The system of zonal and interzonal tournaments was not yet firmly established, and the participants of this first interzonal were selected by FIDE based on 'zonal performances'. From Budapest (1948) came Szabó and Gligoric. From Hilversum (1947) arrived Pachman and Trifunovic (but not the winner Alberic O'Kelly de Galway). From Helsinki (1947) came the co-winners Böök and Stoltz. From Quebec (1947) came the winner Yanofsky, and from Mar del Plata (1948) arrived Najdorf and Ståhlberg (but not Erich Eliskases). From New York (1946) came none (all declined or could not come). The Soviet players were also selected by FIDE, partly based on Moscow (1947). Steiner was chosen to represent Australia, and O'Kelly and Eliskases were replaced by Pirc and Lundin. The plan was that the top five from Saltsjöbaden and the five (or as it turned out, four) losers of the FIDE World Championship Tournament (1948) would compete in the Budapest Candidates (1950). But on 12 August, before the penultimate round, FIDE decided that nine players could go to the Candidates. But Bondarevsky got sick, and when Reuben Fine, Max Euwe and Samuel Reshevsky also withdrew, eight players from Saltsjöbaden ended up against Paul Keres and Vasily Smyslov in the Budapest Candidates (1950).
Sweden was relatively well off after the War. They also had a well organized chess life (much thanks to the efforts of Ludvig Collijn), three world class players, and the FIDE Vice President, Folke Rogard. In addition to the interzonal tournament, the program consisted of a competition between the Nordic countries Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway (10-14 August), and the FIDE Congress (11-14 August). The opening ceremony took place in Stockholm City Hall, on 15 July, after which the players went to luxurious Grand Hôtel* in Saltsjöbaden, 12 km east of Stockholm where play started the next day at 6 pm. Thinking time was 40 moves in 2½ hours then 16 moves every hour. Any time during play, the participants could have fresh air (or a cigarette) on a nearby balcony with a view to the Baltic Sea.
The Hungarian Szabó held the lead during rounds 7-17, but in the last round he unexpectedly lost to Lundin whereas Bronstein defeated Tartakower. Thus the only Soviet who did not have the Russian GM title won the tournament. He was also the only player who went undefeated.
Grand Hôtel Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm, Sweden, 16 July - 14 August 1948
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Pts SEK#
1 Bronstein * 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 13½ 2000
2 Szabó 0 * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 12½ 1000
3 Boleslavsky ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 12 700
4 Kotov 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 11½ 500
5 Lilienthal ½ 0 ½ ½ * 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 11 300
=6 Bondarevsky ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 10½ 210
=6 Najdorf ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 10½ 210
=6 Ståhlberg ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 10½ 210
=6 Flohr ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 10½ 210
10 Trifunovic ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ * ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 10 200
=11 Pirc 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 9½ 190
=11 Gligoric ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 0 1 9½ 190
=11 Böök ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 9½ 190
=14 Ragozin 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ * 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 8½ 170
=14 Yanofsky ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 * 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 8½ 170
16 Tartakower 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 * 0 ½ ½ ½ 8 160
17 Pachman ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 * 1 ½ 1 7½ 150
18 Stoltz 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ 6½ 130
19 Steiner 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 5½ 110
20 Lundin 0 1 ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * 4½ 90
Tournament controller: Fritz Andersson, assisted by Herman Söderborg and John Collett (among others). Appeals committee: Fritz Andersson plus four of the players.The banquet was attended by 125 people. Speeches were made by heavyweights such as Gustaf Collijn, Erik Olson, Carl Oscar Hovind, and David Bronstein! Prizes were awarded by FIDE President Alexander Rueb. First Brilliancy Prize went to Lilienthal, for Lilienthal vs Najdorf, 1948.
Tournament books: Interzonala Schackturneringen Saltsjöbaden 1948 by Gideon Ståhlberg (Sveriges Schackförbunds Forlag, Örebro 1949. 359 pp.) and Meduzonski Turnir Saltsjöbaden, 1948 by Vasja Pirc (Tipografija Graficko-Nakladini Zavod, Zagreb 1949. 301 pp). The tournament program and a report afterwards in Tidskrift för Schack are available online at https://tfsarkiv.schack.se/pdf/1948... and https://tfsarkiv.schack.se/pdf/1948... (both in Swedish). Harry Golombek wrote a report for the September 1948 issue of the British Chess Magazine. Round dates (rounds 9-12 and 18-19 did not follow the program) are from reports in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
The event was a success and the next of its kind was the Stockholm Interzonal (1952).
Original collections: Game Collection: 1948 Saltsjöbaden interzonal by User: jww and Game Collection: Saltsjöbaden Interzonal 1948 by User: Tabanus. *http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped... #Players behind the top 5 received 10 Swedish Kroner (SEK) for each half point.
Kibitzing
