1956/57 Hastings Premier, 27 December 1956 - 5 January 1957, Sun Lounge

1956/57 Hastings Premier		Nat'y	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Svetozar Gligoric	YUG	&;	½	1	1	½	½	½	1	1	½	6½
2	Bent Larsen	DEN	½	&;	0	½	½	1	1	1	1	1	6½
3	Fridrik Olafsson	ISL	0	1	&;	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	6
4	Alberic O'Kelly de Galway	BEL	0	½	½	&;	1	½	1	1	½	1	6
5	Peter Hugh Clarke	ENG	½	½	½	0	&;	½	1	½	½	½	4½
6	Laszlo Szabo	HUN	½	0	½	½	½	&;	½	½	½	1	4½
7	Román Torán Albero	ESP	½	0	½	0	0	½	&;	1	½	½	3½
8	Derek Geoffrey Horseman	ENG	0	0	0	0	½	½	0	&;	1	1	3
9	Jonathan Penrose	ENG	0	0	0	½	½	½	½	0	&;	½	2½
10	C Hugh O'D Alexander	ENG	½	0	0	0	½	0	½	0	½	&;	2

CHESS, Vol.22, No.284-5, January 1957, ppn 101-102

The Thirty-second Hastings congress is over but not readily forgotten. There are many reasons for this.

On November 20 the congress committee (president the Mayor of Hastings, chairman Mr. Percy Morren) postponed the congress because of the international situation. Originally two Soviet grandmasters were invited. Now the behaviour and friendliness of all our Soviet chess guests have been impeccable. No British chessplayer would associate them personally with the current events in Hungary. The Hastings committee I feel sure did not want to expose Soviet chess players to hostile demonstrations. The committee also did not want to cancel only the Soviet invitations. They wanted the door kept open for future participation of Soviet grandmasters. A dilemma. This explains the reasoning behind the unprecedented postponement.

The postponement left a vacuum in the lives of a lot of intending competitors. They rightly objected. If Hastings could be held at the beginning of 1940 the international situation of 1956 was no excuse.

Hastings is a tradition. Let there be a break in this tradition and our beloved chess congress might have difficulty in being reestablished.

Shoals of protests descended on the Hastings Chess Club, the Mayor Mr. Morren and Frank Rhoden the congress organiser. A week after the postponement the congress was reinstated for December 27 till January 5.

On November 20, after having previously accepted the invitation, the U.S.S.R. chess section wrote informing the congress committee that they could not send players this year due to Hastings dates clashing with Soviet events. (U.S.S.R. championship semifinals finished about December 16 and the final is due to start early in the new year.)

Another international ripple had its centre in Prague. Filip of Czechoslovakia was originally invited. No answer was ever received. The Czech embassy when approached by the Congress committee to ascertain the position wrote back after an interval that they could not raise a reply. Subsequently the Czechs have complained that Filip has been cold-shouldered by Hastings inviting Toran to replace him. I hope that Filip can play in a subsequent premier.

Despite these mishaps the premier was one of the strongest ever —not quite as strong as when Smyslov and Keres tied for first place two years ago—while the premier reserves major section was certainly the strongest that I have seen.

When Bent Larsen beat Fridrik Olafsson in a match last year playing-off for the Scandinavian championship I must confess that I thought it was a fluke. Larsen’s performance at the Moscow chess olympiad changed my tune. What impressed me most of all was his desire to play in every possible match and to beat everybody! This fearless 21-year-old was a definite acquisition for the Hastings organisers. He set a definite tone of fighting chess that imbued everybody. Look at all his games.

The most polished chess came from Gligoric who continued playing in the form that brought him a share of third prize in the Alakhine memorial tourney. O’Kelly swung into the lead early with some excellently played games but like Olafsson lapsed from the highest standards as the tourney wore on.

One must not be surprised to find British players at the bottom of the table. They have to play against the number one players of leading chess countries. We are not doing badly if one of our four is amongst them at the end. With some of the new drive in British chess we can soon be hoping for more than one amongst the leaders.

Peter Clarke has made a definite step forward. He certainly should be considered for a place in one of the world championship zonal tourneys and in my opinion ahead of Golombek or Alexander as he can still develop as a player. He is becoming a much fiercer player and with time will not draw so many games as the punch comes into his chess.

Penrose made an atrocious start whereas he really needs to start well (like Kuts the runner). The one bright spot about his participation was the way he pulled his socks up and despite bad form drew his last four games.

Szabo, who has not returned home to Budapest since the Alekhine memorial tourney played without any sign of his usual fire, and without the determination that he showed in the Candidates’ Tournament in Amsterdam. A series of simultaneous exhibitions in Yugoslavia is not the best of preparation for an international tournament.

