Reggio Emilia 1963/64
The sixth Reggio Emilia tournament produced the closest finish of the event's early years. Four players — Germany's Rudolf Teschner, and Hungary's Gedeon Barcza, János Flesch and Ernő Gereben — arrived at the final round locked together on the same score, and it took a tiebreak to decide who carried home the trophy.
◈A tournament sustained by one patron
By its sixth edition, the Reggio Emilia New Year tournament had become, as the local press put it, an annual custom kept alive chiefly through the enthusiasm of Cavaliere del Lavoro Pietro Slanzi. The field returned to the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo for twelve players and eleven rounds: grandmaster Gedeon Barcza of Hungary, international masters Rudolf Teschner (Germany), János Flesch and Ernő Gereben (Hungary), and the Italian regulars Vincenzo Castaldi and tournament founder Enrico Paoli among them.
The lead changed hands repeatedly through the event — Flesch, Pierluigi Beggi, Teschner and Barcza each held it at different points — and nobody was able to pull clear.
◈A four-way finish
By the last round, Teschner, Barcza, Flesch and Gereben had all reached 8½ points from 11 games, and Teschner was awarded first place on tiebreak. Beggi took clear fifth on 6½, with Castaldi sixth on 6 and Paoli eighth on 5. Poland's Jerzy Bratoszewski and Italy's Marco Bonfioli shared ninth on 3, and France's Jean Fricker and Italy's Armando Siveri brought up the rear on 1½ apiece.
It was the first of two Reggio Emilia titles for Teschner, who would share the top spot again — in another four-way tie — at the following year's edition.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Flesch, Janos | 8½/11 | +8 -2 =1 | games → |
| =1 | Gereben, Erno | 8½/11 | +8 -2 =1 | games → |
| =1 | Teschner, Rudolf | 8½/11 | +8 -2 =1 | games → |
| =1 | Barcza, Gedeon | 8½/11 | +7 -1 =3 | games → |
| 5 | Beggi, Pierluigi | 6½/11 | +5 -3 =3 | games → |
| 6 | Castaldi, Vincenzo | 6/11 | +5 -4 =2 | games → |
| 7 | Trincardi, Tullio | 5½/11 | +4 -4 =3 | games → |
| 8 | Paoli, Enrico | 5/11 | +3 -4 =4 | games → |
| =9 | Bonfioli, Marco | 3/11 | +3 -8 =0 | games → |
| =9 | Bratoszewski, Jerzy | 3/11 | +3 -8 =0 | games → |
| 11 | Siveri, Armando | 1½/11 | +1 -9 =1 | games → |
| 12 | Fricker, Jean | 1½/11 | +0 -8 =3 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flesch, Janos | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Gereben, Erno | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 3 | Teschner, Rudolf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Barcza, Gedeon | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Beggi, Pierluigi | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 6 | Castaldi, Vincenzo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Trincardi, Tullio | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Paoli, Enrico | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Bonfioli, Marco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | Bratoszewski, Jerzy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Siveri, Armando | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | |
| 12 | Fricker, Jean | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.