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Chessville
Advertise to Single insert:
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CURACAO 1962- 2002 OFFICIALY OPENED
Back in Curaçao after 40 years: Pal Benkö(l), Yuri Averbakh and Viktor Kortsnoj
WILLEMSTAD November 18 – Today the Curaçao 1962- 2002 will start in the Penthouse of the Van der Valk Plaza Hotel. Yesterday there was the official opening which was attended by the Minister of Sports and Education, Commissioner of Tourism and Economic Affairs, and the Commissioner of Sports and Education, players and sponsors. Lily Meijer and IM Hans Böhm were presenting the opening. After welcome and an animation it was time for looking back on the 1962 Candidate tournament. Viktor Kortsnoj, Pal Benkö and Yuri Averbach found their way back to Curaçao after 40 years and started a lively and spicy discussion about 1962. All of them could remember the tournament and other details as if it was held only a couple of weeks ago. One of the main questions was if there had been a combine between the Sovjet players (Petrosjan, Keres, Geller, Kortsnoj, and Tal). Kortsnoj told not to be in any combine. Tal had a kidney operation just before the tournament and was in a bad physical condition. In the end he had to resign for the last round of 7 games. Paul Keres was the eldest player and before the tournament he was seen as the main candidate to face world champion Michael Botwinnik for the match for the world title. However, it is believed that he could not face the pressure to play against Botwinnik for the world title and thus did not have the ambition to win the tournament. Averbakh said that the Sovjets had no any preference for which Sovjet player should win the tournament. Geller and Petrosjan were close friends and it is not unlikely that there was a “gentlemen’s agreement” between them. |
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