Monte Carlo 1968

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Monte Carlo 1968
Compiled by Tabanus

More than 60 years after Monte Carlo (1901), Monte Carlo (1902), Monte Carlo (1903) and Monte Carlo (1904), the principality of Monaco again hosted three GM tournaments: Monte Carlo (1967), Monte Carlo (1968) (this page), and Monte Carlo (1969). The event in 1968 was organised by the French chess magazine Europe Echecs.1 The first two rounds of the GM event were played at the stately Hôtel Hermitage. Thereafter, the contest was moved to the Hall du Centenaire, where the Masters, Open and junior events commenced later in the week.2 A dozen strong GM's were invited, but Harry Golombek was critical of the inclusion of the two French players, describing it as absurd and a waste of valuable places.3

Larsen won again! C. W. Anderton reported in the CHESS magazine that it was his fifth successive first place, after Havana (1967), Winnipeg (1967), Sousse Interzonal (1967) and Palma de Mallorca (1967). Botvinnik came second, as at Palma in December. He beat Portisch brilliantly. A good result for Hort also, after his relative lack of success in the Sousse Interzonal play-off (1967). He did not really exert himself, except at the casino! Smyslov looked unbeatable and remained good humoured throughout. Byrne made one of his best results. He chain smoked throughout, but revived his rating by beating Larsen in the last round. Benko amused people with his time trouble antics. Uhlmann was off-form, and his play was unrecognizable compared with Zagreb (1965).2

Hôtel Hermitage4 (rounds 1-2) and Hall du Centenaire (3-13), Monte Carlo, 3-17 April 1968:

Elo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 Pts 1 GM Larsen 2650 * ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 9½ 2 GM Botvinnik 2690 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 9 =3 GM Hort 2570 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 8½ =3 GM Smyslov 2630 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 8½ 5 GM Byrne 2520 1 ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 8 =6 GM Portisch 2610 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 1 7½ =6 GM Gheorghiu 2530 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 7½ =6 GM Benkö 2580 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 7½ 9 IM Forintos - 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 ½ 1 1 6½ =10 GM Damjanovic 2420 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ * 0 ½ 1 1 5½ =10 GM Uhlmann 2530 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 * 0 1 1 5½ 12 GM Padevsky 2480 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 * 1 ½ 5 13 Letzelter - 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 * ½ 1½ 14 Zinser - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ * 1

GM Alberic O'Kelly de Galway was Tournament Director.5 The Masters tournament was won by Karoly Honfi ahead of Predrag Ostojic, the Open tournament was won by George Kuprejanov, and the junior event was won by Georg Eppinger ahead of Aldo Haik. 2

Picture from round 5: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jjgksVeNn...

Tournament books: Bulletin du grand prix international de Monaco 1968 (Europe-échecs, Besançon 1968. 128 pp.); Monte Carlo: Grand Prix D'échecs de Monaco, April 3-17, 1968 by Robert Graham Wade and Les Blackstock (Chess Player (No. 69), Nottingham 1968. 52 pp.). Elo is from the unofficial FIDE Rating List April 1968: http://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/Elo196.... Round dates are from British Chess Magazine, June and July 1968.

NOTES: 1La Vanguardia 6 April p. 63: http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com/... 2CHESS magazine, May 1968 pp. 234-237 and End May 1968 pp. 263-270. 3British Chess Magazine June 1968, pp. 163-169 and July 1968, pp. 207-210. 4Wikipedia article: H%C3%B4tel Hermitage Monte-Carlo. 5Chess Life July 1968 p. 239.

Original collection: Game Collection: Monte Carlo 1968 by User: Tabanus. Thanks to User: TheFocus for providing round dates, User: Chessical for information from Chess Life, and User: Paint My Dragon for information from CHESS and British Chess Magazine.

