1978 Lloyds Bank Masters, 24-31 August, Cumberland Hotel, London • link to earlier/later Lloyds Bank Masters 1977 «» 1979

1978 Lloyds Bank Masters		Fed	Elo	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Paul E Littlewood (1st on t/b)	ENG	2345	+68	+15	=2	+16	=3	+43	=4	=6	=14	+11	7½
2	Yrjo A Rantanen	FIN	2420m	+49	+46	=1	+72	-11	=15	+16	+7	+3	=6	7½
3	Jack Peters	USA	2430f	+83	+35	+18	+12	=1	+11	+13	=14	-2	=4	7½
4	Yair Kraidman	ISR	2455g	=36	=21	+34	=49	+37	+58	=1	=8	+32	=3	7
5	Stefano Tatai	ITA	2455m	+37	=7	=24	+81	=15	=16	+46	-13	+43	+14	7
6	Slim Bouaziz	TUN	2365m	-14	+43	=65	+85	=23	+48	+30	=1	+13	=2	7
7	John L Watson	USA	2320f	+69	=5	=11	+76	-38	+20	+49	-2	+33	+25	7
8	Jose Soares Masculo	BRA	(2335)	-9	=97	=84	+106	+103	+62	+58	=4	=27	+30	7
9	Richard Britton	ENG	2235	+8	-11	=75	-37	+91	=44	+53	+80	+60	+31	7
10	Jan Olov Lind	SWE	(2205)	=66	-36	+98	+102	+97	-18	=61	+70	+35	+27	7
11	Leonid Shamkovitch	USA	2485g	=47	+9	=7	+46	+2	-3	=38	+22	+36	-1	6½
12	Aldo Haik	FRA	2425m	=48	+39	+26	-3	-22	+65	=43	+23	=15	+38	6½
13	Paul van der Sterren	NED	2400f	=24	=70	+86	+19	+18	+38	-3	+5	-6	=16	6½
14	Danny Kopec	USA	(2310)	+6	=33	=19	=66	+49	+79	+25	=3	=1	-5	6½
15	Larry D Evans	USA	2440	+85	-1	+51	+87	=5	=2	=33	=25	=12	+42	6½
16	Nigel E Povah	ENG	2350	=55	+88	+20	-1	+100	=5	-2	+21	+18	=13	6½
17	Kevin J Wicker	ENG	2305	-54	=82	+95	+35	-26	-22	+89	+47	+67	+36	6½
18	Heikki M J Westerinen	FIN	2450g	+95	+22	-3	+47	-13	+10	-36	+38	-16	+58	6
19	Gyozo V Forintos	HUN	2435g	=bye	+38	=14	-13	+75	=21	=23	+34	-30	+59	6
20	Janos Flesch	HUN	2435m	=bye	+48	-16	+22	=36	-7	=21	+78	=46	+61	6
21	Gert Iskov	DEN	2395f	=50	=4	+73	+33	-43	=19	=20	-16	+76	+57	6
22	Bruce L Rind	USA	(2390f)	+84	-18	=25	-20	+12	+17	+73	-11	+52	=48	6
23	Joel Benjamin	USA	2330	-33	+101	=64	+39	=6	+73	=19	-12	=24	+46	6
24	Steven M Odendahl	USA	2385	=13	+42	=5	=36	-57	=72	+56	=30	=23	+60	6
25	Emmanuel Rayner	WLS	2345	-46	+78	=22	+91	+74	+57	-14	=15	+61	-7	6
26	Frans Borm	NED	2260	+96	=40	-12	+77	+17	=30	=57	=36	=28	=29	6
27	Julian M Hodgson	ENG	2265	=30	=47	-49	+88	+83	+81	=32	+57	=8	-10	6
28	Michael Ashley Pagden	ENG	2235	=76	=65	-100	+110	+47	-46	+75	+81	=26	=32	6
29	Peter J Sowray	ENG	2205	=67	=100	-47	-53	+108	+103	=72	+79	+50	=26	6
30	Glenn C Flear	ENG	(2185)	=27	=58	+110	+56	+51	=26	-6	=24	+19	-8	6
31	Richard M Webb	ENG	(2120)	=81	+94	=39	=100	=61	=50	+78	=60	+59	-9	6
32	Federico Zullo	ITA	(2200)	=97	-77	+109	=45	+92	+74	=27	+50	-4	=28	6
33	Rosendo C Balinas	PHI	2440g	+23	=14	=36	-21	+72	+34	=15	=43	-7	=41	5½
34	Nick E de Firmian	USA	2405f	-38	+34	-4	+36	+40	-33	+76	-19	+75	=43	5½
35	Yehuda Gruenfeld	ISR	2330f	+51	-3	-46	-17	+96	+88	=87	+72	-10	+89	5½
36	Michael J Franklin	ENG	2315f	=4	+10	=33	=24	=20	+76	+18	=26	-11	-17	5½