Derek Horseman of Coventry did better than most people predicted. There is no beg pardons about his chess. If he had handled his clock better his result would have been as impressive as Clarke’s. This clock handling could have been improved if he had played more against leading British players during the year. (Leading British players do not play nearly enough tensed chess amongst themselves during a year.)

Hugh Alexander can, I suppose, be forgiven one bad result. Certainly I’m in no position to take him to task. Toran also did not show particularly good form.

I want to take Hastings to task for one thing. A late applicant for a place in the premier was the 13-year-old American, Bobby Fischer. If there had been a place he would have been most welcome. Hastings thrives on publicity and there is no doubt of Fischer’s publicity value. However when we knew that he was available there was no vacancy. The congress organiser asked Clarke to stand down assuring him of a “gold-plated” invite for next years’ premier. It is to the national advantage that players like Clarke, Penrose, Horseman, Haygarth play against first-class opposition while they are very young and can adapt themselves to different ways of thinking and while they can readily expand the range and amount of thought. Such players should be the last to suffer. The same applies to G. J. Martin who had to stand down in the Premier Reserves Major. Again national interests counts nothing. Martin probably as British Universities’ captain will be a member of our students’ team to play in the students’ world team championship next summer in Reykjavik (Iceland). Fortunately Clarke refused. Martin did not have the option; the practice would have been invaluable.

The Lord’s Day Observance Society gave the congress some unwanted publicity. For the first time a full round of the two top tourneys was played on the Sunday. This was to enable spectators from London on their off day an opportunity to visit Hastings to see the play. Naturally the society protested. If cricket or polo or professional concerts can take place on Sundays why not chess? My feeling is that Sunday play should remain. Naturally nobody will be forced to play.

Other innovations were afternoon play and five hour sessions for the premier and premier reserves major. Afternoon play enables visitors from London to follow a whole round. A further stage towards making chess a spectator sport was reached by providing handy demonstration boards showing the master games move by move. (Local boys put in some smart work keeping these boards up to the minute—and demonstration clocks as well-Ed.). R.G.W[ade].

1956/57 Hastings Premier Reserves Major

1956/57 Hastings Premier Reserves Major		Draw No.	Nat'y	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Gyula Kluger	1	Hungary	&;	1	1	1	½	1	½	½	½	1	7
2	Milos Vasilijevic	8	Yugoslavia	0	&;	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	½	6½
3	Arnold Yorwarth Green	10	England	0	1	&;	½	1	0	0	1	1	1	5½
4	Zandor Nilsson	3	Sweden	0	0	½	&;	1	½	1	1	1	½	5½
5	Dr. Stefan Fazekas	6	England	½	0	0	0	&;	½	1	1	0	1	4
6	Dennis Morton Horne	7	England	0	0	1	½	½	&;	0	0	1	1	4
7	Ferenc Koberl	2	Hungary	½	0	1	0	0	1	&;	½	0	1	4
8	Henri Catozzi	5	France	½	0	0	0	0	1	½	&;	1	½	3½
9	Joaquim Durão	4	Portugal	½	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	&;	½	3
10	Dr. Reinhard Cherubim	9	W. Germany	0	½	0	½	0	0	0	½	½	&;	2

"Kluger deserved to win this tournament for sheer persistance. His uncle Dr. Fazekas organised an invitation. How he was to get out of Hungary was Kluger’s problem. He said that it involved ten days tramping each day about twenty miles between various offices in Budapest to obtain the various permissions, to depart from Hungary leaving behind his wife and four children. The journey between the frontier railway stations of Hungary and Austria was made on foot. Kluger was a member of the Hungarian chess team at Amsterdam in 1954.

"Vasiljevic tore away into the lead with five straight wins. In the sixth round he was brought up short by Green who after an indifferent start put in a powerful finishing burst. Green seems to fare well in these events judging by both this tourney and the event won two years ago by another Hungarian, Bilek." (CHESS, Vol.22, No.284-5, January 1957, p128)

1956/57 Hastings Premier Reserves A

1956/57 Hastings Premier Reserves A		Draw No.	Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Michael Davis	6	Bexhill	&;	1	½	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	8
2	Norman George Hammond	8	London W5	0	&;	1	0	1	0	1	1	1	1	6
3	Hermann Heemsoth	1	W. Germany	½	0	&;	½	½	1	1	½	1	1	6
4	John E Littlewood	10	Sheffield	0	1	½	&;	0	0	1	1	1	1	5½
5	Bertil Sundberg	7	Sweden	0	0	½	1	&;	1	1	1	0	1	5½
6	Herbert Raffay	3	Austria	½	1	0	1	0	&;	0	0	½	½	3½
7	Alfred Dempster Whyte	4	Hastings	0	0	0	0	0	1	&;	½	1	1	3½
8	W Preckwinkel	5	W.Germany	0	0	½	0	0	1	½	&;	0	½	2½
9	Elaine Pritchard	9	RAF Wyton	0	0	0	0	1	½	0	1	&;	0	2½
10	Jean Duthilleul	2	France	0	0	0	0	0	½	0	½	1	&;	2

