60th Hastings Premier, 29 December 1984 to 13 January 1985

1984/85 Hastings Premier		Fed	Elo	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Total	SOS
1	Evgeny Sveshnikov	USSR	2530g	&;	½	0	½	1	½	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	½	9
2	H James Plaskett	ENG	2470m	½	&;	1	½	0	1	1	1	0	½	1	½	0	1	8	51.00
3	Stefan Djuric	YUG	2490g	1	0	&;	½	½	½	1	0	½	½	1	½	1	1	8	48.75
4	Joel Benjamin	USA	2520m	½	½	½	&;	½	0	1	1	0	½	1	½	1	1	8	48.00
5	John P Fedorowicz	USA	2485m	0	1	½	½	&;	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	8	47.50
6	Glenn C Flear	ENG	2455m	½	0	½	1	½	&;	0	0	1	1	1	½	1	½	7½
7	Lev Gutman	ISR	2485m	1	0	0	0	½	1	&;	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	6½	40.50
8	Viktor D Kupreichik	USSR	2480g	0	0	1	0	½	1	1	&;	0	½	0	½	1	1	6½	39.50
9	Bosko Abramovic	YUG	2480m	0	1	½	1	½	0	0	1	&;	½	0	1	½	0	6
10	Ivan Farago	HUN	2520g	0	½	½	½	½	0	0	½	½	&;	½	½	1	½	5½
11	William N Watson	ENG	2450m	0	0	0	0	½	0	1	1	1	½	&;	½	0	½	5
12	Andrew D Martin	ENG	2445m	0	½	½	½	0	½	0	½	0	½	½	&;	1	0	4½	28.75
13	Vaidyanathan Ravikumar	IND	2385m	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	½	0	1	0	&;	1	4½	26.50
14	Jean Hébert	CAN	2395m	½	0	0	0	0	½	0	0	1	½	½	1	0	&;	4

Average Elo: 2470, Category 9 GM norm = 9, IM norm = 6½

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1984/85 Hastings Challengers, 29 December to 8(?) January, Falaise Hall, 10 rounds

(1) Edward W Formanek (USA) 8/10; (2-3 David H Cummings (ENG), Peter G Large (ENG) 7½; (4) Neil L Carr (ENG) 7; (5-11) Michael J Franklin (ENG), Feliks J Kwiatkowski (ENG), Dr. Ingo Lentze (FRG), Andrew P Lewis (ENG), J/P Rewitz (DEN), Wolfram Schoen (FRG), David E Rumens (ENG) 6½; (12-17) Milan Bajovic (YUG), Mark Levitt (RSA - after 0/3 he scored 6/6), Oortmerssen (NED), John N Sugden (ENG), Erik OMC Teichmann (ENG), Gert Jan Timmerman (NED) 6; (18-24) Johan Kretz (SWE), Thomas Ochsner (DEN), Simon J Roe (ENG), Philip J Rossiter (ENG), Mark Rubery (RSA), Sorensen (DEN), Arnold Van't Hof (NED) 5½, etc. 58 competitors.

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1984/85 'Newtime Foods' Hastings Weekend Congress (11-13 January 1985)

Open: (1-3) Keith C Arkell. Julian M Hodgson, Erik OMC Teichmann 5/6; (4-8) Gil (AUS), Macfarlane (AUS), Dawes, Mark L Hebden, Malcolm Pein 4½... 50 players

Major: (1) J Goldenboog (FRG) 5½/6... 32 entrants

Minor: (1-2) Richard Almond (Hastings), Carl Gorka 5½/6... 66 entrants

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BCM, March 1985, ppn 82-89 [report unattributed - almost certainly editor Bernard Cafferty]

THE 60th HASTINGS CONGRESS

29 December 1984 - 13 January 1985

The 60th Hastings Premier returned to a traditional venue when it was played in the ballroom of the Queen's Hotel. The White Rock Pavilion was being renovated, so that Councillor Pain joked at the opening ceremony that there should be no grumbles this time about the distraction from the pantomime! The failure to find a sponsor was mentioned at the opening ceremony, so it was good to hear that a quarter of a million pound trust fund is being launched to ensure the future of this great traditional event. Harry Golombek has already made a substantial opening contribution to the fund (See page 110).

