Author: Golombek, Harry (1911- ) and W Ritson Morry [editors]
Year: 1950
Publisher: En Passant Chess Publication
Place: London
Description:
32 pages with diagrams. bound in original publisher's grey wrappers with black lettering to front wrapper. Royal octavo (9" x 7") London and Midland Chess Bulletin, Supplement Number 1. (Betts: 25-188) First edition.
The 45 games of the Premier, each with commentary and/or annotations; with score tables of other sections in the congress and five games without notes from these sections. 1. Rossolimo; 2. Konig; 3. Muhring.
This was the fourth Hastings Christmas Congress since its post-war revival, and it looked to be one of the weaker editions. The previous year's Hastings champion Laszlo Szabo, the only grandmaster strength invitee, withdrew before the start of the tournament due to illness. The "Supplement to London and Midland Chess Bulletins" warned that the fabled Hastings Congress was in danger of becoming "just another chess tournament", because the organizers failed to supply a purse rich enough to attract any real stars. The city of Hastings managed to raise £250 to fund the event. The "Supplement" regarded this to be an inadequate sum. They pointed out that the publicity value to the city justified a more lucrative purse. They also criticized the organizers for failing to use their "personal influence" to woo foreign masters who might agree to play for a smaller prize. Nonetheless, the Premier section still featured an intriguing mix of foreign and local masters. Hungarian born Imre König had resided in England since 1938, and thus proved a convenient choice to replace Szabó at the last minute. His current form was anyone's guess. He hadn't competed since June 1946, when he lost both his games to Vasily Smyslov in the (USSR-Great Britain Radio Match), but he had previously managed a respectable fourth place in the strong London B (1946) "victory tournament." he Ukrainian born French champion Nicolas Rossolimo had recently shared second with Pal Benko at
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