37	Jeremy D Silman	USA	2360f	-5	=83	+99	+9	-4	=66	+68	=67	=57	=44	5½
38	Hugh Dugald MacPherson	ENG	2315	+34	-19	+80	+60	+7	-13	=11	-18	+48	-12	5½
39	Peter G Large	ENG	2275	+90	-12	=31	-23	=45	-92	+101	=55	+79	+82	5½
40	Pal Koszorus	HUN	2275	=bye	=26	-50	+96	-34	=64	+77	=76	=45	+81	5½
41	Lincoln Lucena	BRA	(2185)	-56	=61	-52	+68	+86	-82	+92	=51	+70	=33	5½
42	Simon J B Knott	ENG	2205	+44	-24	-81	-92	+110	+98	+82	=58	+74	-15	5½
43	Stefan Kindermann	AUT	(2240)	+52	-6	+82	+70	+21	-1	=12	=33	-5	=34	5½
44	Daniel J King	ENG	(2160)	-42	+106	=79	=69	+63	=9	=67	-61	+80	=37	5½
45	Sheila Jackson	ENG	(2105)	-98	=95	+104	=32	=39	=80	=65	=69	=40	+67	5½
46	Michael J Basman	ENG	2395f	+25	-2	+35	-11	+87	+23	-5	=48	=20	-23	5
47	Mark Ginsburg	USA	(2335)	=11	=27	+29	-18	-28	=84	+88	-17	+73	=52	5
48	William Goichberg	USA	2530	=12	-20	+58	=65	+56	-6	+52	=46	-38	=22	5
49	David Friedgood	ENG	2310	-2	+102	+27	=4	-14	=70	-7	=82	+91	=54	5
50	Karl Burger	USA	(2300)	=21	=87	+40	-74	+69	=31	+79	-32	-29	=62	5
51	John G Nicholson	ENG	2290	-35	+92	-15	+95	-30	=87	+90	=41	=81	=53	5
52	Colin S Crouch	ENG	2300	-43	-59	+41	=82	+89	+100	-48	+64	-22	=47	5
53	Jonathan I Century	ENG	(2255)	-88	=63	-68	+29	+85	=97	-9	=66	+84	=51	5
54	Alan J Norris	SCO	(2185)	+17	=85	-72	-97	=84	+91	-59	=73	+83	=49	5
55	K Lehmann	BRD	(2150	=16	=62	+92	=80	=81	=61	-60	=39	=82	=56	5
56	William J Stirling	ENG	2205	+41	+67	-66	-30	-48	+99	-81	=89	+97	=55	5
57	W Grossmann	BRD	(2120)	=60	+98	=70	+64	+24	-25	=26	-27	=37	-21	5
58	John W Branford	ENG	(2105)	+63	=30	-48	+89	+66	-4	-8	=42	+87	-18	5
59	John C Hawksworth	ENG	(2065)	-78	+52	=77	-79	+102	=75	+54	+62	-31	-19	5
60	Andrew J King	ENG	(2065)	=57	+96	+88	-38	-79	+69	+55	=31	-9	-24	5
61	Michael J Dymond	ENG	(2040	-91	=41	+105	+94	=31	=55	=10	+44	-25	-20	5
62	Tom Farrand	ENG	(2040)	+79	=55	-69	=67	+99	-8	+97	-59	=63	=50	5
63	Richard W O'Brien	IRL	(2040)	-58	=53	+106	=78	-44	-68	+95	+85	=62	=64	5
64	Rey F Casse	AUS	(1985)	+111	=89	=23	-57	-78	=40	+84	-52	+66	=63	5
65	Andrew P Law	ENG	2345f	=86	=28	=6	=48	=70	-12	=45	=97	=78	=80	4½
66	Graham D Hillyard	ENG	2250	=10	=71	+56	=14	-58	=37	-24	=53	-64	+98	4½
67	Sergio A B Lopes de Farias	BRA	(2265)	=29	-56	+94	=62	+98	=78	=44	=37	-17	-45	4½
68	Avraham Malachi	ISR	2265	-1	-80	+53	-41	+109	+63	-37	-74	+101	=75	4½
69	Nigel Bloch	NED	2260	-7	=91	+62	=44	-50	-60	+93	=45	=77	=72	4½
70	David H Cummings	ENG	2230	+75	=13	=57	-43	=65	=49	+100	-10	-41	=76	4½
71	Tim D Harding	IRL	2230	+77	=66	-76	-75	-82	-89	+103	+100	=72	=78	4½
72	Stephen H Berry	ENG	(2200)	+101	=86	+54	-2	-33	=24	=29	-75	=71	=69	4½
73	Glenn E J Lambert	ENG	2320	=100	=74	-21	+83	+77	-23	-22	=54	-47	+96	4½
74	Geoffrey W Lawton	ENG	(2185)	+103	=73	=87	+50	-25	-32	-80	+68	-42	=77	4½