The exigencies of the budget meant that the status of the tournament was somewhat diminished, and the list of invitees who declined to come would make a really great tournament! Fortunately the Russians were back this time, though visa difficulties meant that they were absent, like the two Yugoslavs, till late on the evening of the first round. In a sense the game between the Russians settled the tournament, though this theoretically first-round encounter was not played till the rest day after the fifth round. Old hands at the tournament looked on amazed as it became clear that Sveshnikov was breaking an old tradition by going for the full point. All credit to his fighting spirit, though, ironically, this lust for victory might be described as Petrosyan's legacy: on the last occasion Sveshnikov played here he was pushed very hard by the late Petrosyan, so he saw no reason to agree that the Soviet representatives should split the point in the same tame way as the Yugoslavs did! In fact the perfunctory 13-move draw between Djuric and Abramovic was about the only game lacking in fighting spirit
before the last round.

[Sveshnikov - Kupreichik]

This impressive win brought the leadership after six rounds to the highest-rated player, as the lead had changed hands from Glenn Flear to John Fedorowicz.

Lev Gutman set the combative tone of the tournament by losing his first two games, winning the next two, losing in the fifth round and then scoring four wins in a row before a run of three losses! His only draw came in the last round, which he played early to get away to his Bundes-liga weekend matches. Since he had played three games early at the Brussels tournament to get to Hastings on time, one can only marvel at his energy. Nearly all his games are worth quoting, but space rules this out. Here are some entertaining encounters in which he was involved.

[Watson-Gutman]

[Gutman-Abramovic]

[Plaskett - Gutman, move 34-end]

Plaskett's wins were normally more convincing. In round two he had this miniature which set the tone for the rest of the tournament: [Plaskett - Hébert]

The Indian Ravikumar was, along with Hébert, a late replacement from the ranks of those who had been playing at Ramsgate. In the third round the former, who handed out some stern blows, was on the receiving end. Who would have thought that the formidable Maroczy bind would fall to pieces so quickly after the inaccuracy of Bf3, instead of f3, leaving c4 undefended?!

[Ravikumar-Fedorowicz]

While typing this report your editor [Bernard Cafferty] has to comment on the number of players who made things difficult for the bulletin editor. John Fedorowicz is an excellent improving player, but his score sheets are atrocious! Not surprisingly, a reminder was issued to the players that the rules of chess prescribe a legible score sheet. The illegibility of some game records, combined with the deliberate omission of signs for check and captures (obvious symptoms of the modern chess disease Informatoritis) makes it harder to have a permanent record of the event. We fear there are a number of inaccuracies in the bulletin, notably missing check signs, and we also believe that some game records printed there are lacking the last move or two — in other words both players submitted score sheets which did not carry every move played on the board.

This feature was partly due to the number of Zeitnotchiks in the tournament. Watson, Gutman and Benjamin were regular members of the clan, but if our observations are correct Djuric stopped recording his moves in the last-round game against Hébert before the 20th move — and then had the gall to enquire if he might have won on time when his opponent's flag went down! In reply Hébert could hold up his score sheet and indicate that he had a neat complete record showing that he had already played move 40!

Benjamin did try to record his moves, though he gets appallingly short of time. Against both Hébert and Kupreichik he had to make something like fifteen moves in less than a minute. He won both! It is only in terms of this lack of time that one can understand why Kupreichik played on so long as he did against him.

[Kupreichik - Benjamin]

A word on the lighting in the ballroom seems called for. The high chandeliers did not provide sufficient illumination and were supplemented by spotlights that created further shadows — non-Fischer conditions for sure. Alas, there was also an overload on the system that led to a failure of the lights in the third round. Darkness was banished for a short time, but returned again twice. By now only two games were still in progress and Sveshnikov v Gutman and Watson v Plaskett had to be transferred to the adjacent press room with the playing session lengthened by 22 minutes. Both players of White had made promising piece sacrifices earlier on, but the defenders finally triumphed in these tense circumstances. It was impressive to see Plaskett's impeccable compliance with the rules. He had about 25 minutes to his opponent's three for the last fifteen or so moves. He meticulously recorded his moves and those of his opponent, move by move, with no attempt to 'blitz' his adversary. To add to the tension the press room 'phone rang at 7.00pm!

