Dr. Lajos Asztalos was born in the city of Pecs, an ancient city in southern Hungary, in 1889. After the First World War he moved to what later became Yugoslavia and represented them in international tournaments. After the Second World War he returned to Hungary and became Vice-President of the Hungarian Chess Federation.
A professor of philosophy and a language teacher, he was never a professional player. In 1950 he was among the first group of players awarded the International Master title. Chessmetrics assigns him a high rating of 2656 on the July, 1913 rating list which ranks him as #14 in world. He died in Budapest in November of 1956, during the Hungarian revolt.
One of the more exciting games of the 1966 Asztalos memorial was the encounter between Lubomir Kavalek, who at that time was representing Czechoslovakia. He fled the country in 1968 and eventually made his way to the U.S. by way of West Germany and Holland.
The game featured one of Bronstein's favorite defenses, the 5…gxf6 variation of the Caro-Kann. In his introduction to the game Bronstein wrote that he started the tournament poorly with a 1-2 score, but then went on to score 10.5-1.5 in his remaining games.
[Event "Asztalos Memorial, Szombathely HUN"]
[Site "Szombathely HUN"]
[Date "1966.07.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lubomir Kavalek"]
[Black "David Bronstein"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B16"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 14.1"]
[PlyCount "136"]
[EventDate "1966.07.04"]
{Caro-Kann: Bronstein-Larsen Variation} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4
Nf6 5. Nxf6+ gxf6 {This move is generally considered somewhat unsound. Black
voluntarily accepts an inferior P-structure and is practically forced to
castle Q-side, but in return he gets a dynamic position with the semi-open
g-file for his R and much more active play than he usually gets in the
Caro-Kann.} 6. Be2 Bf5 7. Nf3 (7. Bf3 e6 8. Ne2 h5 9. c3 h4 10. g4 hxg3 11.
Nxg3 {Black has an active position. Kasimdzhanov,R (2595)-Franke,J (2270)/
German Chp 1999}) 7... Nd7 (7... Bg7 {This turned out badly for black in
Larsen,E-Wasenius,T/Helsingor 2009} 8. Be3 e5 9. Qd2 e4 10. Nh4 Be6 11. g3 f5
12. Ng2 Na6 13. Bxa6 bxa6 14. Nf4 Bc8 15. Nh5 Rg8 16. O-O-O {Black paid the
ultimate price for having his K stuck in the center.}) 8. O-O (8. c4 Qc7 9. O-O
O-O-O 10. Qa4 Kb8 11. Be3 e6 12. b4 h5 13. c5 {White has a promising position.
Lalic,S (2195)-Taniskidou,D/Dubai 1986}) 8... e6 9. c4 Bg6 10. d5 {Bronstein
was not happy to see this move because 22 years earlier he had lost a game
against Sokolsky in the 1944 USSR Championship.} e5 {Multiple exchanges on d5
would have proved fatal.} (10... exd5 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Qxd5 Be7 13. Bh6 Qb6
14. Rac1 {Strategically black is lost.}) 11. Nd2 Qc7 12. Nb3 Bd6 13. Bh6 {
This prevents the h-Pawn from moving; its advance is an important part of
black's planned K-side operations.} c5 14. h4 f5 15. f4 (15. h5 {Winning the B
would lose the game because after} O-O-O 16. hxg6 hxg6 {The open h-file and
black's mass of K-side Ps will prove to me more than white can handle.} 17. Bd2
e4 18. Re1 Bh2+ 19. Kf1 Bf4 {The threat is 20...Rh1Mate and white has no
satisfactory defense.}) 15... e4 16. h5 f6 17. g3 O-O-O 18. Rf2 Be8 {White's
is B may be stuck at h6, but black's position is cramped and white can claim a
slight advantage, but no more than that.} 19. Bf1 {This passive defense causes
white immediate difficulties.} (19. Rg2 {This renders black's occupation of
the g-file less effective.} Rg8 20. a4 {and black can't play ...Rg4 so he must
come up with another plan.}) 19... Rg8 20. Kh2 Rg4 21. Be2 Bxh5 22. Kh1 Nb6 {
Here Bronstein wrote that he broke his own rule of not making a move, even an
obvious one, without checking and as a result he was immediately punished. He
added that fortunately his mistake added to interest to the game. He stated
that the correct move was 22...Rdg8.} (22... Rdg8 23. Rh2 Rxg3 24. Bxh5 Bxf4
25. d6 Bxd6 26. Qd5 Kb8 {with a dangerous attack.}) 23. Rh2 Qf7 (23... Rxg3 {
still works. After} 24. Rxh5 Kb8 {white is better off than in the previous
variation and the chances are about even.} 25. Qf1 Rdg8 26. Rh4 {and it's
difficult to see how black can make any progress.}) 24. Qf1 Nd7 {Bronstein
said he thought for a very long time over this move. It renounces any threat
of ...Nxc4, but the variations associated with 24...Qg6 were unconvincing. The
aim of the move 24...Nd7 is seen in the variation beginning with 25.Qh3.