75	Stephen Quigley	ENG	(2170	-70	+103	=9	+71	-19	=59	-28	+86	-34	=68	4½
76	Ian Duncan Wells	ENG	(2160	=28	+110	+71	-7	+80	-36	-34	=40	-21	=70	4½
77	Douglas G A Shallcross	ENG	(2150)	-71	+32	=59	-26	-73	+83	-40	+105	=69	=74	4½
78	Rainer Albrecht	BRD	(2120	+59	-25	=97	=63	+64	=67	-31	-20	=65	=71	4½
79	Andrew J Muir	SCO	(2110)	-62	+104	=44	+59	+60	-14	-50	-29	-39	+95	4½
80	Dan E Mayers	USA	(2070)	+93	+68	-38	=55	-76	=45	+74	-9	-44	=65	4½
81	Michael J Freeman	SCO	(2065)	=31	+90	+42	-5	=55	-27	+56	-28	=51	-40	4½
82	Simon D Brown	ENG	(2105)	=bye	=17	-43	=52	+71	+41	-42	=49	=55	-39	4½
83	C John van Baarle	NED	2335	-3	=37	+91	-73	-27	-77	+106	+102	-54	=92	4
84	Andrew D Martin	ENG	2340	-22	-34	=8	+104	=54	=47	-64	+98	-53	=91	4
85	Terry B Bennett	ENG	2270	-15	=54	+101	-6	-53	+104	=98	-63	-89	+97	4
86	Nicholas J Patterson	IRL	2360	=65	=72	-13	-34	-41	+106	+99	-75	=96	=93	4
87	Geoffrey H James	ENG	2230	+89	=50	=74	-15	-46	=51	=35	+92	-58	w/d	4/9
88	John C Henshaw	ENG	2215	+53	-16	-60	-27	+94	-35	-47	=101	=100	+106	4
89	Evan Michaelides	USA	(2215)	-87	=64	+90	-58	-52	+71	-17	=56	+85	-35	4
90	Ronald Blow	GCI	2230	-39	-81	-89	=101	+93	+102	-51	-91	=92	+100	4
91	Erik O M C Teichmann	ENG	(2120	+61	=69	-83	-25	-9	-54	+108	+90	-49	=84	4
92	Gary Senior	ENG	(2080)	+105	-51	-55	+42	-32	+39	-41	-87	=90	=83	4
93	Peter R Scott	ENG	(1810	-80	-99	-96	+111	-90	+109	-69	+94	=95	=86	4
94	Abram Bernfield	ENG	(1790)	+109	-31	-67	-61	-88	-101	+111	-93	+108	+104	4
95	Nigel D Short	ENG	2225	-18	=45	-17	-51	=101	+96	-63	+99	=93	-79	3½
96	Dennis Morton Horne	ENG	(2120)	-26	-60	+93	-40	-35	-95	+109	+103	=86	-73	3½
97	Clive A Frostick	ENG	(2080	=32	=8	=78	+54	-10	=53	-62	=65	-56	-85	3½
98	B Johnson	USA	(2015)	+45	-57	-10	+109	-67	-42	=85	-84	+102	-66	3½
99	Roy J D Reddin	ENG	(1890)	-110	+93	-37	+105	-62	-56	-86	-93	=103	+111	3½
100	Olicio Gadia	BRA	(2240)	=73	=29	+28	=31	-16	-52	-70	-71	=88	-90	3
101	Michael J Yeo	ENG	2205	-72	-23	-85	=90	=95	+94	-39	=88	-68	=102	3
102	Ronald F A Harman	ENG	(2070)	=106	-49	+108	-10	-59	-90	+104	-83	-98	=101	3
103	Augustine A Aaron	ENG	(1920	-74	-75	+111	+108	-8	-29	-71	-96	=99	=105	3
104	D J Kemp	ENG	(1920	=108	-79	-45	-84	=106	-85	-102	+111	+105	-94	3
105	J Chandon-Moet	FRA	(1890)	-92	=108	-61	-99	+111	=bye	=bye	-77	-104	=103	3
106	M Andrade	USA	(1800	=102	-44	-63	-8	=104	-86	-83	=108	+109	-88	2½
107	Andrew P H Kinsman	ENG	(1880)	filler								+111	+108	2
108	M Ruessel	BRD	(1650)	=104	=105	-102	-103	-29	=111	-91	=106	-94	-107	2
109	M C Nicholls	ENG	(1280)	-94	+111	-32	-98	-68	-93	-96	=bye	-106	=bye	2
110	Harvey B Bradlow	USA	(2090)	+99	-76	-30	-28	-42	withdrawn					1/5
111	Peter Catt	ENG	(1585)	-64	-109	-103	-93	-105	=108	-94	-104	-107	-99	½

