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Teesside (1975) After the successful Teesside (1972), the World Junior Championship (1973), and the World Student Team Championship (1974), the north of England organized a GM event sponsored by the Cleveland County Council, Friends of Chess, James D Slater, The Sunday Times, The British Chess Federation, The Financial Times, Harry Golombek, and others. Previous events in the series were held at the Thornaby Pavilion, Thornaby-on-Tees, but that was not possible this time, and another "Teesside" venue was found in Middlesbrough. It was intended to be a 16-player tournament, with the final spot going to either Walter Shawn Browne or Ljubomir Ljubojevic. Unfortunately, the clash of dates with Milan (1975) meant that this was impossible. A lower ranked substitute player was considered but the tournament would then have lost its Category 12 status. It was decided to go ahead with 15 players, despite a player bye being created each round. The tournament was dedicated to Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander, who had passed away in 1974. It was known also as the Alexander Memorial. The event opened at Church House, Middlesbrough on 1 September. Round 1 started the same afternoon. All rounds were played at 2 pm, except the final round at 9:30 am. Tournament director was Gerry Walsh, associate director was Victor James Richard Soanes, and chief arbiter was Harry Golombek. The draw percentage (67.6) was high. There was a feeling that some of the players had not tried hard enough to play fighting chess. Kavalek made 14 draws! Tony Miles played more moves than the other competitors and, along with Sax and Timman, recorded the fewest draws. Category: 12 (GM norm = 7.5, IM norm = 6). Cost of tournament: £15,000. First prize: £1000. Church House, Middlesbrough, England, 1-18 September 1975 Elo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 1 GM Geller 2600 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 9½ 2 GM Smyslov 2605 ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 8½ =3 GM Bronstein 2590 ½ 1 * ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 8 =3 GM Hort 2600 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 8 =3 GM Hübner 2615 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 8 =6 GM Sax 2510 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 ½ 1 7½ =6 GM Timman 2510 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 7½ =8 GM Kavalek 2555 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 7 =8 GM Ólafsson 2535 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 7 10 IM Miles 2435 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 0 0 ½ 0 * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 6½ =11 GM Gheorghiu 2540 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 6 =11 GM Lombardy 2515 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 1 6 =11 Stean 2370 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 6 14 IM Keene 2505 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ * ½ 5½ 15 IM Hartston 2475 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * 4 Stean took his 3rd IM norm, and became an IM at the FIDE congress in Oosterbeek 27-30 September. Miles won a special prize for the title of best British player. For Keene and Miles, who were in the race to become the first English grandmaster, it was clear by Round 13 that neither would make the 7.5 points required for GM norm. Hübner was unwilling to play as early as 9:30 am, and did not turn up for his last game versus Miles. This page is mainly based on the report by William Ritson-Morry in British Chess Magazine, Nov. 1975, pp. 465-479. Golombek's round reports in The Times give dates, pairings and game results only. Original collections: Game Collection: Teesside 1975 by User: suenteus po 147 and Game Collection: Teesside 1975 by User: Tabanus. This introduction would not have been possible without the help of User: Paint My Dragon.  page 1 of 5; games 1-25 of 105  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Bronstein vs Keene 1-0 30 1975 Teesside E01 Catalan, Closed 2. Geller vs Hort   ½-½ 17 1975 Teesside B83 Sicilian 3. Timman vs Huebner   0-1 41 1975 Teesside D68 Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense, Classical 4. Miles vs Hartston   ½-½ 26 1975 Teesside A36 English 5. Gheorghiu vs Lombardy   ½-½ 15 1975 Teesside A17 English 6. Sax vs F Olafsson   ½-½ 28 1975 Teesside C53 Giuoco Piano 7. M Stean vs Kavalek   ½-½ 29 1975 Teesside B83 Sicilian 8. Keene vs Geller ½-½ 32 1975 Teesside A07 King's Indian Attack 9. Lombardy vs Sax 0-1 38 1975 Teesside A04 Reti Opening 10. Smyslov vs Miles   1-0 74 1975 Teesside A07 King's Indian Attack 11. Hartston vs Timman   ½-½ 58 1975 Teesside C16 French, Winawer 12. Huebner vs Gheorghiu   ½-½ 18 1975 Teesside B84 Sicilian, Scheveningen 13. F Olafsson vs Bronstein   ½-½ 20 1975 Teesside E58 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 8...Bxc3 14. Hort vs M Stean   ½-½ 26 1975 Teesside A07 King's Indian Attack 15. Bronstein vs Lombardy   1-0 41 1975 Teesside B44 Sicilian 16. Geller vs F Olafsson 1-0 35 1975 Teesside B08 Pirc, Classical 17. Timman vs Smyslov   ½-½ 57 1975 Teesside E30 Nimzo-Indian, Leningrad 18. Gheorghiu vs Hartston   ½-½ 14 1975 Teesside B46 Sicilian, Taimanov Variation 19. Sax vs Huebner   ½-½ 47 1975 Teesside B43 Sicilian, Kan, 5.Nc3 20. M Stean vs Keene   ½-½ 18 1975 Teesside A15 English 21. Kavalek vs Hort   ½-½ 18 1975 Teesside A06 Reti Opening 22. Keene vs Kavalek ½-½ 29 1975 Teesside E97 King's Indian 23. Miles vs Timman   0-1 38 1975 Teesside A45 Queen's Pawn Game 24. Hartston vs Sax   0-1 41 1975 Teesside B83 Sicilian 25. Huebner vs Bronstein   ½-½ 12 1975 Teesside A22 English  page 1 of 5; games 1-25 of 105    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   Jan-15-16    Howard: Huebner forfeited his game to Miles, in what was their first "encounter" over the board---assuming you can call that game an "encounter" ! Feb-22-17    diagonal: England's Alexander Memorial, the Tesside tournament in 1975 was the strongest Invitational in the UK for decades! 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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