 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ * 2.0 Adolphe Viaud - - 0 - 0 - - 0 - 0 0 0 - - *games cancelled* The 2nd World Correspondence Chess Championship (1956) was the next correspondence championship tournament. Adolphe Viaud withdrew part way through the tournament and all his games were cancelled. However, those which had reached a fairly advanced stage were preserved by his opponents and are included in this collection. Erik Jakob Larsson was the tournament director. Gamescores of the following games were unavailable: Edmund Adam - Gabriel Wood 0-1 Edmund Adam - T D van Scheltinga 1/2-1/2 Edmund Adam - P van't Veer 1-0 Gabriel Wood - T D van Scheltinga 1/2-1/2 Gabriel Wood - P van't Veer 0-1 T D van Scheltinga - P van't Veer 1-0 A special thanks to <crawfb5> for finding the scores to S Madsen vs Edmund Adam, 1950 0-1 and G Wood vs S Madsen, 1950 1-0. The main sources for this collection were the books: How Purdy Won by Cecil John Seddon Purdy and Frank P Hutchings, and Kevin Harrison, published by Thinkers' Press, Inc in 1998. ISBN 0-938650-80-7. and The Games of the World Correspondence Championships I - X edited by Timothy David Harding and published by B. T. Batsford Limited, London in 1979. ISBN 0 7134 5384 2. Original collection: Game Collection: 1st World Correspondence Chess Championship, by User: Benzol.  page 1 of 4; games 1-25 of 93  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. A Cuadrado vs G J Wood   ½-½ 27 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship C72 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense, 5.O-O 2. E Adam vs O Barda 0-1 24 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed 3. G J Wood vs O Barda 0-1 62 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship C13 French 4. O Barda vs T van Scheltinga   1-0 53 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship D30 Queen's Gambit Declined 5. O Barda vs J Balogh 1-0 61 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship D72 Neo-Grunfeld, 5.cd, Main line 6. O Barda vs S Madsen   1-0 40 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship C90 Ruy Lopez, Closed 7. O Barda vs J W Collins   1-0 51 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship C91 Ruy Lopez, Closed 8. P van't Veer vs O Barda   0-1 45 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship E26 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch 9. A Cuadrado vs O Barda 0-1 26 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship E10 Queen's Pawn Game 10. A Cuadrado vs G R Mitchell   ½-½ 21 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship A06 Reti Opening 11. A Cuadrado vs L Watzl 0-1 36 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship C77 Ruy Lopez 12. E Adam vs A Cuadrado 1-0 22 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship C07 French, Tarrasch 13. O Barda vs L Watzl 1-0 24 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship E04 Catalan, Open, 5.Nf3 14. T van Scheltinga vs A Cuadrado   ½-½ 29 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship C81 Ruy Lopez, Open, Howell Attack 15. J Balogh vs A Cuadrado   ½-½ 37 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship E56 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 7...Nc6 16. A Cuadrado vs S Madsen   ½-½ 30 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship D04 Queen's Pawn Game 17. A Cuadrado vs P van't Veer   ½-½ 45 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship E94 King's Indian, Orthodox 18. J W Collins vs A Cuadrado   1-0 44 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship E49 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Botvinnik System 19. J W Collins vs P van't Veer 1-0 64 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship D56 Queen's Gambit Declined 20. P van't Veer vs S Madsen   ½-½ 28 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship C99 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin, 12...cd 21. S Madsen vs J W Collins   ½-½ 49 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship C97 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin 22. P van't Veer vs J Balogh   0-1 48 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship E72 King's Indian 23. J Balogh vs J W Collins   ½-½ 34 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship D71 Neo-Grunfeld 24. J W Collins vs T van Scheltinga   ½-½ 43 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship D46 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 25. O Barda vs M Napolitano   0-1 26 1950 1st Correspondence World Championship E17 Queen's Indian  page 1 of 4; games 1-25 of 93    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   Feb-01-14    optimal play: <<<<6 years to win this title> Stockholm, Wednesday> After six years of strenuous correspondence, Cecil Purdy, of Sydney, has become "individual world champion in correspondence chess." The tournament began in 1947, but the final started in May, 1950, and took nearly three years to complete. Mr. Erik Larsson, director of the championship, announced in Stockholm last night that Mr. Purdy had scored 10½ points from Mr. Harold Malmgren Kierp, 10, second, and Dr. Mario Napolitano, of Biella, Italy, also 10 points, third. Mr. Purdy had 99 competitors in 23 countries. He wrote to Polish and Italian players in French, a language his childhood governess taught him, though most players could write and understand English. Most competitors enclosed covering letters with the cards showing their latest moves. Mr. Purdy became one of the 14 finalists three years ago, and world champion today. Mrs. Purdy, a keen chess player, began correspondence chess in 1947, but gave it up because of "the tremendous amount of bookkeeping involved." Their 18-year-old son John is playing at present in a correspondence chess tournament.> - The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) issue Thursday 9 July 1953> 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. 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. 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