Notes: (1) Compared to the crosstable published in the bulletin I have switched the order of Paul Littlewood and Jack Peters as Paul Littlewood was placed first on tie-break. (2) I've marked in titles after ratings. But I'm not entirely sure about the FIDE Master titles. In the bulletin it marks players as G, M and C - G and M are clearly GMs and IMs but it is not entirely clear whether those marked 'C' are FMs (it was a new title in 1978) or whether it signifies something else (players with norms?). (3) Also, I have shown ratings in brackets exactly as per the bulletin - I assume these are national ratings or perhaps estimated ratings. In 1978 male player ratings did not go below 2200. (4) Corrections have been made to errors discovered in the bulletin crosstable.

GM Norm: Jack Peters (2nd)
IM Norms: Paul Littlewood, John Watson, Paul Van der Sterren, Larry D Evans, Nigel Povah, Bruce Rind

Prizes: £300 & Lloyds Bank Trophy; £250; £200; £150; £120; £100; £80
Players 1-3 received £250 each and players 4-10 £65 each
Paul Littlewood was awarded the Lloyds Bank Trophy

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Stewart Reuben: Congress director
Leonard Barden: Publicity, junior participation, grading
Peter Morrish: Deputy director
Richard Beville: Deputy arbiter
W Ritson Morry: Bulletin editor
Stewards : J A Brown, H Granat, C Groves, A P H Kinsman, A Diamond, M Wheatcroft, J Wheatcroft, T Wheatcroft

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INTRODUCTION by Stewart Reuben

Leonard Barden and I thought up this type of event some years ago. There used to be several very fine Swisses namely Bognor, Whitby and the Chess Festival. The last of these took place in 1973 and thus we felt they needed replacing. It is true that there are now far more tournaments but generally these are concluded in a weekend and thus of a somewhat ephemeral nature. In addition there was a clear and increasing need for opportunities to achieve title norms. All-play-all tournaments for this purpose are not very cost effective as only a small number of people can participate.

The support of Lloyds Bank for chess has enabled us to realise these goals. It is, of course, just one part of their generous £10,000 per year programme, the purpose of which is primarily to help develop chess in schools and universities in Britain. For example, there are nearly 30 Lloyds Bank Junior Scholarships to enable youngsters to take part in this tournament,

We also acknowledge the valued help of the Aaronson Trust, Friends of Chess and the Slater Foundation.

The first Lloyds Bank Masters took place last year in their Silver Jubilee Congress. This was one of the most important tournaments ever held for there it was demonstrated that it was feasible for players to achieve title norms despite there being only a small number of titled participants in a large field. Young players met strong opposition under the most stringent conditions - excellent preparation for international representation. Finally, nobody can complain of a 'closed shop' in which only spoiled favourites receive invitations.

