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Bucharest (1954) 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 view After 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. 15 Tournament 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.  page 1 of 7; games 1-25 of 153  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. B Sandor vs Filip   0-1 41 1954 Bucharest A04 Reti Opening 2. Pachman vs P Voiculescu   1-0 35 1954 Bucharest C02 French, Advance 3. O'Kelly vs Balanel   ½-½ 72 1954 Bucharest E60 King's Indian Defense 4. Stefan Szabo vs Furman   ½-½ 63 1954 Bucharest B54 Sicilian 5. V Ciocaltea vs Stahlberg   0-1 41 1954 Bucharest C12 French, McCutcheon 6. G Kluger vs Kholmov   ½-½ 21 1954 Bucharest A74 Benoni, Classical, 9...a6, 10.a4 7. Nezhmetdinov vs Korchnoi ½-½ 42 1954 Bucharest B69 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 11.Bxf6 8. O Troianescu vs Sliwa   1-0 30 1954 Bucharest C59 Two Knights 9. E Paoli vs Wade   0-1 58 1954 Bucharest C11 French 10. Furman vs V Ciocaltea   0-1 64 1954 Bucharest E81 King's Indian, Samisch 11. Balanel vs Nezhmetdinov 0-1 49 1954 Bucharest A53 Old Indian 12. P Voiculescu vs B Sandor   0-1 40 1954 Bucharest A45 Queen's Pawn Game 13. Kholmov vs O Troianescu 1-0 45 1954 Bucharest A16 English 14. Korchnoi vs Stefan Szabo 1-0 30 1954 Bucharest A22 English 15. Filip vs O'Kelly   ½-½ 22 1954 Bucharest A30 English, Symmetrical 16. Stahlberg vs G Kluger 0-1 33 1954 Bucharest A64 Benoni, Fianchetto, 11...Re8 17. E Paoli vs Pachman   ½-½ 54 1954 Bucharest C50 Giuoco Piano 18. Wade vs Sliwa   0-1 57 1954 Bucharest D22 Queen's Gambit Accepted 19. O'Kelly vs P Voiculescu   ½-½ 36 1954 Bucharest A34 English, Symmetrical 20. Pachman vs Wade   ½-½ 22 1954 Bucharest D45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 21. Sliwa vs Kholmov 0-1 70 1954 Bucharest A46 Queen's Pawn Game 22. O Troianescu vs Stahlberg   ½-½ 41 1954 Bucharest A07 King's Indian Attack 23. G Kluger vs Furman   0-1 58 1954 Bucharest E53 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 24. Stefan Szabo vs Balanel   1-0 53 1954 Bucharest C77 Ruy Lopez 25. Nezhmetdinov vs Filip 1-0 58 1954 Bucharest C64 Ruy Lopez, Classical  page 1 of 7; games 1-25 of 153    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   Mar-28-13    suenteus po 147: Hmmmm....I can see that I have to be more explicit in my dedicatory footnotes from now on. <jessicafischerqueen> provided <all> of the historical information present in the tournament introduction. I simply edited it into a narrative whole, but the work is hers. Mar-28-13    Phony Benoni: <suenteus po 147> Not to worry. Games Editors are allowed to edit these introductions, so you'll be able to change it once you're authorized. Feb-21-15    jessicafischerqueen: Here is a documentary video about 2nd place finisher Rashid Gibiatovich Nezhmetdinov: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?li... Oct-25-17    Resignation Trap: For a PDF of the tournament book, click here: http://www.stere.ro/wp-content/uplo... Oct-26-17    PhilFeeley: <RT> Too bad there's no translation. Oct-26-17    keypusher: <PhilFeeley: <RT> Too bad there's no translation.> No pleasing some people. :-) It's a Romance language, so if you know Spanish or French or Italian + chess you can go a surprisingly long way. Impressive effort in the book, they spend 80+ pages on openings from the tournament before they even get to the games. Apr-24-18    Stonehenge: I've entered the exact dates, using the tournament bulletins: http://www.stere.ro/wp-content/uplo... NOTE: You need to pick a username and password to post a reply. Getting your account takes less than a minute, is totally anonymous, and 100% free—plus, it entitles you to features otherwise unavailable. Pick your username now and join the chessgames community! If you already have an account, you should login now. Please observe our posting guidelines: No obscene, racist, sexist, profane, raunchy, or disgusting language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate or nonsense posts. No malicious personal attacks, including cyber stalking, systematic antagonism, or gratuitous name-calling of any gratuitous name-calling of any members—including Admin and Owners—or any of their family, friends, associates, or business interests. Nothing in violation of United States law. 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