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Stockholm Interzonal (1952) The event started with the FIDE Congress 8-13 September in Grand Hôtel Saltsjöbaden (about 14 km east of Stockholm proper but a part of the Stockholm county), where Geller, Eliskases and Pilnik were awarded the GM title. Compared to the first Saltsjobaden Interzonal (1948), the system of zonal and interzonal tournaments was more firmly established. Qualified from the zonal tournaments were: Gligoric, Matanovic, Unzicker, Prins and Golombek from Bad Pyrmont (1951), Geller, Petrosian, Averbakh, Taimanov and Kotov* from the USSR Championship (1951), Pachman, Szabó, Barcza, Stoltz and Jan Foltys from Marianske Lazne (1951), Larry Evans and Max Pavey from the US Championship (1951), the Canadian champion Vaitonis from Vancouver (1951), Sanchez from Caracas (1951), and Eliskases and Julio Bolbochan from Mar del Plata (1951). From Zone 8, Wade from New Zealand had won the British Championship (1952) and was also selected. As reserves, FIDE had picked Ståhlberg and Pilnik, mainly based on Budapest (1952). Foltys, who qualified on Sonneborn-Berger score ahead of Pal Benko, had passed away (in March 1952), and since Benkö was in prison for trying to defect to the West, Ståhlberg got that qualification spot. The Americans had Samuel Reshevsky (who was already qualified for the Candidates), Evans, Robert Byrne and Arthur Bisguier still in Europe after the Helsinki Olympiad (9-31 August), and hoped to be represented by two of these (of whom only Evans was formally qualified). Evans and Byrne had to return home, however. Bisguier was offered a place, but he also had to withdraw only days before the tournament started because of Army service. They were replaced by the 1948 champion Steiner, who had lost the US Championship match to Evans in 1952 (July), and Pilnik got to enter as reserve. Steiner sailed September 3 with the steamship Stavangerfjord and managed to reach the tournament in time. The Russians were better off, with four players qualified for the Candidates (David Bronstein, Isaac Boleslavsky, Paul Keres, Vasily Smyslov). Their delegation to Stockholm also included FIDE Vice President Viacheslav Ragozin, Igor Bondarevsky, Andre Lilienthal, and Salomon Flohr. These served as seconds, journalists, and held simultaneous exhibitions. The opening ceremony took place on 14 September in Stockholms Stadshus, where the players were welcomed by FIDE President Folke Rogard. Play started in the Blue Hall the next day. After a drawn (with the white pieces) round 2 game vs Szabó, Bolbochan had a haemorrhage and withdrew from the tournament (and from the first round adjournment vs Geller). Kotov won the first eight rounds! He had 13 wins, and drew the remaining seven games. The Russians drew all games among themselves and also took the first five spots (Averbakh on Sonneborn-Berger score). The plan had been that the top five finishers would go to the Zuerich Candidates (1953), but with FIDE in town it was agreed immediately after the tournament (and formally decided in February 1953) that the top eight could play there, which took place. The tournament was a success for the King's Indian (7 White wins, 11 Black wins) and Sicilian (5 White wins, 12 Black wins) defences. Stockholms Stadshus (1, 15-21) and Grand Hôtel Saltsjöbaden (2-14), Sweden, 15 September - 20 October 1952 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 Pts 1 Kotov * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 16½ =2 Taimanov ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 13½ =2 Petrosian ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 13½ 4 Geller ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 0 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 13 =5 Averbakh ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 12½ =5 Ståhlberg ½ ½ ½ 0 1 * 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 1 1 ½ 1 12½ =5 Szabó 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 12½ =5 Gligoric 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0 ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 12½ 9 Unzicker 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 * ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 11½ 10 Eliskases 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 10½ =11 Pilnik 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ * 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 10 =11 Pachman ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 10 =11 Steiner ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 1 ½ * ½ 0 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 10 14 Matanovic 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 9 15 Barcza 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 * 1 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 8 16 Stoltz 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 * 0 1 1 ½ 1 7½ 17 Sanchez 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 * ½ 0 1 1 7 18 Wade 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ * ½ 0 1 6 19 Vaitonis 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 1 ½ * ½ 0 5 =20 Golombek 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ * 0 4½ =20 Prins 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 1 * 4½ Tournament managers: Fritz Andersson, assisted by Hugo Björk, Jostein Westberg and Rune Strand. First Brilliancy Prize went to Stoltz for Stoltz vs H Steiner, 1952. At the banquet, FIDE awarded the GM title to Taimanov, Petrosian and Averbakh. Three tournament books: Interzonala Världsschackturneringen Stockholm-Saltsjöbaden 1952, by Gideon Ståhlberg (Sveriges Schackförbund, Örebro 1953. 