Bronstein's idea in playing 24...Nd7 was to reposition the N with ...Nd7-f6-g4
or ...Nd7-f6 and ...Bg6-h5-f3+} (24... Qg6 25. Qh3 Rxg3 26. Qxh5 Rg8 27. Qxg6
R8xg6 {and black's attack on the K-side is over and the chances in this
position are equal.}) 25. Qh3 Bg6 26. Nd2 {Kavalek waits, hoping to capture
the R under more ideal conditions.} (26. Bxg4 fxg4 27. Qxg4 f5 28. Qh3 Nb6 29.
Bg5 Re8 30. Qf1 {and white is slightly better.}) 26... Re8 27. Nf1 e3 {At this
point Bronstein had only 8 minutes to make the time control while Kavalek had
30.} 28. Re1 Qg8 29. Bf3 {White has reorganized his pieces and is prepared to
capture the e-Pawn and the R on g4.} Bf7 {This indirectly defends the P on e3
because of the threat of ...Rxg3, Black in some cases intends to withdraw the
R to g6.} 30. Bxg4 {Not really bad, but not quite as good as capturing om e3.
After the text Kavalek believed he would be facing only the technical problem
of realizing his material advantage (R vs B+P).} (30. Rxe3 {This would have
allowed white to keep the advantage.} Rxe3 31. Nxe3 Rxg3 32. Qf1 {White has a
solid position and black's attack is at a standstill.}) 30... fxg4 31. Qg2 Nb6
{Threatening 32...Nxd5 so white removes his Q from the dangerous diagonal, but
he need not have feared this line.} 32. Qc2 {After this black equalizes...at
the least!} (32. b3 Nxd5 33. Qb2 (33. cxd5 Bxd5) 33... Ne7 34. Qxf6 {and white
is well off.}) 32... Nxc4 {Kavalek had overlooked this, but the c-Pawn would
have been lost in any case. Now it's a whole new game with black having a
slight advantage.} 33. Kg1 Bxd5 34. b3 Nb6 {The maneuver ...Na5-c6-d4 did not
promise anything since black's Bs could have been exposed to attack. Now back
devotes his attention to the defense of the d5-square. (Bronstein)} 35. Rxe3 {
Missing his chance to keep things equal.} (35. Qf5+ Nd7 36. Rxe3 Be6 37. Qd3
Bc7 38. f5) 35... Kc7 {A slip. Both players were probably feeling the effects
of the clock.} (35... c4 {A strong shot. After} 36. Qf5+ Kb8 37. Qxf6 Bc5 38.
f5 {An extremely complicated position has been reached, but it favors black.
