Hastings International Chess Congress
Encyclopedia
The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess
congress which takes place in Hastings
, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament
. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the knock out
format; while in 2005/06 and 2006/07 it was played using the Swiss system
. Alongside the main event there is the challengers section, which is open to all players. The winner of the challengers event earns an invitation in the following year's Premier.
In addition to the annual international tournament at the Christmas Congress, Hastings has also hosted international tournaments at irregular intervals in its Summer Congress. The most celebrated of these is Hastings 1895
, which featured two world champions and nearly all of the world's best players.
Every World Champion
before Garry Kasparov
except Bobby Fischer
played at Hastings: Wilhelm Steinitz
(1895), Emanuel Lasker
(1895), José Raúl Capablanca
(1919, 1929/30, 1930/1 and 1934/5), Alexander Alekhine
(1922, 1925/6, 1933/4 and 1936/7), Max Euwe
(1923/4, 1930/1, 1931/2, 1934/5, 1945/6 and 1949/50), Mikhail Botvinnik
(1934/5, 1961/2 and 1966/7), Vasily Smyslov
(1954/5, 1962/3 and 1968/9), Mikhail Tal
(1963/4), Tigran Petrosian
(1977/8), Boris Spassky
(1965/6), and Anatoly Karpov
(1971/2). The only champions to play Hastings while currently holding the title were Lasker at Hastings 1895
and Alekhine at the 1933/4 Christmas Congress.
Vera Menchik
(Czechoslovakia), who was then the Women's World Champion
, was the first woman to play in the Premier section, participating in seven tournaments from 1929/30 through 1936/37.
In 1963/4 Nona Gaprindashvili
(USSR) won the Challengers section when she also was Women's World Champion, earning a spot in the next years Premier.
In the 1964/5 Premier she scored 5/9 to place fifth, beating all of the British masters in the tournament.
The Hastings Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined
takes its name from the game Victor Berger
(né Buerger) – George Alan Thomas
, Hastings 1926/7, which began 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bxf6 Qxf6 6.Nc3 c6 7.Qb3.
, won by Frederick Yates
4/6 ahead of Roland Henry Vaughn Scott 3.5, Henry Ernest Atkins
3, and Richard Griffith 1.5.
In 1921/2, the second Congress, the field was still almost entirely British.
The lone foreign entrant, Borislav Kostić
(Yugoslavia), won with a perfect 7/7 score.
The third Congress in 1922/3, began the event as a truly international competition with four foreign participants in the field of ten.
Max Euwe
(Netherlands) won with 7.5/9. Except for 1924/5 and during World War II, the tournaments would continue as ten-player events with the field half British, half foreign. In 1968 the field was increased to twelve, and in 1971 it was increased again to sixteen.
The Congress was held in the Hastings Town Hall from 1921 to 1929. In 1930 it was held in the Waverly Hotel; from 1931 to 1953 at the White Rock Pavilion; from 1954 to 1965 at the Sun Lounge, St. Leonards-on-Sea; and in 1966 Falaise Hall, White Rock Gardens.
At first the tournament was funded by private donations and a grant from the Hastings Corporation, but eventually commercial sponsorship became necessary.
The 1967 to 1969 tournaments were sponsored by The Times
newspaper and the St Leonards and Hastings Corporations.
This allowed an increase in the prize funds for both the Premier and Challengers' sections, with the prizes for the Premier being 1st £250, 2nd £100, 3rd £50, 4th £25, and £5 per won game for non-prize winners. Challengers prizes were 1st £100, 2nd £50, 3rd £30, 4th £20, 5th £10, and a £20 prize for the best score by a British player. Participants in the by-invitation Premier section had expenses paid. The entry fee for the Challengers' section was £4, with the 32-player field selected from the entries received.
Zetters International Pools was the sponsor in 1975, and Ladbrokes
in 1976.
Other sponsors included J. D. Slater, W. R. Morry, and the Friends of Chess.
The 1961/2 Congress featured World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik, making his first return to Hastings since 1934/5.
The 1934/5 Congress was Botvinnik's first tournament outside the Soviet Union and he had finished a disappointing fifth behind Sir George Thomas
, Max Euwe, and Salo Flohr
tied for 1st-3rd, and Capablanca at 4th.
This time Botvinnik was undefeated, winning seven and drawing
two to finish first with 7/9.
Svetozar Gligorić
was second with 6, Flohr third with 5.5, and Arthur Bisguier
and John Penrose tied for fourth-fifth with 5.
Hastings 1895 is considered one of the greatest tournaments in the history of chess. It was one of the first tournaments to include all the top players, including former World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz
and current champion Emanuel Lasker
, Mikhail Chigorin
, Siegbert Tarrasch
, Karl Schlechter, Joseph Henry Blackburne
, David Janowski
, and others. The result of the 22-game round-robin was a surprise, as American Harry Nelson Pillsbury
won with 16.5 points despite playing in his first international tournament.
