Prague 1946

The Treybal Memorial, and another 1946 win for Najdorf
2–22 October 1946 · Prague, Czechoslovakia
Najdorf won with 10½/13

One of the first major international tournaments held in liberated Czechoslovakia, this fourteen-player round-robin was staged as the Treybal Memorial, honouring the Czech master Karel Treybal, who had been executed by the Nazi occupiers in 1941. Miguel Najdorf won it, losing only a single game on his way to 10½ from 13.

Dates
2–22 October 1946
Venue
Prague, Czechoslovakia — Treybal Memorial Tournament
Format
Single round-robin, 14 players, 13 rounds
Winner
Miguel Najdorf, 10½/13 (+9 −1 =3)
Runners-up
Gösta Stoltz and Petar Trifunović, 9
Field
Najdorf, Stoltz, Trifunović, Foltys, Gligorić, Golombek, Pachman, Šajtar, Kottnauer

A memorial in liberated Prague

The tournament was conceived as a memorial to Karel Treybal, the Czech master and judge who was arrested and shot by the German occupation authorities in 1941 — a reminder of how heavily the war had fallen on Central European chess. Held in the autumn of 1946, the Treybal Memorial was among the first international events to gather leading masters in the newly liberated country.

The field reached well beyond Czechoslovakia. Sweden's Gösta Stoltz and Yugoslavia's Petar Trifunović were the strongest of the visitors, joined by the young Svetozar Gligorić and England's Harry Golombek, while the home side was led by Jan Foltys and Luděk Pachman, with Jaroslav Šajtar and Čeněk Kottnauer also taking part.

Najdorf loses only once

Najdorf's result — nine wins, three draws and just one loss — carried him to 10½/13 and clear first. Jan Foltys set a fast early pace, and Trifunović recovered from a poor start, dropping no further games, to climb into a share of second place.

Behind Najdorf the finish was tightly bunched: Stoltz and Trifunović tied for second on 9, with Foltys and Gligorić a further half-point back on 8½. The victory was part of the same golden run that would bring Najdorf first prize at Barcelona a month later.

14
Players
91
Games
13
Rounds
10½/13
Najdorf's score

Final Standings

10½/13
Najdorf won with 10½/13
# Player Score Record Games
1 Najdorf, Miguel 10½/13 +9 -1 =3
=2 Stoltz, Gosta 9/13 +7 -2 =4
=2 Trifunovic, Petar 9/13 +7 -2 =4
=4 Foltys, Jan /13 +6 -2 =5
=4 Gligoric, Svetozar /13 +6 -2 =5
6 Golombek, Harry /13 +5 -5 =3
7 Sajtar, Jaroslav 6/13 +5 -6 =2
8 Pachman, Ludek 6/13 +4 -5 =4
=9 Katetov, Miroslav /13 +3 -5 =5
=9 Kottnauer, Cenek /13 +3 -5 =5
11 Zita, Frantisek /13 +4 -8 =1
12 Guimard, Carlos Enrique /13 +3 -7 =3
=13 Opocensky, Karel /13 +2 -8 =3
=13 Rohacek, Ivan Vladimir /13 +2 -8 =3

Cross Table

Rank Player 1234567891011121314
1 Najdorf, Miguel ½ ½ ½ 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2 Stoltz, Gosta ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 0 ½ 0 1 1 1 ½
3 Trifunovic, Petar ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1
4 Foltys, Jan ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1
5 Gligoric, Svetozar 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½
6 Golombek, Harry 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 1 1 1
7 Sajtar, Jaroslav 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 1
8 Pachman, Ludek 0 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 0 0 1
9 Katetov, Miroslav 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 0 1
10 Kottnauer, Cenek 0 1 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1
11 Zita, Frantisek 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 ½ 1 0
12 Guimard, Carlos Enrique 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 0
13 Opocensky, Karel 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 1 ½ 0 0 ½
14 Rohacek, Ivan Vladimir 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 ½

Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.