35 years ago today ...

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  • 35 years ago today ...

    some of us were playing in Round 8 of the 1974 Canadian Open in Montreal.
    Stumbled upon some documents today...

    http://chessmanitoba.blogspot.com/20...years-ago.html

  • #2
    Re: 35 years ago today ...

    [Event "CAN-op"]
    [Site "Montreal CAN"]
    [Date "1974.08.02"]
    [Round "8"]
    [White "Brodie, Hugh"]
    [Black "Ledain, Dudley"]
    [Result "1-0"]
    [ECO "D00"]
    [WhiteElo "1800"]
    [BlackElo "1960"]
    [PlyCount "65"]
    [EventDate "1974.07.27"]
    [EventType "swiss"]
    [EventRounds "11"]
    [EventCountry "CAN"]

    1. Nc3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. e4 dxe4 4. f3 e3 5. Bxe3 Bf5 6. Bc4 e6 7. Nge2 Nbd7 8.
    O-O Nb6 9. Bb3 Be7 10. Ng3 Bg6 11. f4 a5 12. a3 a4 13. Ba2 Nbd5 14. Bd2 Qd7 15.
    Qf3 c6 16. f5 exf5 17. Nxf5 Bxf5 18. Qxf5 Qxf5 19. Rxf5 Nxc3 20. Bxc3 O-O 21.
    Raf1 b5 22. h3 b4 23. Bxb4 Bxb4 24. axb4 a3 25. bxa3 Rxa3 26. Bb3 Rb8 27. Ra5
    Rxa5 28. bxa5 Rb4 29. Rd1 Nd5 30. a6 Rb8 31. Bxd5 cxd5 32. a7 Ra8 33. Rb1 1-0

    Comment


    • #3
      Re : 35 years ago today ...

      Haha... The tournament cost was only of 12 $ and you could stay at the University of Montreal residence for 20$ a week :D

      It is impressive to see the GMs in the first section...

      Comment


      • #4
        Re : 35 years ago today ...

        Originally posted by Felix Dumont View Post
        Haha... The tournament cost was only of 12 $ and you could stay at the University of Montreal residence for 20$ a week :D

        It is impressive to see the GMs in the first section...
        And on occasion play them:

        [Event "CAN op"]
        [Site "Montreal"]
        [Date "1974.8.2"]
        [Round "8"]
        [White "Quinteros, Miguel"]
        [Black "Berry, Jonathan"]
        [Result "1/2-1/2"]
        [Eco "A81"]
        [Annotator ""]
        [Source ""]

        1.Nf3 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d6 4.d4 c6 5.O-O Qc7 6.Nbd2 e5 7.dxe5
        dxe5 8.e4 Be7 9.Nh4 f4 10.Nf5 O-O 11.Nc4 Bc5 12.gxf4 Bxf5 13.exf5
        exf4 14.Qf3 Nd5 15.Bh3 Nd7 16.a4 Rae8 17.Bd2 N7f6 18.Rfe1 h6
        19.Bf1 Rxe1 20.Rxe1 Nh7 21.Qg4 Ng5 22.Ne5 Ne3 23.Bxe3 Qxe5 24.Bxc5
        Qxc5 25.h4 Nh7 26.Qxf4 Rxf5 27.Qg3 Qb4 28.c3 Qf8 29.Bc4+ Kh8
        30.Bd3 Rf3 31.Qg6 Nf6 32.Re6 Kg8 33.h5 Rf4 34.Kf1 Qd8 35.Ke2
        Rg4 36.Qf5 Rg5 37.Qf3 Qd5 38.Qe3 Qd7 39.Bg6 Rd5 40.Re5 Qg4+ 41.f3
        Qg2+ 42.Ke1 Qh1+ 43.Kf2 Qh2+ 44.Ke1 Qh1+ 1/2-1/2

        I offered a draw because I didn't think I had enough time on the clock to make the control which was at move .... 45? 50?. I probably did have enough time, ... Without this note, future generations will believe there is some terrible mistake in the game score or the result. Xe5. Or Black's brain, which is arguably true.

        Had I won, I would have played White against some US Master, a USCF 2400 type. Instead, it was Black against Bent Larsen, who crushed me like a bug. It was a great honour to play Larsen again, but competitively, not playing the win against Quinteros was expensive!

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Re : 35 years ago today ...

          Originally posted by Jonathan Berry View Post

          I offered a draw because I didn't think I had enough time on the clock to make the control which was at move .... 45? 50?.
          The scoresheet on my blog shows a big "50" for time control.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: 35 years ago today ...

