Author: Stahlberg, Anders Gideon Tom (1908-1967)
Year: 1953
Publisher: Sveriges Schackforbunds forlag
Place: Saltsjobaden
Description:
343 pages with frontispiece, diagrams, tables, photographs and index. Royal octavo (9 1/4" x 6") bound in orginal publisher quarter cloth with green label in gilt to spine and decorative knight and lettering in gilt to cover. First edition.
The event started with the FIDE Congress 8-13 September in Grand Hotel Saltsjobaden (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, Szabo, Barcza, Stoltz and Jan Foltys from Marianske Lazne (1951), Larry Melvyn 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 Stahlberg and Pilnik, mainly based on Budapest (1952). Foltys, who had qualified on Sonneborn-Berger score ahead of Pal Benko, had passed away, in March 1952, and since Benko was in prison for trying to defect to the West, Stahlberg got that qualification spot. The Americans had Samuel Reshevsky (who was already qualified for the Candidates), Evans, Robert Eugene Byrne and Arthur Bisguier still in Europe after the Helsinki olympiad (9-31 August), and hoped to be represented by two of these (of which 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 Szabo, Bolbochan had a haemorrhage and withdrew from the tournament (and from the first round adjournment vs Geller). Kotov won the 8 first rounds! He had 13 wins, and drew the rest. The Russians drew all games between them 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 Zurich 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 go there. Which they did!
Condition:
Corners bumped and rubbed through, stain to page 24, some rippling, edge wear else about very good copy.
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