1956/57 Hastings Premier Reserves B

1956/57 Hastings Premier Reserves B		Nat'y	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Percy Baldwin Cook	Highgate	&;	1	0	½	1	1	½	1	1	1	7
2	Norman Littlewood	Sheffield	0	&;	0	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	6½
3	Harry Gethin Thorp Matchett	Birmingham	1	1	&;	½	½	½	1	1	0	1	6½
4	Walter James E Yeeles	Gosport	½	0	½	&;	1	½	1	0	1	1	5½
5	David Edward Lloyd	London W2	0	½	½	0	&;	½	1	1	1	½	5
6	Joseph Maurice Soesan	Ilford	0	0	½	½	½	&;	1	0	1	1	4½
7	Erik B Jensen	Denmark	½	0	0	0	0	0	&;	1	½	1	3
8	Albert Victor Lightfoot	Hastings	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	&;	1	0	3
9	Alfred Eva	Wilmslow	0	0	1	0	0	0	½	0	&;	1	2½
10	Charles Ambrose Scott Damant	Hastings	0	0	0	0	½	0	0	1	0	&;	1½

Premier Reserves C: (1) Norman Henry Stewart Lavers (St. Albans) 6½/9; (2) Robert Hans Pinner (Kew) 6; (3-4) Alan Edgar Nield (Sydney), Lawrence Alfred J Glyde (Barkingside) 5½; (5-6) A Philip Primett (Haywards Heath), Bernard Landon Wilkinson (Chorley) 4½; (7) Brian Medhurst (Cambridge) 4; (8) H. C. Lewis (Purley) 3½; (9) J. L. Warren (Warwick) 3; (10) Harold Horace Watts (Southport) 2½.

Premier Reserves D: (1) Rune Strand (Sweden) 9/10; (2) Olle Sjostrom (Sweden) 7½; (3) Otto H Hardy (Batley) 7; (4-5) (Derek) George Ellison (Bolton), Michael Edward Ventham (Farnborough) 5½; (6) Herbert Francis Gook (Croydon) 5; (7) Leslie Edward Vine (Eastleigh) 4½; (8-9) Percival Arthur Cooke (Mitcham), Reginald John Manfield (Chelmsford) 3½; (10) G. Post (W. Germany) 3; (11) Ernest George Exell (Chesham) ½.

Premier Reserves E: (1) Dr. S. J. Webb (New Zealand) 7/9; (2-3) David J Casiot (Sevenoaks), T Ranta (Sweden) 6½; (4) C. R. Orchard (Knebworth) 5½; (5) Philip B Sarson (London) 5; (6-7) Ralph Hollinghurst (Barnet), G. Tanfield (Tottenham) 4½; (8) Robert A J Riddle (Hastings) 3½; (9) Albert Stanley la Lond (West Drayton) 2; (10) (Edward) Douglas Fawcett (London) 1.

Premier Reserves Afternoon: (1-3) Adrian Picton Rossiter Lewis (St. Leonards), J Moutrie (Enfield), Willington Lucette Wakefield (Bexhill) 6/9; (4-5) Rev. Henry Middleton Blackett (Hastings), Patrick Humphrey Sullivan (Dartford) 5; (6) Ronald Ernest Rushbrook (Sydenham) 4½; (7) George Arthur Peck (Rugby) 4; (8-9) J. Hatherley (London), J. B. Webb (London) 3½; (10) M. J. Lavender (London) 1½.

Major A: (1) Heinrich Jühe (Germany) 7/8; (2) Ronald H W Polley (Buckhurst Hill) 6; (3) N W Wills (Cambridge) 5; (4-5) A. K. Henderson (Canterbury), B. R. Unsworth (Dundonald) 4½; (6) P Merrett (East Grinstead) 4; (7) A. C. Pearson (Canterbury) 3; (8) E. A. Kann (Bath) 2½; (9) H. B. Howard (Bromley) 1½.