The Aaronson Masters in March and the GHT Open in New York in July confirmed that there was no need for any restriction on the entry, it could be completely open.

This tournament is probably the strongest open ever held in Europe with 5 grandmasters, 5 international masters and 52 other internationally rated players taking part. Perhaps most astonishing is that there are more players from overseas than British representatives and no less than 18 players from the United States.

That these events are successful is demonstrated by the number of imitations that have sprung up, but title norms, ratings, publicity are all insignificant by comparison with the final criterion that the players enjoy themselves. This should be manifested in good, fighting chess and if you are reading this but foolish enough not to have played, then you can judge for yourself whether or not we were successful.

International Honours at the Lloyds Bank Masters 1978

To gain an international grandmaster or master norm :

in the tournament of 10 opponents and oneself, it is necessary to play -

1/ at least 4 title-holders (for this purpose ims elect do not count)
2/ not more than 7 players from one country (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Guernsey are separate)
3/ not more than 2 players without international ratings

For the gm norm, a 2550+ result is needed (7½-8 points probably)
an untitled player must also finish in the undivided first 3.

For the im norm, a 2450+ result is needed (6-6½ points probably)

For the purpose of calculating the average rating of one’s individual tournament, unrated players are assumed to be 2200

Score required for the norm

Av.rating 10 + self	Category	IM Norm	GM Norm
2301-2325	3	7	-
2326-2350	4	7	-
2356-2375	5	6½	8
2376-2400	6	6	7½
2401-2425	7	6	7
2426-2450	8	5½	7

Rating of games:

1/ only encounters against rated players are considered

The effect of the tournament on the rating of players with a published international rating is determined by their percentage score and the average rating of their opponents.

As a rule-of-thumb, take the average rating of the opponents and add or subtract 36 points as appropriate for each 5% variation from 50%.

For provisionally rated players to become established:-

It is necessary to play at least 18 rateable games before October 31. e.g. games played in Hastings Challengers, Aaronson Masters, World Open, GHI International, British Championship, Lloyds Bank Masters, Benedictine International, Strasbourg Open all count.

From January 1st. 1979 provisionally rated players will count as if 2200 for title norm purposes but rated for rating calculation purposes.

Unrated players obtaining publishable ratings:
(a) must play at least 9 games
(b) the rating performance must exceed 2200
(c) it has been the practice to average the international rating with the national rating to achieve the published international rating
(d) To calculate the performance, use the rule-of-thumb method above
(e) It is unlikely that players will achieve ratings from this event alone

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Pairing System for the Lloyds Bank Masters

As many of the competitors are foreign visitors and thus unacquainted with the Swiss pairing systems used in London, detail is given below.

The following are the general principles used:
a) players on the same score are paired together*
b) pairings are aimed at players having equal whites and blacks
c) on each score group pairings are effected by top half v second half in grading order *

This grading order is that shown on the tournament chart in terms of the British grade. It is an attempt to assess each player’s current strength. This need not correspond to any published grade or rating.

* The first 3 rounds will be accelerated. The effect of this will be that players graded under 213 who perform well will play against higher graded opponents with fewer points.

To convert British grade to International rating:

British grade x 8 + 600 = International (Elo) rating.

* In working out the pairings, the maximum opportunity is given for players to achieve international honours. The requirements for these has been previously explained. It is often necessary to discard (c) above. A priority system is sometimes needed to decide whose requirements should be met first. The order of priority is as follows:

• grandmaster candidates achieving gm norms
• international masters achieving gm norms
• players achieving im norms which will give them the title
• players achieving im norms which will give them a second norm
• rated players achieving im norms
• untitled players achieving gm norms
• unrated players achieving title norms
• conversion of provisional ratings to established ratings (for this purpose it is necessary for the controllers to know how many games each provisionally rated player has played)
• obtaining provisional ratings for unrated players
• co-nationals are not usually paired together

Within each of the 9 categories above, preference is given as follows :

• to players who have performed well in previous London Chess Association Master tournaments
• to players in order of actual playing strength
• In doing these pairings no account is taken of the view that an opponent is possibly weaker than his published rating

If you assess all this as appallingly complex - you’re quite right!

