18th Clare Benedict Cup — Madrid 1971

Four Dutch players share the load and survive England’s final-round charge
March 14–18, 1971 · Madrid, Spain
Netherlands won the 18th Clare Benedict Cup with 12 board points; England placed second on 11½.
Incomplete record·16 of 60 games archived
Event Index 16 GAMES

Incomplete record. This archive holds 16 of the 60 games played; 44 are missing.

The Netherlands won at Madrid with 12 board points, only half a point ahead of England, after every Dutch player scored exactly 3/5.

The tournament

The six regular Western European teams met in Madrid for five four-board rounds. England and the Netherlands brought only four players and therefore used no reserve, while the other teams could rotate a fifth member.

The Netherlands built its lead with wins over Switzerland, Spain and West Germany. England beat the leader 3–1 in the final round, but the Dutch total of 12 survived by half a point; defending champion Spain was third on 10.

Players and archive evidence

Eduard Scholl, Hans Ree, Franciscus Kuijpers and Jan Timman each scored 3/5 for the champion. England’s George Botterill made 3½/5, the best score on board four.

Only 16 of the 60 games survive with their moves; the other 44 are known only as results. (The reference site's note says 17, but its file has 16.) The page shows the official standings without a board-by-board grid.

Final standings

12
Netherlands won the 18th Clare Benedict Cup with 12 board points; England placed second on 11½.

Only 16 of the 60 games survive, so the page shows the official table without a board-by-board grid.

This archive holds 16 of the 60 games played; the standings above are the official final result.

# Team Points
1 Netherlands 12
2 England 11½
3 Spain 10
4 Austria 9½
5 West Germany 9
6 Switzerland 8
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