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🏆 Groningen (1946)

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
The tournament held at Groningen, Netherlands 13 Aug-7 Sept 1946, was a watershed in chess history. Not only was it the first major international tournament after World War II, it marked the first time the Soviet Union sent a team of players to a foreign event. Their results confirmed the growing recognition of the great strength of Soviet players: Smyslov finished third, Boleslavsky and Flohr tied for sixth; though Kotov finished out of the running, he defeated both of the top finishers. ... [more]

Player: Alberic O'Kelly de Galway

 page 1 of 1; 19 games  PGN Download 
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. O'Kelly vs M Christoffel 1-0411946GroningenB81 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Keres Attack
2. C Guimard vs O'Kelly ½-½401946GroningenD12 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
3. O'Kelly vs Najdorf ½-½191946GroningenD17 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
4. Szabo vs O'Kelly 1-0161946GroningenD06 Queen's Gambit Declined
5. O'Kelly vs E Lundin 0-1301946GroningenD45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
6. Smyslov vs O'Kelly 1-0411946GroningenE03 Catalan, Open
7. O'Kelly vs H Steiner 0-1481946GroningenC97 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin
8. Botvinnik vs O'Kelly 1-0361946GroningenE44 Nimzo-Indian, Fischer Variation, 5.Ne2
9. O'Kelly vs Denker 0-1661946GroningenB20 Sicilian
10. Boleslavsky vs O'Kelly 1-0301946GroningenC77 Ruy Lopez
11. O'Kelly vs Vidmar ½-½301946GroningenC47 Four Knights
12. O'Kelly vs O Bernstein 1-0571946GroningenC71 Ruy Lopez
13. Euwe vs O'Kelly 1-0351946GroningenE44 Nimzo-Indian, Fischer Variation, 5.Ne2
14. O'Kelly vs G Stoltz 0-1541946GroningenB81 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Keres Attack
15. Flohr vs O'Kelly 1-0411946GroningenD15 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
16. O'Kelly vs Tartakower  ½-½381946GroningenB59 Sicilian, Boleslavsky Variation, 7.Nb3
17. Kotov vs O'Kelly 1-0311946GroningenD28 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical
18. O'Kelly vs Yanofsky ½-½541946GroningenE36 Nimzo-Indian, Classical
19. C Kottnauer vs O'Kelly 0-1241946GroningenE00 Queen's Pawn Game
 page 1 of 1; 19 games  PGN Download 
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | O'Kelly wins | O'Kelly loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
Dec-20-12  Benzol: Blessed be the <cg librarian> indeed. The two missing games are now part of the collection.

:)

Aug-30-13  nescio: I think it should be mentoned that the organizers of this tournament had a luxury problem before it started. After everyone had arrived (which was by no means a certainty a year after the second world war) it turned out there were 21 participants instead of 20.

They could have extended the schedule with 2 extra rounds, even make it a 22-player tournament, for the head of the Soviet delegation was Gavriil Veresov, champion of Belarus. Unfortunately that was impossible, if I remember correctly because the Americans and the Soviets had to leave on schedule to arrive in time for a USSR-USA match.

To ask a foreigner to withdraw was out of the question, and Lodewijk Prins didn't want to let go this chance to play against the world's best. When Euwe declared that he was ready to withdraw, the Soviets, in particular Botvinnik and Veresov, convinced Prins to withdraw by promising him an invitation to a tournament in Moscow in the near future.

Needless to say, that invitation has still to come.

Feb-03-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  GrahamClayton: Despite finishing only 11th, Kotov was the only player to defeat both the 1st and 2nd place finishers (Botvinnik and Euwe).
Apr-20-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: <GrahamClayton> Shades of St Petersburg (1909), where Dus-Chotimirsky finished 13th with a -2 result, but beat the joint winners Lasker and Rubinstein. Those two wins were 40% of his five wins in the tournament! Lasker and Rubinstein mauled the field, each scoring 14.5/18. The only other game either lost was Lasker's loss to Rubinstein.
Apr-20-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  plang: Kotov was a lot stronger player than Dus-Chotimirsky
Apr-20-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: <plang> It's true, he did win the Stockholm Interzonal (1952) by 3.5 points, then a record.
Apr-21-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: Er, make that three points. Counting is FUN-damental.
Apr-21-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: Pity that fine result availed him naught, come to Zurich Candidates (1953), where Kotov inflicted the only defeat upon Smyslov, the winner, though himself an also-ran.
Apr-02-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: Going in to the game against Kotov, Botvinnik had ten wins and three draws. He went 3-3 the rest of the way, and was lucky to win M Christoffel vs Botvinnik, 1946.
Apr-02-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: Should note that Botvinnik played some great games but had some good luck earlier in the tournament too, viz.

Botvinnik vs Szabo, 1946

Botvinnik vs O'Kelly, 1946 (<nescio> called this win "one of the lowest points in his career", see Botvinnik vs Keres, 1948 (kibitz #64))

So the +10=3 stat is a bit misleading.

Apr-09-24  mk volkov: Botvinnik's great storm.

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