343 pp.); Mezhzonalny Shakmatny Turnir V Stokgolme 1952, by Alexander Kotov (Fizkultura I Sport, Moscow 1954. 304 pp. (in Russian)); II. meðuzonski turnir Saltsjöbaden 1952, by Braslav Rabar (Šahovska naklada, Zagreb 1953. 72 pp. (in Croatian)). This introduction is mainly based on 1) Ståhlberg's tournament book, 2) Tidskrift för Schack (online at https://schack.se/forbundet/tfs/ark...), 3) Hermann Helms 's column in Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 4) Bill Wall 's note on Benkö in Hungarian prison (https://web.archive.org/web/2016030...), 5) OlimpBase (http://www.olimpbase.org/1952/1952f...), and 6) brief daily reports in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (with round dates). Original collections: Game Collection: Interzonals 1952: Stockholm by User: capybara and Game Collection: Stockholm Interzonal 1952 by User: Tabanus. *Even if Lev Aronin and Nikolai Kopilov had better scores than Kotov. #Wikipedia article: Stockholm City Hall. Eight rounds were played in its Blue Hall, see http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped.... The previous event: Saltsjobaden Interzonal (1948). The next: Gothenburg Interzonal (1955)  page 1 of 9; games 1-25 of 210  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Kotov vs Eliskases 1-0 53 1952 Stockholm Interzonal D51 Queen's Gambit Declined 2. Pachman vs Golombek ½-½ 23 1952 Stockholm Interzonal E56 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 7...Nc6 3. Petrosian vs P Vaitonis 1-0 32 1952 Stockholm Interzonal D37 Queen's Gambit Declined 4. Szabo vs G Stoltz 1-0 34 1952 Stockholm Interzonal D29 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical 5. Taimanov vs H Steiner 1-0 22 1952 Stockholm Interzonal D31 Queen's Gambit Declined 6. A Matanovic vs Unzicker   ½-½ 27 1952 Stockholm Interzonal C03 French, Tarrasch 7. Averbakh vs Barcza   ½-½ 25 1952 Stockholm Interzonal C64 Ruy Lopez, Classical 8. L Sanchez vs L Prins   1-0 42 1952 Stockholm Interzonal C79 Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defense Deferred 9. R G Wade vs Pilnik   1-0 75 1952 Stockholm Interzonal D28 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical 10. Stahlberg vs Gligoric 1-0 62 1952 Stockholm Interzonal D56 Queen's Gambit Declined 11. Eliskases vs Taimanov ½-½ 28 1952 Stockholm Interzonal A07 King's Indian Attack 12. P Vaitonis vs Geller 0-1 44 1952 Stockholm Interzonal E61 King's Indian 13. G Stoltz vs Kotov 0-1 42 1952 Stockholm Interzonal E67 King's Indian, Fianchetto 14. Pilnik vs Pachman 1-0 42 1952 Stockholm Interzonal C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack 15. Gligoric vs Petrosian   ½-½ 14 1952 Stockholm Interzonal C07 French, Tarrasch 16. Barcza vs H Steiner 1-0 45 1952 Stockholm Interzonal A07 King's Indian Attack 17. L Prins vs Stahlberg 0-1 26 1952 Stockholm Interzonal B54 Sicilian 18. Unzicker vs L Sanchez 1-0 35 1952 Stockholm Interzonal C88 Ruy Lopez 19. Averbakh vs R G Wade 1-0 32 1952 Stockholm Interzonal D15 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 20. Golombek vs A Matanovic   ½-½ 40 1952 Stockholm Interzonal E95 King's Indian, Orthodox, 7...Nbd7, 8.Re1 21. H Steiner vs Eliskases   1-0 44 1952 Stockholm Interzonal E80 King's Indian, Samisch Variation 22. Geller vs Gligoric 0-1 38 1952 Stockholm Interzonal E76 King's Indian, Four Pawns Attack 23. Pachman vs Averbakh   ½-½ 23 1952 Stockholm Interzonal D30 Queen's Gambit Declined 24. Petrosian vs L Prins ½-½ 31 1952 Stockholm Interzonal D32 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch 25. Szabo vs P Vaitonis 1-0 34 1952 Stockholm Interzonal D67 Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense, Bd3 line  page 1 of 9; games 1-25 of 210    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   Jun-19-14    offramp: Kotov's great Interzonal win. He scored 82.5% and won by three points. He must have felt unstoppable... But at the subsequent Zurich Candidates (1953) he scored 50% for mid-table anonymity. Jun-19-14    perfidious: 'Mid-table anonymity' sounds like the same affliction which ailed Fischer after he cruised to victory at Stockholm Interzonal (1962). Mar-15-15    offramp: After this result, how many people said, "Kotov will be the next World Champion"? I do not know. I think it would not have been many. Mar-15-15    Retireborn: <offramp> Hardly anybody, I should think. He was already nearly 40 in 1952; perhaps ten years earlier he might still have been regarded as a possible rival for Botvinnik and Smyslov. Still, you never know. Boris Gelfand, who shared first place in the 1990 Manila izt, didn't get to play a world title match until 2012 when he was well over 40! Mar-15-15    offramp: I believe <Perfidious> once gave a quick resumé of how well interzonal winners fared in the overall World Championship cycle. God knows where it was posted. I think the general synopsis was that