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A REVIEW OF THE TOURNAMENT By Leonard Barden (published in the bulletin)

In this, the second Lloyds Bank Masters Tournament, our aims were a grandmaster norm, a wider international entry, and support for talented school and university chessplayers in accordance with Lloyds Bank's £10,000 per year programme. There was progress on all counts, and we hope that over the years the "Masters" will acquire the status in British chess that Lone Pine has in the United States.

John Peters, though without an international title, was one of the pre-tournament favourites because of his tie for third place with Lein and Portisch at Lone Pine 1978. His high calibre chess earned his second grandmaster norm, and he will probably try to go straight for IGM rather than cash in his norms for an IM title.

Yrjo Rantanen's games were always interesting to watch,while Paul Littlewood's great performance delighted British fans. The family trait of over-optimism has sometimes handicapped his talents, but this summer it all clicked as he added consistency to his creative ideas and tactical skills. Unbeaten in 21 games at the British Championship and the Lloyds Bank,and still aged only 22, Paul has chances to become one of the strongest British masters.

The breakdown of the seven title norms was one by a Dutchman, two by English players, and four by Americans. In 1978 Paul Van der Sterren already had Korchnoi's scalp at Wijk aan Zee and an IM norm at IBM Amsterdam, so his further success was no surprise. The norm for Nigel Povah, a hard working and popular young British professional, was overdue and well earned.

The Lloyds Bank Masters was a great success for the Americans; but even more significant for U.S. chess than the norms for Peters, Watson, Evans and Rind was the outstanding talent of 14-year-old Joel Benjamin who missed an IM score by only half a point. Joel drew with IGM Forintos and took IGM Balinas to 130 moves. He demonstrated master strength against Yeo, Large and Basman and seemed to find strong moves very easily. To be labelled America's new Bobby Fischer is a heavy burden. The measure of Joel's result is that he looked full value for that description.

The U.S. is one of the four strongest chess nations, bracketed with Hungary and Yugoslavia immediately behind the U.S.S.R. One of the strengths of American players is in pressure games - for instance it was fighting spirit and ability to come from behind which won U.S. teams the gold medals at the chess Olympics of 1931,1937 and 1976. John Watson, Larry D Evans and Bruce Rind played in this fine tradition and all got their IM norms after looking out of contention at some stage in the tournament. Danny Kopec also played bravely and was unlucky to miss the norm he deserved. I was impressed by the unselfish encouragement the U.S. competitors gave young Benjamin and the way they joined in his post mortems. Few strong British masters make a point of talking or analysing with juniors at adult tournaments, yet such contacts can be more valuable than any formal all-junior training sessions. If you are a 190+ player and know a youngster in the B.C.F. squad, please try to give him your informal advice and encouragement at your next tournament together.

Other overseas players who can be well satisfied with their results are Bouaziz, Masculo, Lind, and Zullo.

A total of 26 selected juniors from the B.C.F. squad were awarded entry fee reductions as part of the Lloyds Bank chess programme. Most achieved international level (200-2200) performances and several visiting masters commented that such junior strength in depth is unparalleled outside the U.S.S.R.

But despite their good overall results, this powerful tournament highlighted two weaknesses of British juniors - poor finishing under pressure and lack of creativity. Several faded in the last two rounds (so vital in a Swiss system event) or else ran out of ideas under the continuous pressure of meeting 200+ opponents. The remedies? Better physical and technical preparation, and, most important, further similar experience. Two positive developments for British chess in the next nine months would be conversion of the Hastings Challengers to a title norm event, and the establishment of the Aaronson Masters as a permanent fixture, as long as both tournaments provide junior scholarships like the Lloyds Bank Masters.

Some junior results were notable. Thus Dugald MacPherson missed the IM norm only in the final round, Glenn Flear defeated IGM Forintos, Richard britton reached the prize list, and Sheila Jackson, unbeaten after round 1, made a real advance towards challenging Jana Miles as our No.1 woman. Four of the under-16s, Julian Hodgson, Daniel King, John Hawksworth, and Ian Wells did well, as did Australia's talented youngster Ray [Rey] Casse.

