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🏆 Stockholm Interzonal (1952)

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
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. ... [more]

Player: Harry Golombek

 page 1 of 1; 20 games  PGN Download 
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Pachman vs Golombek ½-½231952Stockholm InterzonalE56 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 7...Nc6
2. Golombek vs A Matanovic  ½-½401952Stockholm InterzonalE95 King's Indian, Orthodox, 7...Nbd7, 8.Re1
3. L Sanchez vs Golombek 1-0381952Stockholm InterzonalB12 Caro-Kann Defense
4. Golombek vs Stahlberg  ½-½281952Stockholm InterzonalE00 Queen's Pawn Game
5. Petrosian vs Golombek 1-0411952Stockholm InterzonalA47 Queen's Indian
6. Golombek vs Geller  0-1531952Stockholm InterzonalE95 King's Indian, Orthodox, 7...Nbd7, 8.Re1
7. Szabo vs Golombek ½-½411952Stockholm InterzonalE41 Nimzo-Indian
8. Golombek vs Kotov 0-1411952Stockholm InterzonalA15 English
9. Taimanov vs Golombek 1-0321952Stockholm InterzonalE56 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 7...Nc6
10. Golombek vs H Steiner  0-1431952Stockholm InterzonalD30 Queen's Gambit Declined
11. Eliskases vs Golombek  1-0351952Stockholm InterzonalE02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4
12. Golombek vs G Stoltz  ½-½401952Stockholm InterzonalD30 Queen's Gambit Declined
13. Golombek vs P Vaitonis  ½-½571952Stockholm InterzonalA48 King's Indian
14. Gligoric vs Golombek 1-0301952Stockholm InterzonalE41 Nimzo-Indian
15. Golombek vs L Prins 0-1791952Stockholm InterzonalD11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
16. Unzicker vs Golombek  1-0551952Stockholm InterzonalB18 Caro-Kann, Classical
17. Barcza vs Golombek 1-0281952Stockholm InterzonalE14 Queen's Indian
18. Golombek vs Pilnik  ½-½411952Stockholm InterzonalA15 English
19. Averbakh vs Golombek 1-0291952Stockholm InterzonalE49 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Botvinnik System
20. Golombek vs R G Wade  1-0461952Stockholm InterzonalB06 Robatsch
 page 1 of 1; 20 games  PGN Download 
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Golombek wins | Golombek loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
Jun-19-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  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
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: 'Mid-table anonymity' sounds like the same affliction which ailed Fischer after he cruised to victory at Stockholm Interzonal (1962).
Mar-15-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  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
Premium Chessgames Member
  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
Premium Chessgames Member
  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
Premium Chessgames Member
  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
Premium Chessgames Member
  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
Premium Chessgames Member
  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
Premium Chessgames Member
  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
Premium Chessgames Member
  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
Premium Chessgames Member
  alexmagnus: This is the earliest Interzonal from which there are still some players alive (three of them - Taimanov, Averbakh and Matanovic).
Sep-01-17
Premium Chessgames Member
  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
Premium Chessgames Member
  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
Premium Chessgames Member
  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
Premium Chessgames Member
  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.

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