Two of the world's rising stars, Reuben Fine and Paul Keres, who would share first at the famous AVRO tournament the following year, came to the Belgian seaside in April 1937 and were caught at the top by the Swiss painter Henri Grob, who beat them both. All three finished on 6/9 in a nine-day international that produced one of the most surprising shared firsts of the interwar years.
A revived Ostend international
Ostend's 1937 tournament was the second edition of the town's revived international series, and considerably stronger than the previous one. Ten masters played a single round-robin at one round per day from 11 to 19 April: the American Reuben Fine and Estonia's Paul Keres at the head of the field, the veteran Savielly Tartakower, Belgium's George Koltanowski, the Dutch master Salo Landau, Paul List, Switzerland's Henri Grob, the Belgian players Israel Dyner and Arthur Dunkelblum, and England's Arthur Reynolds. A separate Reserves section ran alongside the Masters, and E. J. Diemer's tournament book documented the event.
The painter beats the favourites
Grob — a professional artist better known to later generations for the eccentric opening 1.g4 that bears his name than for his tournament results — played the event of his life. He took Keres down in round four and then beat Fine in round five to build a substantial lead, winning several games on time along the way. Losses to List and Koltanowski let Fine claw his way back, and in the final round Grob had to escape with a perpetual check against Dunkelblum to preserve his share of first.
The leaders' own games were anything but quiet. Keres beat Fine in their round-one encounter, then lost twice in a row — to Tartakower and Grob — before recovering with a strong finish. Fine's nine games produced no draws at all: six wins and three losses, the last defeat a round-eight upset by Reynolds, who finished bottom of the table.
Three names on 6/9
Grob, Fine and Keres all ended on 6 points from 9, a point clear of List and Landau on 5, with Koltanowski next on 4½. On tie-break Grob stood first, having beaten both of his co-winners in their individual games — a distinction worth savouring, since Fine and Keres went on to share first at AVRO 1938, the strongest tournament of the era. For Grob it remained the tournament result of his career; his wider fame would rest on the audacious flank opening he championed.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Fine, Reuben | 6/9 | +6 -3 =0 | games |
| =1 | Grob, Henry | 6/9 | +5 -2 =2 | games |
| =1 | Keres, Paul | 6/9 | +5 -2 =2 | games |
| =4 | List, Paul M | 5/9 | +4 -3 =2 | games |
| =4 | Landau, Salo | 5/9 | +3 -2 =4 | games |
| 6 | Koltanowski, George | 4½/9 | +2 -2 =5 | games |
| 7 | Tartakower, Saviely | 4/9 | +2 -3 =4 | games |
| 8 | Dyner, Israel | 3½/9 | +2 -4 =3 | games |
| 9 | Dunkelblum, Arthur | 3/9 | +0 -3 =6 | games |
| 10 | Reynolds, Arthur | 2/9 | +1 -6 =2 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fine, Reuben | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2 | Grob, Henry | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | Keres, Paul | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | List, Paul M | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Landau, Salo | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Koltanowski, George | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Tartakower, Saviely | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | Dyner, Israel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 9 | Dunkelblum, Arthur | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Reynolds, Arthur | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.