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In the spring of 1954, after the USSR Championship in January but before the FIDE congress in July, an international chess tournament was held in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. The first round was played on February the 25th and the last on March the 25th. The players in attendance included four Soviet masters, Viktor Korchnoi, Ratmir Kholmov, Semion Furman, and Rashid Nezmetdinov; 1 Swedish grandmaster Gideon Stahlberg; 2 two Czechoslovakian international masters, Miroslav Filip and Ludek Pachman; 3 Belgian international master Alberic O'Kelly de Galway; 4 Polish international master Bogdan Sliwa; 5 Italian international master Enrico Paoli; 6 three Hungarian masters, Bela Sandor, Stefan Szabo, and Gyula Kluger; 7 New Zealand international master Robert Wade; 8 and four players representing Romania: international master Octav Troianescu, Victor Ciocaltea, Ion Balanel, and Paul Voiculescu. 9 The four Soviet masters were practically unknown outside their own country at this time, but were allowed to compete internationally for the first time as a result of loosening travel restrictions due to Nikita Khrushchev's policy of "Destalinization". 10 In addition, the All-Union section of the Russian Chess Federation wanted to answer criticism that they only sent their top grandmasters to international tournaments because they were afraid their masters wouldn't show very good results against tough western players. 11 Before the tournament, the Russian Chess Federation paid for the four Soviet masters to go to Moscow for a special preparation and training course under the direction of grandmasters Isaac Boleslavsky and David Bronstein. 1 Nezhmetdinov won the tournament first brilliancy prize with his astounding win against Paoli in the fifth round: Nezhmetdinov vs E Paoli, 1954. Just before the round, Nezhmetdinov was informed that his son, Iskander, had been born. He later reported that "At the end of the round, I sent a telegram to my wife: 'I congratulate you on the birth of our son, and I dedicate my game with Paoli to him'." 1, 12 And a fine dedication it was! It soon became clear that Korchnoi and Nezhmetdinov would fight neck and neck for the top honors. As Korchnoi recalls, "Nezhmetdinov ... was at his best. In the first round I miraculously managed to draw against him the exchange and a pawn down". 13 Final position, Nezhmetdinov vs Korchnoi, 1954, Round 1, White to move: 
click for larger viewAfter the penultimate round, Korchnoi and Nezhmetdinov were deadlocked at 12½ points. Nezhmetdinov then lost to Furman, and Korchnoi drew O'Kelly to win the tournament, making his entrance into international chess entirely memorable. Bucharest, Romania, 24 February - 26 March 1954 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pts
1 Korchnoi * ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 13
2 Nezhmetdinov ½ * 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12½
=3 Filip 0 0 * 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 11
=3 Kholmov ½ ½ 1 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 0 0 1 1 1 11
5 Kluger 1 ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 10½
=6 Furman ½ 1 0 ½ 1 * 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 1 10
=6 Pachman 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 10
8 O'Kelly ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ 0 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 9½
9 Stahlberg 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 9
10 Troianescu ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ * 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 8½
11 Sandor ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 * ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 8
=12 Balanel 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ * 1 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 7
=12 Sliwa 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 0 0 0 * 1 1 1 0 1 7
=12 Szabo 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 * ½ ½ 1 1 7
15 Wade 0 0 0 1 0 1 ½ 1 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * 0 1 ½ 6½
16 Ciocaltea 0 0 ½ 0 1 1 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 * ½ ½ 6
17 Paoli 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ * ½ 3½
18 Voiculescu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 3
Due to their impressive results at Bucharest, the four Soviet masters (as well as Kluger and Balanel) were awarded international master titles at the July 1954 FIDE Congress. 15Tournament book: Al IV-lea Turneu International de Sah al R.P.R., ed. by Sergiu Samarian. Editura Tineretului Cultura Fizika si Sport, Bucuresti 1955. 200 pp. (http://www.stere.ro/wp-content/uplo...) Notes
1 Rashid Nezhmetdinov, Nezhmetdinov's Best Games of Chess (Caissa Editions 2000), p. 61.
2 Jeremy Gaige, Chess Personalia (McFarland 1987), p. 403.
3 Gaige, pp. 118, 316.
4 Gaige, p. 310.
5 Gaige, p. 395.
6 Gaige, p. 319.
7 Gaige, pp. 217, 371, 415.
8 Gaige, p. 454.
9 Gaige, pp. 20, 72, 431, 448.
10 Alex Pishkin, Super Nezh - Chess Assassin (Thinker's Press 2000), p. 27.
11 Pishkin, p. 28.
12 Rashid Nezhmetdinov documentary film: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?li...
13 Victor Korchnoi, Chess is My Life (Arco 1978), p. 26.
14 Magyar Sakkelet 1954, p. 102. In Gino Di Felice, Chess Results 1951-1955 (McFarland 2010), p. 337.
15 Gaige, pp. 20, 129, 212, 217, 222, 302.
Original collection: Game Collection: Bucharest 1954, by User: suenteus po 147. This collection would not have been possible without the support and hard work of User: jessicafischerqueen.
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