1954 Prague / Marianske Lazne Zonal

 

    You probably would not want to have been living in Prague in 1954. It was at the peak of Stalinist repression and a highly controlled, nightmarish atmosphere following the Communist takeover in 1948. The early 1950s saw the largest show trials in Eastern Europe. Notable among these was the Slansky trial, which ended just prior in late 1952, but its atmosphere of fear and purges against class enemies, Catholics, and Jews continued through 1954. 

    The city’s cultural life was strictly dictated by the state, with art and media required to follow Socialist Realist guidelines. People faced scarcity and poor living conditions and there was deep resentment that the regime had to keep suppressed.

    That was the backdrop for the 1954 Zonal tournament, but the participants were probably unaware of what was really happening because upon arrival the participants were accommodated in the comfortable and quiet Palace Hotel where the Czech Music Week and the Glass Industry Exhibition were going on. 

    The tournament hall was the beautifully decorated located within about 15 minutes walking distance from the hotel. About mid-tournament the event moved to a newly renovated large auditorium in a beautiful hotel in Marianske Lazne. As expected, the event turned out to be a race between Laszlo Szabo and Ludek Pachman. 

 

    The winner of this game was Guomundur Palmason (1928-2004) of Iceland. Beyond that little is known about him. Chess metrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2530 in 1959. Likewise, his Egyptian opponent, Saad Zaglul Basjuni (1920-????) is unknown except that he was part of the generation that represented Egypt on the international scene following the Egyptian Revolution in 1952. Chess metrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2475 in 1951. 

 

[Event "Prague/Marianske Lazne Zonal"] [Site ""] [Date "1954.05.30"] [Round "?"] [White "Gudmundur Palmason"] [Black "Sad Zaglul Basjuni"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D13"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "1954.05.29"] {D13: Slav Defense} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bf4 e6 7. e3 Bb4 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Nh5 10. Rc1 (10. Bg5 Be7 {is usual.} 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Rc1 f5 13. Bb5 {White is better. Claus,J-Kienel,N Dresden 2001}) 10... Nxf4 11. exf4 g6 12. g3 Be7 13. Qd2 Bd7 14. Bb1 Na5 15. Rfe1 Nc4 16. Qe2 Bf6 17. b3 Na5 18. Ne5 Nc6 19. Qe3 Kg7 20. Na4 Be8 {Up to here the game has been uninteresting, but after this rather poor move things get interesting.} (20... Nxe5 {remains equal.} 21. fxe5 Be7 22. Nc5 b6 {Now white has no reason to exchange his N for black's bad B.} 23. Nd3 {equals.}) 21. Nc5 Na5 {Pointless; the N is stuck here for the rest of the game.} (21... b6 {Unlike previously this is tactically faulty.} 22. Nxe6+ fxe6 23. Nxc6 Qd6 24. Ne5 {White has won a P and has a distinct positiona; advantage.}) 22. Bd3 b6 {Because his N is covering c6 white cannot capture on e6.} 23. Na6 {Unlike black's N on the a-file white's N is actually accomplishing something; it eyes c7.} Be7 24. h4 Ba3 25. Rc2 {Excellent!} (25. Rc7 {is less good because it allows black to return his B with a gain of time.} Bd6 26. Rc2 Rc8 27. Rxc8 Qxc8 28. Rc1 { White is only slightly better.}) 25... Rc8 {Wild play starts! White to play and win.} 26. Rxc8 {Not bad, but 26.b4 was a winning tactical shot.} (26. b4 { Exposing the B on a3 to a discovered attack.} Nc4 27. Bxc4 dxc4 28. Qxa3 { White has won a piece.}) 26... Qxc8 27. h5 gxh5 {This only plays into white's hands, Black shouls play 27...f6 driving back the well placed N.} 28. f5 { The advance of the f-Pawn was discussed in the post of Februry 26th.} f6 29. Nf3 exf5 30. Nh4 Bg6 31. Qf4 Rf7 32. Nxf5+ {After this poor mover all of ehite's advantage has disappeared.} (32. b4 Nc4 33. Re2 Bb2 34. a4 Bxd4 35. Qxd4 Qxa6 36. Qxd5 b5 37. Nxf5+ Bxf5 38. Qxf5 Kf8 39. Qxh5 {is winning for white.}) 32... Bxf5 33. Bxf5 Qxa6 34. Qh4 Qb7 35. Qxh5 {Now begins a series of move where there is only one move that avoids loss.} Kh8 36. Bxh7 {[%mdl 640] This sacrifice does not win. In fact, the position remains dead equal, but not all equal positions are the same. In this one both sides are walking a tightrope.} Rxh7 37. Re8+ {In this position white only has one move that doesn't lose and this is it. Now we have a curious situation where it's black that only has one move that doesn't lose,} Bf8 {[%mdl 8192] And this certainly is not it! It's quite possible that black's flag was hanging otherwise this move is hard to explain.} (37... Kg7 {Guess what? Again, white only has one move that does not lose,} 38. Qg4+ {This one.} Kh6 {and white has to take the draw by repitition.}) 38. Rxf8+ Kg7 39. Qe8 {Black resigned.} (39. Qe8 Rh8 40. Rxh8 Qf7 41. Rh7+) 1-0