            The 1974 Canadian Open was my first major tournament and my first tournament outside my hometown. Two fond memories (amongst many): I played Maurice Fox. I remember looking at the pairings and saying to my buddy: He's an old guy and probably one of those old American masters. At that time I had no clue about Canadian chess culture (nor did I care :) Master Fox had the last word. After a long involved game where I won a bishop and knight for a rook and a pawn and then swindled the pawn and then headed for the winning endgame with bishop and knight and 3 pawns vs rook and 3 pawns which was when time control was reached, Maurice reached out his hand and congratulated me on a nice game and as he was shaking my hand (being the young gentleman I thought I was) and finished with " of course you will accept a draw". I was had and I admire him for it.
            My other memorable memory was of Geza Fuster in one of his notorious time pressure finishes. (at that time all of that was new to me) There were long rows of tables with many boards and Geza was playing at a board in the same row as me 8 rows back from the front. Of course Geza attracted much attention and there were always fans hovering around his board. At one point there was a group of fans watching his board (about 4 or 5) and talking low in Hungarian (I assumed) Some of them left and two were left watching. Geza of course in a regal pose was frozen in chess thought. His time was running and he had about a minute left. All of a sudden the two fans started moving pieces on his board! Geza was in shock. He finally slapped at the hands and rose from the board with a roar! The two frightened fans started running down the row with Geza in hot pursuit. Geza was gaining on them (bear in mind he was in his 60's at the time) and then realized if he caught up with them and killed them he would lose on time. So he turned around and raced back to the board and successfully made the next 30 moves to time control with his flag hanging! That was my introduction to time trouble maestros!
            Oh yes Montreal Canadian Open 1974 was a mind altering event for me and I still have a sea of memories from it. Young Larry Christiansen (surfer dude), Miguel Quinteros (Argentinean ladies man), Lawrence Day (chess guru), Duncan Suttles (the professor), Bent Larsen ( the Great Dane - my picture of Aaron Nimzovitsch), Vlastimil Hort (the Czech teddy bear - but dont anger him), Carlos Jauregui (the guy who beat Bobby Fischer), Ljubomir Ljubojevic (playing speed chess singing: maybe yes, maybe no, maybe rain, maybe snow) so many characters - so many impressions for the young mind to sponge up!

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Re : 35 years ago today ...

              Originally posted by Tony Boron View Post
              The scoresheet on my blog shows a big "50" for time control.
              Yeah. Thanks, Tony! To be more precise, I offered a draw because I did not think I had enough time to look straight at my clock. By peripheral vision I had only a few seconds left. After offering the draw, a direct look revealed more like 10 or 15 seconds. In that position, plenty of time to make 6 or 7 moves, but oh well. Time mis-management is often costly. I have only myself to blame!

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: 35 years ago today ...

                I really enjoy these old reminiscenses about chess in the "old days"! As a chess-playing baby boomer I am probably biased, but the 1970's were an exciting and often colourful era in Canadian chess. I shake my head at the thought of 600+ people in a tournament, but it was a kind of "perfect storm" for chess:
                1. The Fischer boom was at its peak
                2. The large baby-boom cohort was in its twenties and late teens - prime chess playing years befor careers and family took over for many.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: 35 years ago today ...

                  Originally posted by Hans Jung View Post
                  The 1974 Canadian Open was my first major tournament and my first tournament outside my hometown. Two fond memories (amongst many): I played Maurice Fox. I remember looking at the pairings and saying to my buddy: He's an old guy and probably one of those old American masters. At that time I had no clue about Canadian chess culture (nor did I care :) Master Fox had the last word. After a long involved game where I won a bishop and knight for a rook and a pawn and then swindled the pawn and then headed for the winning endgame with bishop and knight and 3 pawns vs rook and 3 pawns which was when time control was reached, Maurice reached out his hand and congratulated me on a nice game and as he was shaking my hand (being the young gentleman I thought I was) and finished with " of course you will accept a draw". I was had and I admire him for it.
                  My other memorable memory was of Geza Fuster in one of his notorious time pressure finishes. (at that time all of that was new to me) There were long rows of tables with many boards and Geza was playing at a board in the same row as me 8 rows back from the front. Of course Geza attracted much attention and there were always fans hovering around his board. At one point there was a group of fans watching his board (about 4 or 5) and talking low in Hungarian (I assumed) Some of them left and two were left watching. Geza of course in a regal pose was frozen in chess thought. His time was running and he had about a minute left. All of a sudden the two fans started moving pieces on his board! Geza was in shock. He finally slapped at the hands and rose from the board with a roar! The two frightened fans started running down the row with Geza in hot pursuit. Geza was gaining on them (bear in mind he was in his 60's at the time) and then realized if he caught up with them and killed them he would lose on time. So he turned around and raced back to the board and successfully made the next 30 moves to time control with his flag hanging! That was my introduction to time trouble maestros!
                  Oh yes Montreal Canadian Open 1974 was a mind altering event for me and I still have a sea of memories from it. Young Larry Christiansen (surfer dude), Miguel Quinteros (Argentinean ladies man), Lawrence Day (chess guru), Duncan Suttles (the professor), Bent Larsen ( the Great Dane - my picture of Aaron Nimzovitsch), Vlastimil Hort (the Czech teddy bear - but dont anger him), Carlos Jauregui (the guy who beat Bobby Fischer), Ljubomir Ljubojevic (playing speed chess singing: maybe yes, maybe no, maybe rain, maybe snow) so many characters - so many impressions for the young mind to sponge up!
                  Larry Christiansen would have been barely 18 at the time, Hans. He turns 59 next month and the three time U.S. Champion is still going strong, doing monthly simuls in South Station. He says he only loses one in a "couple hundred" (:

                  http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/201...mN/story.html#

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: 35 years ago today ...

                    It seems no one here has noticed that 1974 was 40 + years ago (how time flies) - and nothing to do with today!
                    Looking at the X-table, I can't complain about being near the top of the table - it seems after a good start -wins against M Fox and Grant Spraggett (not Kevin), I lost to a couple tail-enders in rounds 4 & 5.
                    And yes, the entry fee was cheap - but then the dollar bought about five times what it does today.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: 35 years ago today ...

                      Yes time flies and has flown well and we have a lifetime of memories (some cynics say eventually thats all we'll have). Larry Christiansen looked like he was fresh off the California beach with shoulder length hair, a raggy T-shirt, and holes in the knees of his faded jeans. He was 18 and a "weak" 2350 and sucking up lessons for hours in speed chess against Ljubo.

                      Comment

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