Events in

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

in 1973:

Top players

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

top 10 by

Elo rating The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor. The Elo system was invented as an improved ch ...

- January 1973 #

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11� ...

2780 # Mikhail Tal 2660 # Anatoly Karpov 2660 #

Boris Spassky Boris Vasilievich Spassky ( rus, Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский, Borís Vasíl'yevich Spásskiy; born January 30, 1937) is a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 ...

2655 #

Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He ...

2650 #

Lajos Portisch Lajos Portisch (born 4 April 1937) is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik". One of the strongest non-Soviet players from the early 1960s into the late 1980s, he participated ...

2650 # Tigran Petrosian 2640 #

Mikhail Botvinnik Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, ( – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist and was a pioneer in computer chess. Botvinnik ...

2630 # Lev Polugaevsky 2625 # Bent Larsen 2620

Chess news in brief

*For the first time, the Interzonal phase of the new

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

cycle is expanded to fill two tournaments, as

are determined to make more places available to zonal qualifiers.

and Anatoly Karpov dominate the

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Interzonal, each scoring 13½/17, ahead of Robert Byrne on 12½/17. Surprisingly, Brazilian newcomer

Henrique Mecking Henrique Costa Mecking (born 23 January 1952), also known as Mequinho, is a Brazilian chess grandmaster who reached his zenith in the 1970s and is still one of the strongest players in Brazil. He was a chess prodigy, drawing comparisons to Bobby ...

steals the show at the Petropolis Interzonal, with 12/17, ahead of established players Efim Geller, Lev Polugaevsky and

(all 11½/17). A play-off is held in Portorož to determine the Petropolis second and third qualifying places and Geller is eliminated. *The final stage of the

European Team Chess Championship The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...

is held at City Hall,

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. Seven of the twenty-four teams that contested the preliminaries join the reigning champions (the USSR) in the final. Tragically, grandmaster

Leonid Stein Leonid Zakharovich Stein (; November 12, 1934 – July 4, 1973) was a Soviet chess Grandmaster from Ukraine. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s (1963, 1965, and 1966), and was among the world's top ten players during that era. ...

dies suddenly of a heart attack the evening before the Soviet team sets off. Nevertheless, the USSR go on to take the gold medal with 40½/56. Yugoslavia narrowly capture the silver medals with 34/56, ahead of Hungary (33/56). Efim Geller scores 90% to be the best individual performer. Despite being one of the world's top 20 grandmasters, he is playing on board seven and for the most part, faces relatively weak opposition. Seven of the Soviet ten-man squad take home individual gold medals, such is their dominance of the event. Most countries send their best players, with the exception of West Germany, who are missing

Robert Hübner Robert Hübner (born November 6, 1948) is a German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist. He was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s. Chess career At eighteen, he was joint winner of the West German Chess ...

and Klaus Darga. *Former world champion Mikhail Tal is the winner of several important tournaments. At

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, with 11/15, he outperforms recently deposed world champion

, (10/15) and

Jan Smejkal Jan Smejkal (born March 22, 1946) is a Czech chess player and, since 1972, an International Grandmaster. In the 1970s, he was among the world chess elite. He was champion of Czechoslovakia in 1973, 1979 and 1986 and won many international tourname ...

(9/15). At

Wijk aan Zee Wijk aan Zee ( literally ''Neighborhood at Sea'') is a village on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk, the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament (formerly called the Coru ...

, he wins with 10½/15, ahead of Yuri Balashov (10/15) and at

Dubna Dubna ( rus, Дубна́, p=dʊbˈna) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of ''naukograd'' (i.e. town of science), being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research center and one o ...

, shares the honours with Ratmir Kholmov (both 11/15). With further successes at

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

and

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

(1973/74 edition), he may be in the best form of his career. Between July 1972 and April 1973 he plays 86 games without defeat, winning 47 and drawing 39. *Boris Spassky comes back from his disappointment of 1972, to win the 41st Soviet Championship, a full point ahead of the USSR's other leading players. In an effort to re-establish the USSR's supremacy at the top of world chess, their federation officials, led by Viktor Baturinsky, decide to get 'tough' on the players. Those wishing to play abroad next year are ordered to take part in the national championship. Short draws are outlawed and the players encouraged to be more ruthless and serious in their future endeavours. In the context of a previous disagreement between Spassky and Baturinsky, insiders interpret the new doctrine as an ill-fated attempt to expose Spassky as the weakness in the camp. *A strong double round robin tournament (also known as ''2nd AVRO'') to celebrate 50 years of sponsor

AVRO AVRO, short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep ("General Association of Radio Broadcasting"), was a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system. It was the first public broad ...