Major B: (1) A. E. Harris (Hastings) 6½/9; (2) Harold Edgar Druce (Richmond) 6; (3-4) Miss (Jean) Lesley (Mary) Fletcher (Kew), R. C. Winter (St. Leonards) 5½; (5) Edmond Julien T Leyns (Gt. Hallingbury) 5; (6) E. Chambers (St. Albans) 4½; (7) William Edward Busbridge (Sevenoaks) 4; (8) William John Clare Hart Burges (Blockley) 3½; (9) Lewis James Worsell (Whitstable) 2½; (10) Anthony W Driver (Hastings) 2.

Major Afternoon: (1) E. C. Baker (London) 8/9; (2) Philip J D Gething (Hailsham) 7; (3) E. Fairbrother (Ashford) 6; (4) Mrs. C. Lewis (Hastings) 5½; (5) Mrs. Millicent Louise Battrum [née White] (St. Leonards) 5; (6) Colin Sidney Collen-Smith (Pulborough) 4; (7) P. Smith (Battle) 3½; (8) G. J. Boyden (Rugby) 3; (9) Miss E. Whyte (London) 2; (10) Miss Elsie Grace Coulson (Folkestone) 1.

Minor A: (1) B. Milner (Sutton Coldfield) 7½/9; (2-3) R. L. Baker (Bakewell), Arthur G T Stevens (Liverpool) 6½; (4) E. F. la Croix (Edinburgh) 6; (5) Herbert William S Nichols (East Sheen) 5½; (6) J. A. Hyde (Hounslow) 4½; (7) David R R Ellis (Manchester) 3½; (8-9) J. E. Doran (Hastings), Terence Ian Maylam (Hastings) 2; (10) Albert Edward Oram, M.P. 1.

Minor B: (1-2) Leslie Valentine Robert Elgy (East Sheen), John D B Hyde (Hastings) 8/9; (3) Cecil Berry (Cambridge) 6; (4) J. H. W. Brown (Farnborough) 5½; (5) A. King (Bexhill) 5; (6) Mrs. Gladys May Green [née Ward - wife of Arnold Yorwarth Green] (London) 3½; (7) Mrs. Laura Ethel Amelia Start (Finchley) 3; (8-9) A. R. Palmer (Hove), R. V. Ball (Hastings Grammar School) 2½; 10. P. Clandfield (Hastings) 1.

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Berger Pairings used for 10 player all-play-alls, Hastings 1956/57

Pairings	1	2	3	4	5
Rd 1	1 v 10	2 v 9	3 v 8	4 v 7	5 v 6
Rd 2	1 v 2	9 v 3	8 v 4	7 v 5	10 v 6
Rd 3	3 v 1	5 v 8	6 v 7	2 v 10	4 v 9
Rd 4	1 v 4	2 v 3	10 v 7	8 v 6	9 v 5
Rd 5	5 v 1	4 v 2	3 v 10	7 v 8	6 v 9
Rd 6	1 v 6	2 v 5	3 v 4	10 v 8	9 v 7
Rd 7	7 v 1	6 v 2	5 v 3	4 v 10	8 v 9
Rd 8	1 v 8	2 v 7	3 v 6	4 v 5	10 v 9
Rd 9	9 v 1	8 v 2	7 v 3	6 v 4	5 v 10

 

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File Updated

Date	Notes
(some years ago)	Games previously uploaded as part of a collection of Hastings games
6 January 2023	45 Premier games plus 10+1 games and part-games from lower sections. Also, crosstables and results. My thanks to Brian Denman for contributing game scores from lower sections.
7 January 2023	Correction made to Gligoric-Penrose (rd 3 - 30...Kg7 was played, not 30...Ke7). And some additional text added to Gligoric-Clarke (rd 5). My thanks to Andy Ansel.
7 January 2023	Added one game (M.Vasilijevic 1-0 J.Durao) and one part-game (J.Durao 0-1 H.Catozzi) from the Premier Reserves Major, contributed by Gerald Hartmann, for which many thanks. Sub-total of games from lower sections now 11 games and 2 part-games.
10 January 2023	Added 6 games and 5 games from lower sections, making a running total of 17+7 games/part-games from those sections. Many thanks to Ulrich Tamm for all these additions. Of the 11 additions, 8 were from Premier Reserves Major and 3 from Premier Reserves A.
9 September 2023	Added one game from the Premier Reserves Major – Z.Nilsson 1-0 J.Durao (rd 6). My thanks to Ulrich Tamm for contributing the game – plus all nine games played by John Littlewood in the Premier Reserves A section.
13 September 2023	Thanks to Gerald Hartmann, who worked out the draw numbers for the Premier Reserves Major section, it has been possible to complete the process of adding round numbers and dates to the games from this section. Thanks, Gerald.