Glenn Flear, too, is a model of impeccable behaviour at the board, and records his moves accurately. For a time he even seemed to be on target for the GM norm. His results certainly show the benefit of his recent outings on the Continent.

This is Farago v Flear from the first round. A pawn race is looming, but with major pieces on Black's king would feel ill at ease. Hence Black's eagerness to liquidate as much material as possible. The[re] followed: [Farago - Flear]

Andrew Martin was lacking all the luck he enjoyed last year. All the tactics seemed to go against him with one exception. For example, his first-round slip could be an excellent illustration of the new formulation by Averbakh of chess tactics — the theory of links.

[Martin - Hébert]

The exception was his masterpiece against Ravikumar which bids fair for the title of the modern English 'immortal game'. The double exchange sacrifice for long-term gain has some distant similarities with the famous flawed brilliancy of Rossolimo against Nestler, Venice 1950.

[Martin - Ravikumar]

The fifth-round game which Plaskett finally lost in some interesting complications based on the theme of Zwischenzug, or deferred capture, also had interesting features earlier: the Grand Prix attack in positional mode, with an extended knight manoeuvre from bl to d3 via h3! Very hypermodern by White, or should we describe it merely as very Indian?

[Ravikumar - Plaskett]

The same round featured a dynamic win by the 34-year-old Russian:

[Sveshnikov - Watson]

In the annotation to this game, Bernard Cafferty quotes a complete game which took place at the exact same time in Sweden...

1984/85 Hastings Challengers

58 players took part in the contest for a qualifying place in next year's Premier. The traditional venue, the Falaise Hall, was a most impressive playing hall now that it has been redecorated and has superior lighting, without shadows, from the banks of flourescent tubes. The top boards were occupied throughout by IM Formanek (USA), IM David Cummings and Peter Large. Formanek was undefeated throughout, while few of the English juniors made much impression apart from Neil Carr.

The Newtime Foods weekend open on the last weekend of the congress attracted well over 100 players to its three sections despite the sub-zero temperatures outside as Hastings suffered its worst winter weather for decades. The crucial game in the top section came when Julian Hodgson beat Mark Hebden on the Sunday morning.

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CHESS, January 1985, Vol.49/941-2 (by B H Wood)

The percentage of draws in the Hastings Premier at 36.3 was the lowest since 1965-6.

It was the liveliest Premier for years! Yet England's eight grand masters all declined invitations, and two days before the start Ritson Morry, recruiting chief, was still uncertain who would compete.

Only Sveshnikov achieved the grandmaster norm, 9 points.

The total Hastings entry list exceeded 500. For the first time, subsidiary events went on until January 13th.

Ravikumar won the Asian Junior Championship six years ago at the age of 19; a little known achievement.

The Queen's Hotel proved a very satisfactory venue. A return to it seems probable.

BETTER HASTINGS FUNDS?

Hastings is trying to raise £250,000 to increase the prizes for the 1985-6 congress. Donations are appealed for, from enthusiasts far and wide. Harry Golombek has given £1000 and confirmed this in his Times column. He is recovering from a slight stroke, reports Ritson Morry, who himself donated £1500 in 1974. His bulletins of Hastings 1984-5 will not be finalized for a week or two, he tells us.

