IBM AMSTERDAM
pgn-file IBM tournaments from 1961 until 1981
Players of VAS in Amsterdam wanted to gain international chess titles in a tournament. The player Wolthuis worked at IBM and could help them. Twelve participants played in 1961 and 1962. The local talents played against aging foreign titleholders. If the opponents were old and weak, the title chances rose for the youngsters. The main bureau of IBM at the Johan Huizingalaan in Amsterdam functioned as playing hall. Withuis was the press agent.
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Van Steenis draws the lots on a computer, Euwe and Bernstein watch in 1961 |
The Protestant church "De Ark", playing hall in the sixties |
The tournament became more serious, when Lajos Portisch took part in 1963 and the number of participants rose from 12 to 120. A pyramid of grandmaster, master, reserve master and lesser groups was set up. The Protestant church "De Ark" became the playing hall for the main groups. When the tournament kept growing, the Cartesius lyceum, RAI or Crest Hotel became the playing hall.
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The enigmatic Albin Planinc |
Visitors watch players in the 'Glass Room' |
'e2e4' stamp in 1978 |
I remember the IBM tournament as a great event during the seventies. Hundreds of chess players participated and hundreds of visitors watched the spectacle in the RAI. When the building was entered, the ‘Glass Room’ was on the left. There grandmasters and masters could be seen during a round. Straight ahead a broad corridor could be followed along a restaurant. At the right another large space was used for chess happenings. Commentators discussed grandmaster games in the first section. Lower groups played in the second part. Two reserve master groups resided at the end.
The annual series ended in 1981 by an event with eleven sole winners and Ree.
1981 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1 Timman * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 7½
2 Portisch ½ * ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 7
3 Karpov ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 7
4 Hort ½ ½ 1 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 6½
5 Smyslov ½ 1 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 6½
6 Kavalek ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 6½
7 Ree 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 6
8 Ljubojevic ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ 5
9 Miles ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 5
10 Polugaevsky 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 4½
11 Donner 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ * 1 2½
12 Langeweg 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 * 2
A fight between Dutch and foreign players occurred each time. Langeweg, Donner, Ree and Timman fought well on the Dutch side. The list of winners is highly impressive, because the names of five world champions can be found among them.
Winners of the main group
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1961 Langeweg 1962 Czerniak and Tan 1963 Portisch 1964 Larsen 1965 Donner 1966 Botvinnik 1967 Portisch 1968 Kavalek 1969 Portisch 1970 Spassky and Polugaevsky |
1971 Smyslov 1972 Polugaevsky 1973 Petrosian and Planinc 1974 Ivkov, Tukmakov and Jansa 1975 Ljubojevic 1976 Miles and Kortschnoj 1977 Miles 1978 Timman 1979 Hort and Sax 1980 Karpov 1981 Timman |
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