But the most eye-catching British junior result was negative. Nigel Short had the worst disaster of his career, grovelling among the tail-enders when we hoped that he would rival Joel Benjamin in contention for a norm. What went wrong? Fatigue after the British Championship is too simplistic an explanation. Joel Benjamin, physically slighter than Nigel, played four IM tournaments in three different countries this summer. Nigel lacked concentration at the board and was sometimes joking with friends in the analysis room while the game was still in progress; he was badly prepared and seemed to prefer instant blitz to looking up the openings of the next round opponent.

Nigel's form in 1978 till this event was marvellously consistent, and he is among the leaders in the £2,000 Cutty Sark Grand Prix, the national league for British Congresses. So his uncharacteristic failure can be viewed two ways: either that at age 13 he is "entitled" to an overdue bad result, or that such an outcome to his first GM tournament raises question-marks over his credibility as a potential world champion. Better still, suspend judgment till his next major event.

In general, the tournament produced lively chess, few dull draws, and a positive approach. The best of the GM play, in my view, came from Peters and Shamkovitch, and that is a reflection of their strength. Difficulty in pre-game preparation, one of the anti-Swiss System arguments, is in fact welcomed by many participants. The structure of the event cuts down the short draws which mar so many all-play-alls, but which advocates of those costly events always underplay.

The Reuben pairing system, which identifies potential FIDE norm candidates, again proved its value as seven players achieved norms; but the large proportion of unrateds made for some uneven results. Running such an event with grandmasters and with over 100 players (the largest so far in a FIDE-title Swiss) places a heavy burden on the organisers and controllers. The professionalism of Stewart Reuben, Peter Morrish and Richard Beville coped with it all magnificently.

The Cumberland Hotel was the best venue we have had for FIDE tournaments. The excellent playing rooms with good air-conditioning and helpful managerial and catering staff proved a distinct advance on earlier events.

It is to be hoped that there will be other FIDE-rated tournaments in and around London before the 1979 Lloyds Bank Masters. It is necessary now to play 18 games against already FIDE-rated opponents to get on the world list, and any player of 190+ strength without a world rating should, in his own interests,try to ensure that he qualifies.

Finally, a word to readers who competed in the tournament and to parents of the junior entrants. Chessplayers are poor at providing feedback, but comments and suggestions are helpful to sponsors, publicists and organisers. Simply to know that you enjoy a tournament and wish it to continue is valuable. Lloyds Bank Public Relations, P.O.Box 215, 71 Lombard Street,London EC3P 3BS, are always pleased to hear from participants in the Bank's chess programme or their parents.

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File Updated

Date	Notes
2015	Uploaded a file of 184 games, plus a scan of the crosstable and a PDF of the tournament bulletin.
21 January 2016	Five more games contributed by Andy Ansel, for which many thanks.
20 July 2021	Six more games, completing the full ten played by Michael Yeo. Many thanks to Michael for sending these. Thanks also for reminding me to correct a name: Michael Ashley Pagden (not Mark A Pagden as appears in error in various databases and places online). Hopefully I have not perpetuated this error elsewhere on BritBase. Number of game entries now 195.
22 July 2021	A further 16 games, played by John C Henshaw and Geoffrey H James, submitted by Brian Denman - many thanks. Running total now 211. I have also provided a better crosstable, with some errors corrected.
24 December 2023	13 more games added, comprising all ten of Tim Harding's games (for which many thanks) and three of Michael Freeman's, gleaned from chessgames.com. Running total now 224.
24 December 2023	Added another game: D.King ½-½ J.Silman (rd 10). Many thanks to Andy Ansel for this one. Running total now 225.
20 April 2024	Added the game J.Nicholson 1-0 N.Short (rd 4.10), submitted by John Nicholson, for which many thanks.
29 June 2024	Added three games played by Jeremy Silman (all drawn): (1) rd 6.27 (Black) v G Hillyard; (2) rd 8.20 (Black) v S Farias; (3) rd 9.21 (White) v W Grossmann. My thanks to Andy Ansel for sending the games. Running total now 229 games.
30 June 2024	Three more games added, all involving Danny Kopec: (1) rd 4.14 (Black draw) v G.Hilllyard; (2) rd 5.16 (White win) v D.Friedgood; (3) rd 6.12 (Black win) v A.J.Muir. Many thanks to Andy Ansel for sending the games. Running total now 232 games.
26 August 2024	Added the game G.Flear 1-0 F.Borm (rd 6.11). Many thanks to Andy Ansel.