In Shootouts black scored five wins.} Bc6 39. Qc3 Re4 40. Qd2 a6 41. Qf2 c3 42.
f6 Qd5 43. f7 Nd7 44. a4 a5 45. Qc2 Qxf7 46. Qxc3 b6 47. Bf4+ Kb7 48. Qd3 h5
49. Rc2 Rd4 50. Qe2 Qd5 51. Qg2 Rd1 52. Qxd5 Bxe3+ {wins}) 36. Rd2 Kc6 (36...
Bf3 {keeps things equal...} 37. Qf5 c4 38. Rxd6 Kxd6 39. Qxf6+ Kd7 40. Qd4+ Kc8
) 37. Qf5 c4 38. bxc4 Bxc4 39. Qxf6 {After this white is lost...he needed to
eliminate the dark squared B.} (39. Rxd6+ Kxd6 40. Qxf6+ Kc5 41. Rxe8 Qxe8 42.
Bf8+ Kb5 43. Qb2+ Ka6 44. Qa3+ Qa4 {and black is better, but white is still in
the game.}) 39... Nd5 {Kavalek missed this fork...time pressure?!} 40. Rxd5
Kxd5 {The game was adjourned again here. Kavalek had considered 40...Kxd5 to
have been completely wrong and while he was considering his sealed move
Bronstein was studying the position on the demonstration board. After half an
hour Kavalek, seeing that Bronstein was still hanging around offered a draw
which was declined. When he played 40...Kxd5 Bronstein believed white has no
mating attack and he was threatening 41...Bc5. During the half hour he studied
the position Bronstein worked out that the best defense for white was 41.Re5+
Bxe5 42.fxe5, after which white's dark-squared B returns to the game with
great force. Finally, after 44 minutes Kavalek sealed his move and it was the
expected one.} (40... Qxd5 41. Rxe8 Bxf1 42. Rc8+ Kb6 43. Qb2+ Ka6 44. Bf8 Bxf8
45. Rxf8 {leaves white slightly better.}) 41. Re5+ {Even though it turns out
that this was not the best move, white is lost anyway; 6.5 Ps according to
Stockfish; half that according to Komodo 14.} (41. Qb2 {was better.} Kc6 42.
Bg7 Bxf1 43. Rxe8 Qxe8 44. Kxf1 {and the ending is better for black, but it's
still a fight.}) 41... Bxe5 42. Ne3+ {Bronstein explain that he had resumed
this game without having a clear path to victory and had to improvise at the
board. And, as a result, he was in time trouble again, but so was Kavalek who
had only 16 minutes remaining.} Kc5 {A move played after long thgought, but it
was the only correct move as other K moves would have allowed white to at
least equalize.} 43. fxe5 Qe6 {Bronstein correctly admitted 43...Qg6 looked
better, buthe was not certain that the black K could find shelter, but could
have.} (43... Qg6 44. Nxc4 Kxc4 45. Qf1+ Kd4 {and the K is quite safe on d4!})
44. Qf4 b5 45. Bf8+ Kb6 46. Bd6 Ka6 {White's B has arrived at a formidable
position and black must first tend to the safety of his K. And, considering
his time trouble Bronstein decided to place his pieces on the white squares.}
47. Nc2 Qg6 48. Qd2 Qe4 49. Bc5 Qxe5 {There threatened 50.Nb4+ White has given
up a P in order to increase the mobility of his B and at the same time
reinforce the defense of his K.} 50. Bf2 Rc8 51. a4 Kb7 52. Qa5 Ra8 53. Nd4 Qc7
54. Qe1 Qd7 55. axb5 Re8 56. Qa1 Ka8 {After a few less than precise moves time
trouble is over and the black K is no longer in danger. With an active R, a
material advantage and his complete mastery of the white squares, black can
expect to win.} 57. Nc6 {Kavalek does not want to go on the defensive and
continues attacking, but he has overlooked black's 58th move.} (57. Qa4 Bd3 58.
Nc6 Be2 59. Nd4 Re4 {would not be pleasant for white.}) 57... Bxb5 58. Nxa7 Ba4
{Now the N proves to be misplaced and the game is over.} 59. Qc3 Qd1+ 60. Kh2
Rf8 61. Qc5 Qf3 62. Bg1 Qe2+ 63. Kh1 Qe4+ 64. Kh2 Qc2+ 65. Qxc2 Bxc2 66. Nb5
Be4 67. Nc3 Bc6 68. Ne2 Rf1 {Kavalek resigned.} 0-1
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