Round 1 April 3
Benko vs R Byrne, 1968
(E80) King's Indian, Samisch Variation, 19 moves, 1/2-1/2
Botvinnik vs Smyslov, 1968
(D25) Queen's Gambit Accepted, 15 moves, 1/2-1/2
Forintos vs Portisch, 1968
(A13) English, 23 moves, 1/2-1/2
Gheorghiu vs Uhlmann, 1968
(E71) King's Indian, Makagonov System (5.h3), 22 moves, 1/2-1/2
Hort vs Damjanovic, 1968
(A44) Old Benoni Defense, 42 moves, 1/2-1/2
Larsen vs N Padevsky, 1968
(E03) Catalan, Open, 47 moves, 1-0
S Zinser vs J Letzelter, 1968
(A14) English, 36 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 2 April 4
R Byrne vs Botvinnik, 1968
(C18) French, Winawer, 25 moves, 1/2-1/2
Damjanovic vs S Zinser, 1968
(B47) Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov) Variation, 42 moves, 1-0
Forintos vs Larsen, 1968
(A07) King's Indian Attack, 63 moves, 0-1
J Letzelter vs Gheorghiu, 1968
(B09) Pirc, Austrian Attack, 23 moves, 0-1
N Padevsky vs Benko, 1968
(B49) Sicilian, Taimanov Variation, 39 moves, 1/2-1/2
Portisch vs Uhlmann, 1968
(C18) French, Winawer, 48 moves, 1-0
Smyslov vs Hort, 1968
(A33) English, Symmetrical, 36 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 3 April 5
Hort vs R Byrne, 1968
(E75) King's Indian, Averbakh, Main line, 23 moves, 1/2-1/2
Botvinnik vs N Padevsky, 1968
(E07) Catalan, Closed, 27 moves, 1-0
Gheorghiu vs Damjanovic, 1968
(A17) English, 81 moves, 1/2-1/2
Benko vs Forintos, 1968
(A30) English, Symmetrical, 80 moves, 1/2-1/2
Larsen vs Portisch, 1968
(D31) Queen's Gambit Declined, 23 moves, 1/2-1/2
Uhlmann vs J Letzelter, 1968
(E90) King's Indian, 40 moves, 1-0
S Zinser vs Smyslov, 1968
(E53) Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, 34 moves, 0-1
Round 4 April 6
R Byrne vs S Zinser, 1968
(A07) King's Indian Attack, 43 moves, 1-0
Damjanovic vs Uhlmann, 1968
(A07) King's Indian Attack, 37 moves, 0-1
Forintos vs Botvinnik, 1968
(A91) Dutch Defense, 15 moves, 1/2-1/2
Larsen vs Benko, 1968
(A01) Nimzovich-Larsen Attack, 35 moves, 1/2-1/2
N Padevsky vs Hort, 1968
(D85) Grunfeld, 73 moves, 0-1
Portisch vs J Letzelter, 1968
(D35) Queen's Gambit Declined, 42 moves, 0-1
Smyslov vs Gheorghiu, 1968
(D37) Queen's Gambit Declined, 17 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 5 April 7
Botvinnik vs Larsen, 1968
(E62) King's Indian, Fianchetto, 41 moves, 1/2-1/2
Benko vs Portisch, 1968
(A01) Nimzovich-Larsen Attack, 17 moves, 1/2-1/2
Gheorghiu vs R Byrne, 1968
(E80) King's Indian, Samisch Variation, 41 moves, 1/2-1/2
Hort vs Forintos, 1968
(D35) Queen's Gambit Declined, 47 moves, 1/2-1/2
J Letzelter vs Damjanovic, 1968
(B32) Sicilian, 26 moves, 0-1
Uhlmann vs Smyslov, 1968
(E13) Queen's Indian, 4.Nc3, Main line, 18 moves, 1/2-1/2
S Zinser vs N Padevsky, 1968
(E69) King's Indian, Fianchetto, Classical Main line, 42 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 6 April 8
Benko vs Botvinnik, 1968
(A10) English, 34 moves, 0-1
R Byrne vs Uhlmann, 1968
(C18) French, Winawer, 45 moves, 1-0
Forintos vs S Zinser, 1968
(A12) English with b3, 34 moves, 1-0
Larsen vs Hort, 1968
(A01) Nimzovich-Larsen Attack, 51 moves, 1/2-1/2
N Padevsky vs Gheorghiu, 1968
(C09) French, Tarrasch, Open Variation, Main line, 24 moves, 1/2-1/2
Portisch vs Damjanovic, 1968
(A56) Benoni Defense, 41 moves, 1-0
Smyslov vs J Letzelter, 1968
(A96) Dutch, Classical Variation, 28 moves, 1-0
Round 7 April 10
Botvinnik vs Portisch, 1968
(A22) English, 26 moves, 1-0
Damjanovic vs Smyslov, 1968
(E54) Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Gligoric System, 42 moves, 1/2-1/2
Gheorghiu vs Forintos, 1968
(B32) Sicilian, 28 moves, 1-0
Hort vs Benko, 1968
(E80) King's Indian, Samisch Variation, 25 moves, 1/2-1/2
