16th Ilford Premier, 4-7 June 1965

1965 Ilford Premier (16th)		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	Total
1	William R Hartston	Enfield	&;	½	1	0	1	1	3½
2	Dr. Stefan Fazekas	Buckhurst Hill	½	&;	½	½	1	1	3½
3	Norman Littlewood	Sheffield	0	½	&;	1	1	1	3½
4	Robert G Wade	Ilford	1	½	0	&;	0	1	2½
5	John E Littlewood	Skegness	0	0	0	1	&;	½	1½
6	Michael J Franklin	Norbury	0	0	0	0	½	&;	½

BCM, July 1965, ppn 190-193

The Ilford Whitsun Congress

By P. H. CLARKE

The sixteenth Ilford Congress, held over the Whitsun holidays from Friday, June 4th, to Monday, June 7th, successfully lived up to the good name which this event has won for itself over the years. The record entry of 170, established by the great 1964 congress, was not challenged, but the general trend of expansion was nevertheless maintained. As for the Premier Tournament, it provided as wide a range of styles and experience as any onlooker could wish for. The two masters with the best records at Ilford, Penrose and Kottnauer, were regrettably not in the lists this time, yet it would be a mistake to claim that this seriously weakened the section. Of the six contestants five are full England internationals, whilst the sixth will surely gain such a status in the not very distant future. There can be no more eloquent justification for this last statement than the table [above].

One must always be prepared for the unexpected in short events, but I doubt whether anybody could have correctly forecast this result: with victory being shared by the veteran, a schoolboy some fifty years his junior, and Norman Littlewood, who has not been in the best of form this year by any count; and Franklin, outright winner here in 1963, relegated to rock bottom!

The tournament ran a turbulent course from start to finish. The players see-sawed in the struggle for the lead, while in the individual games advantages gained proved no guarantee of final success—the reverse often seemed the case. From this you will gather that the percentage of errors was higher than usual. On the other hand, the play was also more colourful and uncompromising (no grandmaster draws at all) and one could not help feeling that the players must have benefitted from the rigorous practice involved.

The final result was a personal triumph for each of the winners, though perhaps most of all for Dr. Fazekas, the former British Champion. Several years ago he succeeded in a campaign to give the holder of the Essex title the right to participate in the Ilford Premier. The plan evoked considerable opposition within the county, but now his capturing first place in that very capacity must have silenced the last critics. It was the Doctor’s tenth appearance in the Premier and the only occasion that he has won it. At an age when most men have retired from competitive chess, he is still seeking to improve and to eradicate the failings which have afflicted him throughout his career. He has qualified for the British Championship again this year and is at present leading the national team in the finals of the Fifth Correspondence Olympiad, in which one of his opponents is World Champion Zagorovsky. What better model of determination and dedication to the game could today’s youngsters want!

Hartston, promoted by virtue of his victory in last year’s Premier Reserves, continues to go from strength to strength, and this latest performance is naturally his best to date. Indeed, as far as future promise is concerned, this effort of his is the finest at Ilford since Penrose tied with Hooper in 1950. It must be noted, however, that his opponents in the last three rounds almost fell over themselves to clear his path to the top. Norman Littlewood, for instance, employed the same variation of the Sicilian with which he had lost to him at Southend. His intentions of improving Black’s defences were laudable but they failed lamentably.

Considering that Norman virtually threw this game away, his score did him great credit. He has been struggling for a long time against a series of poor results; having broken through at last, he may be due for a change of fortune. The manner in which he overcame the moral ascendancy of his brother was an act of courage in itself. The sacrifice may well have been insufficient against exact play, but it was such conceptions that earned him a reputation as the most dangerous attacker in the country.

Wade’s experiences were very similar to what they were a year ago: he fell away with losses in the third and fourth rounds after a good start. As some consolation, he received the Best Game Prize for the following win, an excellent blend of strategic and tactical aggression. [Wade-Franklin]

A lack of hard tournament practice was evident in John Littlewood’s play. He built up most impressive positions against both Dr. Fazekas and Hartston and then proceeded to fritter away his advantage and even lose. Five rounds do not allow much time for a recovery, it is hard to see why Franklin, who in the last nine months has made plus scores at Flushing, Tel-Aviv, and Berlin, should have done quite so badly. He repeatedly overlooked elementary points and in general performed like one in a daze. But his recuperative powers have been proved in the past, and I shall be surprised if he does not figure prominently in the forthcoming British Championship at Hastings.

The Premier Reserves A presented a very youthful appearance. The favourite was undoubtedly Keene, who by his energetic play at Bognor had secured the B.C.F. nomination for the Junior World Championship in Spain in August. He did win in the end, but only after surviving some anxious moments in the last round against K. W. Lloyd. The latter gave up a Rook for a vicious counter-attack and would probably have taken the full point and made it another triple tie, had he not got so short of time. The final scores were: (1) Raymond D Keene 3½; (2) T Goodhill 3; (3-4) Kenneth W Lloyd, George W Wheeler 2½; (5) Andrew J Whiteley 2; (6) Roberto Cosulich (Santiago, Chile) 1½.

There was also a close struggle in the B Section of the Reserves. Winser preserved his unbeaten record yet again! However, could he not, with all his experience, have squeezed out a second win and shared the prizes ? The full scores were: (1-2) Anthony J Booth, George A Dickson 3½; (3) W Arthur Winser (Hastings) 3; (4) Philip L Roe 2; (5-6) J* Ebbett, David Sherman 1½. The following game, played in the opening round of this tournament, contained the most splendid combination in the whole congress. [P Roe - D Ebbett] [* although magazine sources refer to this player as "J Ebbett" I think it is more likely to be David Ebbett who was active at the time and strong enough to be included in this section - JS]

The prizewinners in the other sections were as follows—

Major A: (1) Roger J Stockwell 4; (2) A J McMinn 3½.

Major B: (1) Jonathan G Enticknap 4; (2) Ronald F A Harman 3½.

Major C: (1-4) Miss Eileen B Tranmer, Robin G Bellinger, Fred C Manning, Dr. Peter D Ralph 3.

Major D: (1-2) J G Hudson, I McDonald 4.

Major E: (1) T Pruchnicki 4; (2-3) K Wilkinson, B L McCague 3½.

Major F: (1-2) D R Smith, R H Watson 3½.

Major G: (1-2) Sydney R Capsey, A Cohen 3½.

Major H: (1-2) Miss Dinah M Dobson [Norman], J G Jones 3½.

Major J: (1) G S Jacobs 4½; (2) A Torn 4.

Major K: (1) T McDade 4½; (2-3) A J Brooks, C J Tisdell 3.

Major L: (1) Paul Hershman 4½; (2) G Merriman 4.

Major M: (1) K M Weinhold 4; (2-6) W Pealling 2½ (five players).

Major N: (1) A M B Gilder 4; (2) A Silvane 3.

Open A: (1) Gordon V Cadden 4½; (2) R L Goad 4.

Open B: (1-2) Mrs. K Green, G O J Melitus 3½.

Open C: (1) A A Brown 5; (2) Miss E Whyte 3.

Open D: (1) P J Moore 4; (2-6) F H Fry, Rev. J G Wright 2 (five players).

Junior A: (1) B Osterberg 3½; (2-6) S McMillan 2½ (five players).

Junior B: (1-2) M Frankel, John D M Nunn 4.

Junior C: (1) P N M Johnstone 4; (2) Peter Scott 3½.

Junior D: (1) R J Richmond 4½; (2) R Loveridge 4.

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File Updated

Date	Notes
18 September 2009	First uploaded as a zipped file.
2 February 2025	Added a crosstable plus some extra games from lower sections.