Groningen 1946 chess tournament
Encyclopedia
Groningen 1946 was the first major international chess
tournament to be held after World War II
.
Held at Groningen in August and September 1946, it was considered a miracle that the Netherlands
could stage such an event just fifteen months after the end of the war.
Mikhail Botvinnik
won the tournament a half point ahead of former World Champion
Max Euwe
.
It was Botvinnik's first unshared victory outside of the Soviet Union and Euwe's last major success.
Groningen was the first tournament outside the Soviet Union to which the Soviets sent a team of masters to compete.
The Soviet players were very successful, Botvinnik taking first, Vasily Smyslov
third, and Isaac Boleslavsky
and Salo Flohr
tied for sixth and seventh, beginning an era of Soviet
domination of international chess.
The tournament was a twenty-player round-robin
.
Although the field was strong, some top players were not present.
From the United States
Samuel Reshevsky
and Reuben Fine
were missing.
From the Soviet Union Paul Keres
was missing, as Soviet authorities would not let him play outside the country during this period.
Botvinnik and Euwe quickly jumped ahead of the field, making it a two-person contest for first place.
At the halfway point (after round 10), Botvinnik had 9 points, Euwe 7.5, and Smyslov and Arnold Denker
7.
After round 13, Botvinnik had 11.5, Euwe 10.5, and Smyslov and László Szabó
8.5.
In round 14, Euwe beat Ossip Bernstein
, who at age 65 was the oldest player in the tournament.
Botvinnik lost to his countryman Alexander Kotov
, creating a first place tie with Euwe.
Years later Kotov reported that he received considerable criticism for beating Botvinnik at a critical point in a major tournament.
(Botvinnik was favored at the time by the Soviet chess establishment as a challenger for the world chess championship.)
Kotov would make up for his imprudence in the final round.
In round 15 Euwe pulled ahead by a game by defeating Milan Vidmar
, while Botvinnik lost a second consecutive game, this time to Daniel Yanofsky
.
With four rounds remaining, the scores stood Euwe 12.5, Botvinnik 11.5, Smyslov 10.5, and Szabó 9.5.
Euwe's one point lead was not safe as he drew his next three games (Gösta Stoltz
, Flohr, and Savielly Tartakower
) while Botvinnik won three (Čeněk Kottnauer
, Martin Christoffel, and Carlos Guimard
) to pull ahead by half a point.
In the final round, both Botvinnik and Euwe were playing black and both had strong opponents.
The positions of the leaders did not change as both Botvinnik and Euwe lost.
Botvinnik was outplayed by Miguel Najdorf
, but Euwe blundered to lose in an even position against Kotov to leave Botvinnik with first place.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
tournament to be held after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Held at Groningen in August and September 1946, it was considered a miracle that the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
could stage such an event just fifteen months after the end of the war.
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
won the tournament a half point ahead of former World Champion
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
Max Euwe
Max Euwe
Machgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...
.
It was Botvinnik's first unshared victory outside of the Soviet Union and Euwe's last major success.
Groningen was the first tournament outside the Soviet Union to which the Soviets sent a team of masters to compete.
The Soviet players were very successful, Botvinnik taking first, Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
third, and Isaac Boleslavsky
Isaac Boleslavsky
Isaac Yefremovich Boleslavsky was a Soviet–Jewish chess Grandmaster.-Early career:Boleslavsky taught himself chess at age 9...
and Salo Flohr
Salo Flohr
Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...
tied for sixth and seventh, beginning an era of Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
domination of international chess.
The tournament was a twenty-player round-robin
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
.
Although the field was strong, some top players were not present.
From the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
and Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
were missing.
From the Soviet Union Paul Keres
Paul Keres
Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
was missing, as Soviet authorities would not let him play outside the country during this period.
Botvinnik and Euwe quickly jumped ahead of the field, making it a two-person contest for first place.
At the halfway point (after round 10), Botvinnik had 9 points, Euwe 7.5, and Smyslov and Arnold Denker
Arnold Denker
Arnold Sheldon Denker was an American chess player, Grandmaster, and chess author. He was U.S. Chess Champion in 1945 and 1946....
7.