J Letzelter vs R Byrne, 1968
(B09) Pirc, Austrian Attack, 51 moves, 0-1
Uhlmann vs N Padevsky, 1968
(E17) Queen's Indian, 36 moves, 0-1
S Zinser vs Larsen, 1968
(A41) Queen's Pawn Game (with ...d6), 41 moves, 0-1
Round 8 April 11
Botvinnik vs Hort, 1968
(E69) King's Indian, Fianchetto, Classical Main line, 27 moves, 1/2-1/2
R Byrne vs Damjanovic, 1968
(E42) Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 c5, 5.Ne2 (Rubinstein), 17 moves, 1/2-1/2
Forintos vs Uhlmann, 1968
(A42) Modern Defense, Averbakh System, 42 moves, 1-0
Larsen vs Gheorghiu, 1968
(A20) English, 38 moves, 1-0
N Padevsky vs J Letzelter, 1968
(C45) Scotch Game, 25 moves, 1-0
Portisch vs Smyslov, 1968
(A26) English, 42 moves, 1/2-1/2
Benko vs S Zinser, 1968
(A01) Nimzovich-Larsen Attack, 29 moves, 1-0
Round 9 April 12
Hort vs Portisch, 1968
(C47) Four Knights, 30 moves, 1-0
Gheorghiu vs Benko, 1968
(E92) King's Indian, 13 moves, 1/2-1/2
Damjanovic vs N Padevsky, 1968
(C96) Ruy Lopez, Closed, 19 moves, 1/2-1/2
J Letzelter vs Forintos, 1968
(B27) Sicilian, 26 moves, 0-1
Smyslov vs R Byrne, 1968
(E62) King's Indian, Fianchetto, 16 moves, 1/2-1/2
Uhlmann vs Larsen, 1968
(D47) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 33 moves, 0-1
S Zinser vs Botvinnik, 1968
(E91) King's Indian, 40 moves, 0-1
Round 10 April 13
Benko vs Uhlmann, 1968
(A15) English, 40 moves, 1/2-1/2
Botvinnik vs Gheorghiu, 1968
(A15) English, 41 moves, 1/2-1/2
Forintos vs Damjanovic, 1968
(A16) English, 68 moves, 1/2-1/2
Hort vs S Zinser, 1968
(A34) English, Symmetrical, 36 moves, 1-0
Larsen vs J Letzelter, 1968
(A14) English, 31 moves, 1-0
N Padevsky vs Smyslov, 1968
(B42) Sicilian, Kan, 38 moves, 0-1
Portisch vs R Byrne, 1968
(E80) King's Indian, Samisch Variation, 40 moves, 1-0
Round 11 April 14
Damjanovic vs Larsen, 1968
(B51) Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky (Rossolimo) Attack, 45 moves, 0-1
R Byrne vs N Padevsky, 1968
(C95) Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer, 62 moves, 1/2-1/2
Gheorghiu vs Hort, 1968
(B61) Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Larsen Variation, 7.Qd2, 19 moves, 1/2-1/2
J Letzelter vs Benko, 1968
(B09) Pirc, Austrian Attack, 29 moves, 0-1
Smyslov vs Forintos, 1968
(E09) Catalan, Closed, 90 moves, 1-0
Uhlmann vs Botvinnik, 1968
(A84) Dutch, 35 moves, 1/2-1/2
S Zinser vs Portisch, 1968
(A04) Reti Opening, 29 moves, 0-1
Round 12 April 15
Botvinnik vs J Letzelter, 1968
(A07) King's Indian Attack, 24 moves, 1-0
Benko vs Damjanovic, 1968
(E11) Bogo-Indian Defense, 53 moves, 1-0
Forintos vs R Byrne, 1968
(E70) King's Indian, 18 moves, 1/2-1/2
Hort vs Uhlmann, 1968
(D73) Neo-Grunfeld, 5.Nf3, 18 moves, 1/2-1/2
Larsen vs Smyslov, 1968
(E19) Queen's Indian, Old Main line, 9.Qxc3, 21 moves, 1/2-1/2
Portisch vs N Padevsky, 1968
(D42) Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Tarrasch, 7.Bd3, 35 moves, 1-0
S Zinser vs Gheorghiu, 1968
(A78) Benoni, Classical with ...Re8 and ...Na6, 23 moves, 0-1
Round 13 April 17
R Byrne vs Larsen, 1968
(B02) Alekhine's Defense, 42 moves, 1-0
Damjanovic vs Botvinnik, 1968
(B58) Sicilian, 21 moves, 1/2-1/2
Gheorghiu vs Portisch, 1968
(C93) Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense, 20 moves, 1/2-1/2
J Letzelter vs Hort, 1968
(B03) Alekhine's Defense, 25 moves, 0-1
N Padevsky vs Forintos, 1968
(D27) Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical, 18 moves, 1/2-1/2
Smyslov vs Benko, 1968
(E09) Catalan, Closed, 20 moves, 1/2-1/2
Uhlmann vs S Zinser, 1968
(D35) Queen's Gambit Declined, 28 moves, 1-0
91 games

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