Round 1, 29 December 1984			Moves
Fedorowicz	1-0	Plaskett	40
Watson	1-0	Gutman	32
Ravikumar	0-1	Benjamin	56
Sveshnikov	1-0	Kupreichik	44
Farago	0-1	Flear	39
Djuric	½-½	Abramovic	13
Martin	0-1	Hébert	30

The Russians and Yugoslavs were the traditional late arrivals this time, and their games were postponed to the first rest day on 3rd January. The Yugoslavs took a real rest, but Sveshnikov obtained an enduring attack against Kupreichik's displaced king. The English had mixed fortunes: Watson's piece sacrifice punished Gutman's attempt to leave his king in the centre, but Plaskett blundered just before the time control after obtaining opposite-coloured bishops. Flear kept a gambit pawn despite a draughty king position and gave up a piece to obtain two connected passed pawns, while Martin found Hébert's two bishops too powerful in the ending. Benjamin sacrificed a piece, then the exchange for an attack which saw him emerge three pawns up — enough to win despite opposite-coloured bishops.

Round 2, 30 December 1984			Moves
Plaskett	1-0	Hébert	21
Abramovic	1-0	Martin	34
Flear	½-½	Djuric	66
Kupreichik	½-½	Farago	77
Benjamin	½-½	Sveshnikov	52
Gutman	0-1	Ravikumar	36
Fedorowicz	½-½	Watson	18

A more even round as players settled into their routine. Active defence saved half-points for Djuric, Farago and Benjamin. Martin, who had started so well the year before, lost a piece then found himself in a mating net. Hébert set himself up for a piece sacrifice and missed the only defence, while Gutman overreached and blundered a pawn away.

Round 3, 31 December 1984			Moves
Watson	0-1	Plaskett	51
Ravikumar	0-1	Fedorowicz	20
Sveshnikov	0-1	Gutman	37
Farago	½-½	Benjamin	15
Djuric	0-1	Kupreichik	28
Martin	½-½	Flear	39
Hébert	1-0	Abramovic	29

The lights failed three times, causing play to be first suspended then transferred to the press room. Fedorowicz went into the sole lead when Ravikumar was totally bamboozled by his unusual opening. Watson played an enterprising piece sacrifice but Plaskett returned the booty in a time scramble to take over the initiative. Sveshnikov's two pawns were never enough for his proffered piece, but Kupreichik's king's side attack proved stronger than Djuric's queen's side counter. The appearance of opposite-coloured bishops in Martin v Flear already presaged a draw before Martin forced a perpetual. Hébert's brilliant sacrificial attack took full advantage of Abramovic's slow development.

Round 4, 1 January 1985			Moves
Plaskett	0-1	Abramovic	51
Flear	½-½	Hébert	29
Kupreichik	½-½	Martin	47
Benjamin	½-½	Djuric	45
Gutman	1-0	Farago	40
Fedorowicz	0-1	Sveshnikov	56
Watson	0-1	Ravikumar	51

A round of missed opportunities. Fedorowicz lost his lead when he overpressed and lost a pawn: Plaskett uncharacteristically missed the boat after setting up a king's side attack. Hébert neutralised Flear's two bishops to draw by repetition, while Kupreichik allowed Martin to undouble his pawns and enter an equal endgame. Benjamin sacrificed a pawn for attack but his exposed king allowed Djuric to escape by perpetual check. Watson stood well but went horribly wrong in his habitual time trouble. A poor opening with no compensation for Gutman's extra pawn and black-square control was the fate of the off-form Farago.

Round 5, 2 January 1985			Moves
Ravikumar	1-0	Plaskett	31
Sveshnikov	1-0	Watson	30
Farago	½-½	Fedorowicz	35
Martin	½-½	Benjamin	40
Hébert	0-1	Kupreichik	32
Abramovic	0-1	Flear	36
Djuric	1-0	Gutman	69

Plaskett inadvisedly opened up his king's side and was rocked back by a rook sacrifice. Sveshnikov dished out the same treatment for Watson's third loss in a row, and Flear joined him in the lead by countering an exchange sacrifice by an even stronger piece offer of his own — Abramovic exceeded the time limit in a lost position. Fedorowicz pressed but had to settle for a draw by repetition, as did Benjamin when Martin's central control balanced his two bishops. Hébert's early attack was repulsed, and he blundered by moving his king right into the firing line. Djuric wore down Gutman with ingenious tactics which eventually won two pawns.

