Semmering-Baden 1937
Sponsored by Austria's casinos, eight of the world's finest players met in the autumn of 1937 for an elite double round-robin in the hills south of Vienna. The 21-year-old Estonian Paul Keres won it a full point clear of the unbeaten Reuben Fine, ahead of Capablanca and Reshevsky — a victory Keres regarded as the one that confirmed him among the game's very best.
◈A casino tournament in the Austrian hills
The event was staged and paid for by Austria's casinos, which assembled a compact but formidable eight-man field: Keres, Fine, former World Champion José Raúl Capablanca, Samuel Reshevsky, Salo Flohr, Erich Eliskases, Viacheslav Ragozin and the Latvian Vladimirs Petrovs. The first four rounds were played at the mountain resort of Semmering before the tournament moved down to the Hotel Grüner Baum in Baden bei Wien for the remainder.
The double round-robin was overseen by two great names of the game: reigning World Champion Max Euwe acted as chief arbiter for the first half of the schedule, after which Rudolf Spielmann took over for the second.
◈Keres arrives
Keres won with 9/14, scoring six wins against only two losses, a full point ahead of Fine, who finished second on 8/14 without losing a single game. Capablanca and Reshevsky shared third place on 7½, with Flohr fifth on 7.
For Keres the result was a landmark. He would later describe Semmering-Baden as a kind of Candidates' tournament and counted the win among the achievements that established his standing at the summit of world chess, capping a remarkable run of results through 1937.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keres, Paul | 9/14 | +6 -2 =6 | games → |
| 2 | Fine, Reuben | 8/14 | +2 -0 =12 | games → |
| 3 | Reshevsky, Samuel Herman | 7½/14 | +4 -3 =7 | games → |
| 4 | Capablanca, Jose Raul | 7½/14 | +2 -1 =11 | games → |
| 5 | Flohr, Salo | 7/14 | +2 -2 =10 | games → |
| 6 | Eliskases, Erich Gottlieb | 6/14 | +3 -5 =6 | games → |
| 7 | Ragozin, Viacheslav | 6/14 | +2 -4 =8 | games → |
| 8 | Petrovs, Vladimirs | 5/14 | +2 -6 =6 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keres, Paul | ½½ | 10 | ½½ | ½1 | 10 | ½1 | 11 | |
| 2 | Fine, Reuben | ½½ | ½½ | ½½ | ½½ | ½½ | 1½ | 1½ | |
| 3 | Reshevsky, Samuel Herman | 01 | ½½ | ½½ | ½½ | 11 | ½0 | 10 | |
| 4 | Capablanca, Jose Raul | ½½ | ½½ | ½½ | 1½ | ½0 | ½1 | ½½ | |
| 5 | Flohr, Salo | ½0 | ½½ | ½½ | 0½ | 1½ | ½½ | 1½ | |
| 6 | Eliskases, Erich Gottlieb | 01 | ½½ | 00 | ½1 | 0½ | ½1 | 0½ | |
| 7 | Ragozin, Viacheslav | ½0 | 0½ | ½1 | ½0 | ½½ | ½0 | 1½ | |
| 8 | Petrovs, Vladimirs | 00 | 0½ | 01 | ½½ | 0½ | 1½ | 0½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.