(a broadcasting society) and 100 years of organizer KNVB (the Royal Dutch Chess Association) is held at

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

, where AVRO is settled. László Szabó (who had achieved his first big international tournament victory already at the 1938/39 Hastings congress ahead of Euwe) and Efim Geller share first place with 9½/14, ahead of Ljubomir Ljubojević on 8½/14 and Ulf Andersson. Pre-tournament favourite Lev Polugaevsky, was coming in as shared fifth. Dutch rising star Jan Timman finished eight and last. *Anatoly Karpov continues his rapid rise in the rankings, winning a Category 12 event at

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

with 11/15, ahead of

Vladimir Tukmakov Vladimir Borisovich Tukmakov (, born March 5, 1946 in Odessa) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He gained the Grandmaster title in 1972. Career His career first blossomed when he helped and then led the USSR to consecutive wins of the World St ...

(10½/15) and Semyon Furman (10/15). *At Las Palmas, Tigran Petrosian and Leonid Stein share victory with 9½/15. Petrosian also succeeds at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, this time shared with

Albin Planinc Albin Planinc (also spelled Planinec) (8 or 18 April 1944 – 20 December 2008) was a Slovenian-Yugoslavian chess Grandmaster. He was born in a working-class family in Briše near Zagorje in the Central Sava Valley, in German-occupied Sloveni ...

(both 10/15), ahead of Lubomir Kavalek (9½/15). *Efim Geller wins a strong tournament in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

with 10½/15, ahead of Anatoly Karpov (9½/15). * Alexander Beliavsky (8½/11) fights off the twin challenge of Tony Miles (8/11) and

Michael Stean Michael Francis Stean (born 4 September 1953) is an English chess grandmaster, an author of chess books and a tax accountant. Early life and junior career Stean was born on 4 September 1953 in London. He learned to play chess before the age of ...

(7½/11), to win the World Junior Championship in Teesside. Beliavsky loses both individual games to the Englishmen, but deals more ruthlessly with the tournament tail-enders. *At the Hungarian Championship, held in Budapest, there is a three-way tie for first place between Andras Adorjan, István Csom and Zoltán Ribli (all 10/15). *The first

World Open chess tournament The World Open chess tournament is an annual open chess tournament played in most editions in Philadelphia and some editions in New York City. The inaugural event was a huge success played in New York in 1973 with 732 participants, and was won by Wa ...

is held in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on June 30 - July 4, and is won by Walter Browne with a 9-1 score. 725 players participate in the event, which has a $15,000 prize fund. *Having missed out on their bid to host the 1972 Fischer-Spassky match, organisers in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

remain upbeat and arrange a tournament at Westfalenpark. It results in a three-way tie for first place, between Hans-Joachim Hecht, Ulf Andersson and Boris Spassky. The event doubles as the second Open German Championship and becomes the catalyst for a new series of annual events, known as the ''Dortmunder Schachtage''. * Bent Larsen wins the

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

tournament with 12½/15, from Ljubomir Ljubojević (11½/15) and Lubomir Kavalek (10½/15). *At

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

, IM

Roman Dzindzichashvili Roman Yakovlevich Dzindzichashvili ( ka, რომან იაკობის-ძე ჯინჯიხაშვილი; pronounced ''jin-jee-khash-VEE-lee''; born May 5, 1944) is a Soviet-born Israeli-American chess player. He was awarded th ...

shows he is comfortable in grandmaster company, sharing victory with Rafael Vaganian (both 11½/17), ahead of

Evgeny Vasiukov Evgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov (russian: Евгений Андреевич Васюко́в, March 5, 1933 – May 10, 2018) was a Russian chess player, one of the strongest in the world during his peak. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by F ...

(10½/17), Semyon Furman, David Bronstein,

Eduard Gufeld Eduard Yefimovich Gufeld (russian: Эдуа́рд Ефи́мович Гу́фельд; 19 March 1936 – 23 September 2002) was a USSR, Soviet International Grandmaster of chess, and a chess author. Chess career Gufeld began participating in che ...

and other established masters. *London plays host to the

Guardian Royal Exchange Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance plc was a large British insurance company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was established through the merger of the Guardian Assuran ...

(GRE) tournament. In the Masters section, Jan Timman takes first (7/9) from

Raymond Keene Raymond Dennis Keene (born 29 January 1948) is an English chess grandmaster, a FIDE International Arbiter, a chess organiser, and a journalist and author. He won the British Chess Championship in 1971, and was the first player from England t ...

(5½/9),

Samuel Reshevsky Samuel Herman Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski; November 26, 1911 – April 4, 1992) was a Polish chess prodigy and later a leading American chess grandmaster. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960 ...

and Hans-Joachim Hecht (both 5/9). In the Masters Reserves section, John Nunn wins with 7/9. * Georgy Tringov and Bruno Parma (both 9/14) fight off the challenge of fellow grandmasters Hans-Joachim Hecht,

Ivan Radulov Ivan Radulov ( bg, Иван Радулов) (born 7 January 1939, in Burgas) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. As a chess player, he was most prominent during the 1970s, winning the Bulgarian Championship in 1971, 1974, 1977 and 1980. He just ...

and

Dragoljub Velimirovic Dragoljub ( sr-cyr, Драгољуб) is a Serbian masculine given name, derived from Slavic '' drag-'' ("dear, beloved") and ''ljub'' ("love, to like"), both very common in Slavic dithematic names. It roughly means "dear love". It may refer to: * ...