After round 13, Botvinnik had 11.5, Euwe 10.5, and Smyslov and László Szabó
László Szabó (chess player)
László Szabó was a prominent Hungarian Grandmaster of chess.Born in Budapest, he burst onto the international chess scene in 1935, at the unusually young age of 18...
8.5.
In round 14, Euwe beat Ossip Bernstein
Ossip Bernstein
Ossip Samoilovich Bernstein was a Russian chess grandmaster and a financial lawyer.-Biography:...
, who at age 65 was the oldest player in the tournament.
Botvinnik lost to his countryman Alexander Kotov
Alexander Kotov
Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov was a Soviet chess grandmaster and author. He was a Soviet champion, a two-time world title Candidate, and a prolific chess author. Kotov served in high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation and most of his books were written during the period of Cold War between the...
, creating a first place tie with Euwe.
Years later Kotov reported that he received considerable criticism for beating Botvinnik at a critical point in a major tournament.
(Botvinnik was favored at the time by the Soviet chess establishment as a challenger for the world chess championship.)
Kotov would make up for his imprudence in the final round.
In round 15 Euwe pulled ahead by a game by defeating Milan Vidmar
Milan Vidmar
Milan Vidmar was a Slovene electrical engineer, chess player, chess theorist, philosopher, and writer. He was a specialist in power transformers and transmission of electric current.- Biography :...
, while Botvinnik lost a second consecutive game, this time to Daniel Yanofsky
Daniel Yanofsky
Daniel Abraham Yanofsky, OC, QC was Canada's first chess grandmaster, an eight-time Canadian Chess Champion, a chess writer, a chess arbiter, and a lawyer.-Life in chess:...
.
With four rounds remaining, the scores stood Euwe 12.5, Botvinnik 11.5, Smyslov 10.5, and Szabó 9.5.
Euwe's one point lead was not safe as he drew his next three games (Gösta Stoltz
Gösta Stoltz
-Biography:Stoltz played a few matches with strong chess masters. In 1926, he lost to Mikhail Botvinnik at a team match Stockholm – Leningrad in Stockholm. In 1927, he drew with Allan Nilsson in Göteborg . In 1930, he won against Isaac Kashdan in Stockholm. In 1930, he lost to Rudolf Spielmann ...
, Flohr, and Savielly Tartakower
Savielly Tartakower
Ksawery Tartakower was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. He was also a leading chess journalist of the 1920s and 30s...
) while Botvinnik won three (Čeněk Kottnauer
Cenek Kottnauer
Čeněk Kottnauer was a Czech British chess master.At the beginning of his career, he tied for 11-12th at Prague 1933 , and took 7th at Prague 1939 .During World War II, he took 6th at Prague 1942 , tied for 7-8th...
, Martin Christoffel, and Carlos Guimard
Carlos Guimard
Carlos Enrique Guimard was an Argentine chess Grandmaster. He was born in Santiago del Estero.-Biography:Guimard was thrice Argentine Champion. In 1936, he won the ARG-ch 15 Mayor, and in 1937 a match for the title against Roberto Grau . In 1937/38, he won a match against Luis Piazzini...
) to pull ahead by half a point.
In the final round, both Botvinnik and Euwe were playing black and both had strong opponents.
The positions of the leaders did not change as both Botvinnik and Euwe lost.
Botvinnik was outplayed by Miguel Najdorf
Miguel Najdorf
Miguel Najdorf was a Polish-born Argentine chess grandmaster of Jewish origin, famous for his Najdorf Variation....
, but Euwe blundered to lose in an even position against Kotov to leave Botvinnik with first place.
Crosstable
| Player | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | * | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14½ | 1 | |
| 02 | ½ | * | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 2 | |
| 03 | 0 | 1 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12½ | 3 | |
| 04 | 1 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11½ | 4–5 | |
| 05 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11½ | 4–5 | |
| 06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 6–7 | |
| 07 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 11 | 6–7 | |
| 08 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10½ | 8–9 | |
| 09 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 10½ | 8–9 | |
| 10 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | * | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 9½ | 10 | |
| 11 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | * | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9½ | 10 | |
| 12 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 9½ | 10 | |
| 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | * | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 14 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 8½ | ||
| 15 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 16 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 7 | ||
| 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | 0 | 6½ | ||
| 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | 6 | ||
| 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | 5½ | ||
| 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | * | 5 |