Fourteen masters gathered in Merano in the Italian South Tyrol for the town's second international masters tournament. Belgium's Edgard Colle emerged half a point clear of Esteban Canal, Dawid Przepiórka, and Rudolf Spielmann — the first of his three major international victories, and one of the strongest results of his tragically short career.
A winter tournament in Merano
Merano's second masters tournament ran from 4 to 21 December 1926 — fourteen players, thirteen rounds, 91 games. The international field was formidable: the Austrian attacking legend Rudolf Spielmann, the openings theorist Ernst Grünfeld, Savielly Tartakower, Borislav Kostić, England's Fred Yates, Peru's Esteban Canal, and Poland's Dawid Przepiórka, alongside a supporting cast headed by Italy's Stefano Rosselli del Turco.
Colle's first great victory
Edgard Colle scored 9/13, with six wins, six draws and one loss, to finish half a point ahead of a three-way tie between Canal, Przepiórka and Spielmann on 8½. Kostić and Yates followed on 8, with Grünfeld and Tartakower on 7½. Belgian chess history counts Merano 1926 as the first of Colle's three major international wins, and it capped a very good year: months earlier he had also won at Amsterdam ahead of Tartakower and the future world champion Max Euwe.
The brief brilliance of Edgard Colle
Colle gave his name to the Colle System (1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3), a quiet-looking setup he used from 1925 on to launch fierce kingside attacks. His career was short: he suffered from chronic ill health, survived three difficult operations for a gastric ulcer and died after a fourth in 1932, at just 34.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colle, Edgard | 9/13 | +6 -1 =6 | games |
| =2 | Canal, Esteban | 8½/13 | +7 -3 =3 | games |
| =2 | Przepiorka, Dawid | 8½/13 | +7 -3 =3 | games |
| =2 | Spielmann, Rudolf | 8½/13 | +6 -2 =5 | games |
| =5 | Yates, Frederick Dewhurst | 8/13 | +6 -3 =4 | games |
| =5 | Kostic, Boris | 8/13 | +5 -2 =6 | games |
| =7 | Gruenfeld, Ernst | 7½/13 | +3 -1 =9 | games |
| =7 | Tartakower, Saviely | 7½/13 | +3 -1 =9 | games |
| 9 | Rosselli del Turco, Stefano | 5/13 | +4 -7 =2 | games |
| =10 | Grob, Henry | 4½/13 | +3 -7 =3 | games |
| =10 | Patay von Bay, Gyula | 4½/13 | +2 -6 =5 | games |
| =10 | Sacconi, Antonio | 4½/13 | +2 -6 =5 | games |
| 13 | Alimonda, Benno | 4/13 | +2 -7 =4 | games |
| 14 | Calapso, Remo | 3/13 | +0 -7 =6 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colle, Edgard | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 2 | Canal, Esteban | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 3 | Przepiorka, Dawid | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Spielmann, Rudolf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Yates, Frederick Dewhurst | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 6 | Kostic, Boris | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Gruenfeld, Ernst | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | Tartakower, Saviely | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 9 | Rosselli del Turco, Stefano | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Grob, Henry | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 11 | Patay von Bay, Gyula | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 12 | Sacconi, Antonio | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 13 | Alimonda, Benno | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 14 | Calapso, Remo | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.