Round 6, 4 January 1985			Moves
Plaskett	1-0	Flear	41
Kupreichik	0-1	Abramovic	30
Benjamin	1-0	Hébert	41
Gutman	1-0	Martin	42
Fedorowicz	½-½	Djuric	40
Watson	½-½	Farago	40
Ravikumar	0-1	Sveshnikov	42

Flear gave up a pawn and obligingly exchanged to a king and pawn ending. This allowed Sveshnikov to take sole lead when he sacrificed exchange and pawn for light-square control: Ravikumar's two connected passed pawns seemed to give him the edge till he blundered away a piece. Benjamin moved into second place when enterprising opening play led Hébert to a desperate exchange sacrifice which the young American refuted despite having to make 15 moves in a minute.

Kupreichik spurned a draw by repetition only to lose on time, while the luckless Martin dropped a piece. Patient defence of two weak pawns earned Djuric a half-point, and the tail-end battle between Watson and Farago petered out to a draw by repetition.

Round 7, 5 January 1985			Moves
Sveshnikov	½-½	Plaskett	39
Farago	1-0	Ravikumar	32
Djuric	1-0	Watson	81
Martin	0-1	Fedorowicz	50
Hébert	0-1	Gutman	28
Abramovic	1-0	Benjamin	41
Flear	0-1	Kupreichik	36

Sveshnikov's game was postponed to the rest day "due to Plaskett's illness" according to the Bulletin, but in reality at Sveshnikov's request. Having arrived late and had his first-round game postponed, he could not request another delay, it was felt. Plaskett, due to face the other Russian Kupreichik in the next round, was quite happy. His solid defence never looked like cracking. The English fared badly elsewhere: Watson equalised but was completely outplayed in the ending, Martin blundered away two pawns — a desperate exchange sacrifice changed nothing — and, once Flear traded off his isolated d-pawn, his king fell victim to a sacrificial attack.

Ravikumar gave Farago his first win when he weakened his king's side, then allowed a breakthrough when he should have kept it blocked. After a good opening, Benjamin allowed Abramovic to escape into a level endgame and overpressed, finally blundering away a crucial pawn.

Round 8, 6 January 1985			Moves
Plaskett (3½)	1-0	Kupreichik (4)	49
Benjamin (4)	0-1	Flear (3½)	32
Gutman (4)	1-0	Abramovic (4½)	30
Fedorowicz (4½)	1-0	Hébert (2½)	35
Watson (2)	½-½	Martin (1½)	20
Ravikumar (3)	0-1	Djuric (4)	47
Sveshnikov (5)	1-0	Farago (3)	27

Sveshnikov forged ahead largely thanks to good preparation (see games). Sole possession of second place was seized by Fedorowicz when his persistent queen's side pressure caused Hébert to blunder. A materialistic round — Djuric maintained a gambit pawn and was about to queen it at the end, while Kupreichik declined Plaskett's gambit, insisting instead on an unsound one of his own. Meanwhile Benjamin's innovation never looked adequate as he struggled to regain material equality. Watson's initiative petered out, but Abramovic's eccentric opening was heavily punished.

Round 9, 7 January 1985			Moves
Farago (3)	½-½	Plaskett (4½)	29
Djuric (5)	1-0	Sveshnikov (6)	40
Martin (2)	1-0	Ravikumar (3)	40
Hébert (2½)	½-½	Watson (2½)	17
Abramovic (4½)	½-½	Fedorowicz (5½)	45
Flear (4½)	0-1	Gutman (5)	41
Kupreichik (4)	0-1	Benjamin (4)	40

Sveshnikov lost the sole lead when, with a horribly cramped opening, he lashed out and lost the exchange and a pawn. Farago failed to make any impression on solid defence by Plaskett, who really needed a win to have any chance of the G.M. norm of 9. The game of the round was played by Martin, who sacrificed a pawn and two exchanges to keep Ravikumar's king trapped in the centre — his first win!

Abramovic v Fedorowicz flared up suddenly but, with both kings exposed, perpetual check was a distinct likelihood. Both Flear and Kupreichik sacrificed first a pawn, then a piece to no avail.

