Bad Elster Qualifying Tournament 1939
Erich Eliskases won the Bad Elster master tournament with five wins and four draws. His 7/9 put him a point and a half ahead of Josef Lokvenc, Herbert Heinicke and Paul Michel.
An unbeaten winner
Eliskases defeated Ludwig Röß, Franz Herzog, Walter Püchl, Berthold Koch and Paul Michel, and drew his other four games. Lokvenc, Heinicke and Michel shared second place on 5½, with Hans Herrmann and Röß next on five.
A qualifying master tournament
The contemporary announcement scheduled Bad Elster for June 4–11 and described it as one of the preliminary competitions for the German championship. The ten players met once each over nine rounds. Other qualifying tournaments took place separately, and the national final was a distinct competition at Bad Oeynhausen.
The local representative
Walter Püchl of Oelsnitz represented the Vogtland region. His only point came from a second-round win over Herrmann. A later municipal history places the international tournaments in the Kurhaus, while a contemporary newspaper preserves Röß’s final-round loss to Herrmann through Black’s thirty-third move.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eliskases, Erich Gottlieb | 7/9 | +5 -0 =4 | games |
| =2 | Lokvenc, Josef | 5½/9 | +3 -1 =5 | games |
| =2 | Heinicke, Herbert | 5½/9 | +3 -1 =5 | games |
| =2 | Michel, Paul | 5½/9 | +4 -2 =3 | games |
| =5 | Herrmann, Hans | 5/9 | +4 -3 =2 | games |
| =5 | Roess, Ludwig | 5/9 | +4 -3 =2 | games |
| 7 | Koch, Berthold | 4/9 | +2 -3 =4 | games |
| 8 | Herzog, Franz | 3½/9 | +3 -5 =1 | games |
| 9 | Jaeger, Walter | 3/9 | +2 -5 =2 | games |
| 10 | Puechl, Walter | 1/9 | +1 -8 =0 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eliskases, Erich Gottlieb | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 2 | Lokvenc, Josef | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 3 | Heinicke, Herbert | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Michel, Paul | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Herrmann, Hans | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 6 | Roess, Ludwig | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Koch, Berthold | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Herzog, Franz | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Jaeger, Walter | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | Puechl, Walter | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.