interzonal winners were not likely to go on to become World Champion finalists. But of course there can only be one winner of a Candidates cycle! It's very tough. Mar-15-15    perfidious: <offramp> If God knows, He ain't tellin'! Can't say I recall where I maundered on in that vein, either, though my recollection is that IZ winners experienced a mixed bag, come to results--Kotov was far from the only convincing victor at the IZ stage to come a cropper when there were no rabbits to beat. Mar-15-15    Retireborn: Mecking comes to mind - he even won two interzonals, but was unable to get past Korchnoi and Polugaevsky. Torre and Sax who shared first place in 1982 and 1987 also only made fleeting appearances in the Candidates. No disgrace, of course - as <offramp> says it was very tough! Mar-15-15    offramp: Reaching the WC final was like <The Right Stuff>. Extremely hard. I think the 1962 Curacao Candidates may have been the hardest. Bobby got a shock; he'd won the Interzonal by a mile, then lost his first two games in the Caribbean. Mar-15-15    keypusher: <perfidious > <offramp > Kotov resembled Fischer in that he spoiled his chances at the outset, losing his first three games. The tournament wasn't a washout for him though. He got wins against Smyslov and Reshevsky and also won the first brilliancy prize against Averbakh. Mar-25-15    offramp: Sorry. It was <Petrosianic: <perfidious> <As to those title aspirants named by <offramp>, fat lot of good their massive plus scores did them:> Well, that's a good question. How have Interzonal winners fraed in the Candidates? 1948 - Bronstein: Tied for First in Candidates, drew world championship match 1952 - Kotov: 8th-9th in Candidates, 50% score 1955 - Bronstein: 3rd - 7th in Candidates, +1 score. 1958 - Tal: Won Candidates, won World Championship. Jackpot! 1962 - Fischer: 4th at Candidates, +1 score. 1964 - Smyslov: Eliminated in Quarterfinals. Larsen: Eliminated in Semifinals. Tal: Eliminated in Finals. Spassky: Won Candidates, lost world championship match 1967 - Larsen: Eliminated in Semifinals. 1970 - Fischer: Won Candidates, won World Championship. Jackpot! 1973 - Mecking: Eliminated in Quarterfinals. Korchnoi: Eliminated in Finals. Karpov: Won Candidates, became World Champion. Jackpot! 1976 - Larsen: Eliminated in Quarterfinals. Mecking: Eliminated in Quarterfinals. 1979 - Petrosian: Eliminated in Quarterfinals. Portisch: Eliminated in Semifinals. Huebner: Eliminated in Finals. Tal: Eliminated in Quarterfinals. 1982 - Portisch: Eliminated in Quarterfinals. Torre: Eliminated in Quarterfinals. Ribli: Eliminated in Semifinals. Kasparov: Won Candidates, won world championship. Jackpot! 1985-7 - Vaganian: 1st-3rd in Candidates Tournament. Eliminated in Quarterfinals. Yusupov: 1st-3rd in Candidates Tournament. Eliminated in semifinals. Timman: Qualified from Candidates Tournament, eliminated in Quarterfinals. 1988-90 Korchnoi: Eliminated in Octifinals Sax: Eliminated in Octifinals Salov: Eliminated in Octifinals Short: Eliminated in Quarterfinals. Hjartarson: Eliminated in Quarterfinals. Speelman: Eliminated in Seminfinals. So, there's a real mixed bag here. A couple of jackpots, and also a lot of quick exits and mediocre candidates tournament results. But out of 34 Interzonal winners, only 4 went all the way.> Feb-25-16    alexmagnus: This is the earliest Interzonal from which there are still some players alive (three of them - Taimanov, Averbakh and Matanovic). Sep-01-17    offramp: Taimanov is now dead, but the other two are still alive. Apr-01-19    ughaibu: <out of 34 Interzonal winners, only 4 went all the way> This is rather misleading as there were only 14 opportunities to go "all the way". Apr-15-21    carpovius: The article above says no words about the winner who finished 3 points ahead the board (+13-0=7). Outstanding result! Apr-15-21    carpovius: 5 first places for soviets)) Aug-10-23    ndg2: Yesterday, 2023/08/09, the last living participant of this tournament has died: Aleksandar Matanovic. Just amazing to think, this was more than 70 years ago. Jun-21-25    Sally Simpson: <carpovius> "5 first places for Soviets." And surprise surprise, they all drew with each other. 9 of the 10 games drew under 22 moves. The odd one out is this 49 mover. Taimanov vs Averbakh, 1952 maybe these two did not like each other. The New York Times in November 1952 reports a nine year old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested for chalking; 'The Russians have fixed world chess.' on government buildings. Jun-21-25    perfidious: <Geoff>, while I do not intend to name anyone, it is odds-on that the lad's initials were Bobby Fischer. Looking at the Soviet players' schedules, there was clearly no rigging of the draw as would become standard practice after Fischer's accusations following Curacao; Averbakh faced all his compatriots in rounds 7-11, but for the others it was a mixed bag. Jun-22-25    Sally Simpson: <Hi Perfidious> It was a Soviet Shakedown I do not know how they did it but I know they did it. Later editions of the N.Y. T. revealed the lad in question gave the name. 'Robert D. James' and refused to have his picture taken. 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. 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