Round 10, 9 January 1985			Moves
Plaskett (5)	½-½	Benjamin (5)	67
Gutman (6)	0-1	Kupreichik (4)	37
Fedorowicz (6)	½-½	Flear (4½)	24
Watson (3)	1-0	Abramovic (5)	25
Ravikumar (3)	1-0	Hébert (3)	25
Sveshnikov (6)	1-0	Martin (3)	41
Farago (3½)	½-½	Djuric (6)	34

Martin's position was full of weaknesses and eventually two pawns went, leaving Sveshnikov clear again. Gutman, having had four wins in a row, started to nosedive in the opposite direction when Kupreichik went pawn-grabbing and emerged with five pawns for a piece. Djuric was lucky when Farago failed to make anything of a sound extra pawn.

The hapless Hébert blundered a piece, while Watson returned to form when Abramovic unwisely castled queen's side: a piece sacrifice finished it. Benjamin found a neat temporary pawn sacrifice to free his game, but Plaskett responded by offering the exchange for two pawns for dynamic equality.

Round 11, 10 January 1985			Moves
Djuric (6½)	0-1	Plaskett (5½)	41
Martin (3)	½-½	Farago (4)	41
Hébert (3)	½-½	Sveshnikov (7)	28
Abramovic (5)	½-½	Ravikumar (4)	56
Flear (5)	1-0	Watson (4)	42
Kupreichik (5)	½-½	Fedorowicz (6½)	88
Benjamin (5½)	1-0	Gutman (6)	48

For the first time draws were in the majority but only Sveshnikov's was bloodless. Djuric's gambit gave him nothing and Plaskett's clever tactics finished it. Two great saves: Ravikumar lost a pawn but ingeniously swindled a perpetual check, while Kupreichik looked certain to lose but steered into a queen and knight v queen and three connected pawns ending which he drew.

Emerging from a tactical melée, Martin had a useless extra pawn. Flear's two rooks proved stronger than Watson's queen, and Gutman seemed to be holding on a pawn down until he blundered away the exchange.

Round 12, 11 January 1985			Moves
Plaskett (6½)	1-0	Gutman (6)	39
Fedorowicz (7)	½-½	Benjamin (6½)	12
Watson (4)	1-0	Kupreichik (5½)	50
Ravikumar (4½)	0-1	Flear (6)	29
Sveshnikov (7½)	1-0	Abramovic (5½)	25
Farago (4½)	½-½	Hébert (3½)	44
Djuric (6½)	½-½	Martin (3½)	45

The last chance of a G.M. norm being achieved disappeared when Fedorowicz, tired after his marathon the previous day and convinced he could beat Kupreichik in the third session, took a rest. This allowed Sveshnikov to go a point clear — all Abramovic's pawns were isolated in the ending when he dropped one.

Patient defence saved Hébert and Martin. Kupreichik played the opening poorly and had a knight virtually trapped on g8 — a queen sacrifice forcing mate ended it. Ravi-kumar recovered from a dubious opening only to overlook a piece sacrifice forcing mate — giving the English 3½ out of 4.

Round 13, 13 January 1985			Moves
Martin (4)	½-½	Plaskett (7½)	14
Abramovic (5½)	½-½	Farago (5)	11
Flear (7)	½-½	Sveshnikov (8½)	12
Kupreichik (5½)	1-0	Ravikumar (4½)	35
Benjamin (7)	1-0	Watson (5)	38
Gutman (6)	½-½	Fedorowicz (7½)	8
Hébert (4)	0-1	Djuric (7)	46

With Sveshnikov quickly achieving the half-point he needed to be certain of the £1200 first prize, little excitement remained. Plaskett pushed his e-pawn to e4 too early and had to exchange it for a doubled c-pawn, while Kupreichik's pawn-roller opened up Ravikumar's king — see games. An over-exposed king also led to defeats for Hébert and Watson, who grabbed a pawn only to be rocked back by an exchange sacrifice. Plaskett won the Best Game Prize for his round two win over Hébert.