(all 8½/14) at the biannual tournament Bora Kostic Memorial in Vršac. Pre-tournament favourite, Wolfgang Uhlmann finishes mid-table. *Bent Larsen wins the Scandinavian Championship, held in Grenaa, Denmark, with 9/11. The 13,000 D Kr. prize fund attracts 111 entries. Larsen's share of the prize money amounts to 6,000 D. Kr. (about £420). *Following

William Hartston William Roland Hartston (born 12 August 1947) is an English journalist who wrote the Beachcomber column in the '' Daily Express''. He is also a chess player who played competitively from 1962 to 1987 and earned a highest Elo rating of 2485. He ...

's 4½-1½ play-off win against

Michael Basman Michael John Basman (16 March 1946 – 26 October 2022) was an English chess player, chess author and International Master. He was awarded the International Master title in 1980. Basman was a prolific writer, who made many contributions to the ...

in the British Championship, he and Jana Hartston become the first husband and wife pair to simultaneously hold men's and women's national championship titles. CHESS magazine - Vol 39, February 1974, p. 128

Births

* Joël Lautier, a leading French GM, once a regular player on the elite tournament circuit - April 12 *

Vladislav Tkachiev Vladislav Tkachiev (, born Moscow November 9, 1973) is a Russian-born Kazakh-French chess player. Biography In 1982, he moved to Kazakhstan with his parents and learnt to play chess a year later. A winner of the Kazakhstani Youth Championship in ...

, Soviet-French GM, former European Individual Champion - November 9 * Sergei Tiviakov, Soviet-Dutch GM, former Dutch Champion - February 14 *

Peter Heine Nielsen Peter Heine Nielsen (born 24 May 1973) is a Danish chess trainer and player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1994. He coached world champions Vishwanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen winning World Championships in 2007, 2008, 20 ...

, Danish GM, former highest rated Nordic player - May 24 * Aleksej Aleksandrov, Belarusian GM, former national and European junior champion - May 11 * Peng Xiaomin, Chinese GM, former national champion - April 8 *

Jacob Aagaard Jacob Aagaard (born 31 July 1973) is a Danish-Scottish chess grandmaster and the 2007 British Chess Champion. He is Scotland's third-highest rated player as of July 2021, with an Elo rating of 2477. His peak rating was 2542. In 2004, he took ...

, Danish-Scottish GM, former British champion - July 31 * José González García, Mexican GM - August 12 * Stanislav Kriventsov, Soviet-Canadian IM, a chess coach and world series poker player - November 2 *

Frode Elsness Frode Elsness (born June 15, 1973) is a Norwegian chess player who holds the title of International Master, as well as the 2008 Norwegian Chess Championship. Elsness plays for the chess club in Moss. Apart from chess, Elsness is a medical doctor ...

, Norwegian IM, 2008 Norwegian Champion - June 15

Deaths

, a leading Soviet GM and former world championship candidate - July 4 *

Vasily Panov Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy (Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to: *Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425 * Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fr ...

, Soviet IM, renowned as a theoretician, writer and journalist - January 13 *

Hans Kmoch Johann "Hans" Joseph Kmoch (July 25, 1894, Vienna – February 13, 1973, New York City) was an Austrian-Dutch-American chess International Master (1950), International Arbiter (1951), and a chess journalist and author, for which he is best known. ...

, Austrian IM, chess writer and occasional second to Alekhine - February 13 * Folke Rogard, Swedish lawyer and former President of FIDE - June 11 *

Braslav Rabar Braslav Rabar (27 September 1919, Zagreb – 6 December 1973, Zagreb) was a Croatian-Yugoslavian chess International Master (1950) and chess writer. He was Yugoslav champion in 1951, and in 1953 again tied for the tournament lead, but lost a playo ...

, Croatian IM, former national champion, writer and theoretician - December 6 *

Al Horowitz Israel Albert Horowitz (often known as I. A. Horowitz or Al Horowitz) (November 15, 1907 – January 18, 1973) was an American International Master of chess. He is most remembered today for the books he wrote about chess. In 1989 he was induct ...

, American IM, renowned writer and chess columnist - January 18 * Manuel Golmayo Torriente, Cuban-Spanish master and International Arbiter - March 7 *

Alexandru Tyroler Alexandru (Sándor) Tyroler (19 October 1891, in Garamszentkereszt, now Žiar nad Hronom, Slovakia – 3 February 1973, in Budapest, Hungary) was a Hungarian-Romanian chess master. Sándor Tyroler was born in Garamszentkereszt ( sk, Hronský Sv ...

, Hungarian-Romanian master, winner of first Romanian Championship - February 3 * Markas Luckis, Lithuanian-Argentine master, Olympiad medal winner - February 9

Notes

References

* * CHESS magazine - December 1973, pp. 82–83 - "The Best in 1973" *''The Chess Player'' (Nottingham), Vol 5, 1973b (crosstables)
Chess History & Chronology - Bill Wall
2009-10-20)
Olimpbase - Olympiads and other Team event informationElo ratings data 1971-2000 (for download)
{{chess 20th century in chess Chess by year