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Tony Miles turned down a £250 appearance fee: "It would have to be much higher." The better conditions at the Queen's Hotel might yet tempt him.

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1984/85 Hastings Challengers by Richard O'Brien

58 players took part, the smallest field for several years. However, with 23 of the players having Elo ratings this was an excellent tournament for gaining a rating. Playing conditions were considerably better than in previous years.

As usual there were numerous players from overseas with Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Holland, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, U.S.A. and West Germany represented. The likely favourites were David Cummings (recently promoted to the status of International Master), Peter Large and Ed Formanek (USA). Dave Rumens was making yet another comeback, playing his first tournament for more than two years.

Round 1 saw confirmation that Rumens had not changed his style: he crushed Kretz in 30 moves.

By the end of Round 3 Formanek had taken the sole lead with 3/3 defeating Teichmann.

Round 4
Cummings (2½)	½-½	Formanek (3)
Large (2½)	1-0	Thompson (2½)
Timmerman (2½)	1-0	Rumens (2½)
Roe (2½)	0-1	Franklin (2½)
Kwiatkowski (2½)	1-0	Dunnington (2)

There were lucky let-offs for both Large and Formanek who gave up queen for rook and bishop in an inferior position and salvaged a draw after 4 sessions.

Round 5
Timmerman (3½)	½-½	Large (3½)
Franklin (3½)	½-½	Kwiatkowski (3½)
Formanek (3½)	½-½	Bajovic (3)
Farooqui (3)	0-1	Cummings (3)

Another great escape for Large — a pawn down for nothing, he somehow managed to survive. Formanek came close to winning another long ending, while Franklin v Kwiatkowski was a comparatively short draw.

Round 6
Cummings (4)	½-½	Timmerman (4)
Large (4)	½-½	Franklin (4)
Kwiatkowski (4)	½-½	Formanek (4)
Schön (4)	1-0	Phillips (3½)

Needless to say Formanek had another long ending and was struggling in the last of the three sessions. Large inadvertently allowed threefold repetition of moves in time trouble, although his winning chances were in any case minimal. Schön, a junior from West Germany had by now caught up and passed the leading group.

Round 7
Formanek (4½)	1-0	Schön (5)
Franklin (4½)	0-1	Cummings (4½)
Rumens (4½)	0-1	Large (4½)
Timmerman (4½)	1-0	Kwiatkowski (4½)

Schön's lead was short lived when he was outplayed by Formanek [Schoen - Formanek]

Cummings won what was then possibly the best game of the tournament: [Franklin - Cummings]

Two more competitors moved into contention, Mercier (France) and Rewitz (Denmark).

Round 8
Cummings (5½)	½-½	Large (5½)
Formanek (5½)	1-0	Timmerman (5½)
Mercier (5)	0-1	Schön (5)
Bajovic (4½)	0-1	Rewitz (5)

Formanek now regained the sole lead, as Cummings v Large was a short draw. Rewitz moved even closer to the leaders with a 91-move win in a Q v R & P ending.

Round 9
Large (6)	½-½	Formanek (6½)
Rewitz (6)	½-½	Cummings (6)
Schön (6)	½-½	Kwiatkowski (5½)
Rumens (5½)	0-1	Franklin (5½)
Timmerman (5½)	0-1	Carr (5)

The top two games were hard-fought draws in 66 and 64 moves respectively — both Large and Rewitz came close to winning. Formanek gave up a pawn in the Schliemann Defence of the Ruy Lopez and although never quite obtaining sufficient compensation managed to salvage half a point.

Round 10
Franklin (6½)	0-1	Formanek (7)
Cummings (6½)	1-0	Schön (6½)
Large (6½)	1-0	Rewitz (6½)

Franklin overreached in a level middle game, giving Formanek a deserved first place. Cummings and Large were better all the way through. Possibly the most interesting game of the round was played on one of the lower boards: [Wright - O'Brien]

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File Updated

Date	Notes
Previously	Games from the Premier uploaded as part of the Hastings collection some time ago.
19 June 2025	The same 91 Premier games, now with dates, plus 12 from other sections. Reports from BCM and CHESS.