The Hastings 1919 "Victory Tournament" was the first international tournament held in an allied country
after World War I.
The field was chiefly British, but the tournament was dominated by Cuban José Raúl Capablanca
(soon to be World Champion) and Yugoslav grandmaster Borislav Kostić
. Capablanca won 10.5/11 without a loss, drawing only his game to Kostić who placed second with 9.5. George Alan Thomas
and Frederick Yates
tied for 3rd-4th with 7 points.
Hastings 1922 was a double round-robin with Alexander Alekhine
, Akiba Rubinstein
, Efim Bogoljubov, Siegbert Tarrasch
, George Alan Thomas
, and Frederick Yates
. Capablanca and Lasker had been invited but were unable to attend. The tournament featured a slower time control
than had been usual in England—17 moves per hour instead of 20 moves per hour. The outcome wasn't decided until the final round. Bogoljubov lost all his games against tournament leaders Alekhine and Rubinstein. Rubinstein needed a final round victory over Thomas to tie for first with Alekhine, but achieved only a draw to fall a half point short. Alekhine won with 7.5, Rubinstein was second with 7, and Bogoljubow and Thomas tied for third-fourth with 4.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
congress which takes place in Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the knock out
Single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
format; while in 2005/06 and 2006/07 it was played using the Swiss system
Swiss system tournament
A Swiss-system tournament is a commonly used type of tournament where players or teams need to be paired to face each other for several rounds of competition. This type of tournament was first used in a Zurich chess tournament in 1895, hence the name "Swiss system". The Swiss system is used when...
. Alongside the main event there is the challengers section, which is open to all players. The winner of the challengers event earns an invitation in the following year's Premier.
In addition to the annual international tournament at the Christmas Congress, Hastings has also hosted international tournaments at irregular intervals in its Summer Congress. The most celebrated of these is Hastings 1895
Hastings 1895 chess tournament
The Hastings 1895 chess tournament was a round-robin tournament of chess conducted in Hastings, England from August 5 to September 2, 1895.Hastings 1895 was arguably the strongest tournament in history at the time it occurred. All of the strongest players of the generation competed...
, which featured two world champions and nearly all of the world's best players.
Every World Champion
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
before Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
except Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
played at Hastings: Wilhelm Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...
(1895), Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...
(1895), José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
(1919, 1929/30, 1930/1 and 1934/5), Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
(1922, 1925/6, 1933/4 and 1936/7), Max Euwe
Max Euwe
Machgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...
(1923/4, 1930/1, 1931/2, 1934/5, 1945/6 and 1949/50), Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
(1934/5, 1961/2 and 1966/7), Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
(1954/5, 1962/3 and 1968/9), Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
(1963/4), Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
(1977/8), Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
(1965/6), and Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
(1971/2). The only champions to play Hastings while currently holding the title were Lasker at Hastings 1895
Hastings 1895 chess tournament
The Hastings 1895 chess tournament was a round-robin tournament of chess conducted in Hastings, England from August 5 to September 2, 1895.Hastings 1895 was arguably the strongest tournament in history at the time it occurred. All of the strongest players of the generation competed...
and Alekhine at the 1933/4 Christmas Congress.
Vera Menchik
Vera Menchik
Vera Menchik was a British-Czech chess player who gained renown as the world's first women's chess champion. She also competed in chess tournaments with some of the world's leading male chess masters, defeating many of them, including future World Champion Max Euwe.The daughter of a Czech father...
(Czechoslovakia), who was then the Women's World Champion
Women's World Chess Championship
The Women's World Chess Championship is played to determine the women's world champion in chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE....
, was the first woman to play in the Premier section, participating in seven tournaments from 1929/30 through 1936/37.
In 1963/4 Nona Gaprindashvili
Nona Gaprindashvili
Nona Gaprindashvili is a Georgian chess player, the sixth women's world chess champion , and first female Grandmaster. Born in Zugdidi, Georgia , she was the strongest female player of her generation....
(USSR) won the Challengers section when she also was Women's World Champion, earning a spot in the next years Premier.
In the 1964/5 Premier she scored 5/9 to place fifth, beating all of the British masters in the tournament.
The Hastings Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined
Queen's Gambit Declined
The Queen's Gambit Declined is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit:This is known as the Orthodox Line of the Queen's Gambit Declined...
takes its name from the game Victor Berger
Victor Buerger
Victor Buerger was a Ukrainian–British chess player.Victor Berger was a member of London Chess Club....
(né Buerger) – George Alan Thomas
George Alan Thomas
Sir George Alan Thomas, Bart. was a British badminton, tennis and chess player. He was twice British Chess Champion and a 21-time All-England Badminton champion. He also played in the semi-finals of the men's tennis doubles at Wimbledon in 1911...
, Hastings 1926/7, which began 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bxf6 Qxf6 6.Nc3 c6 7.Qb3.
History
The first Christmas Congress in 1920/1 was a four player double round-robin of British ChampionsBritish Chess Championship
The British Chess Championship is organised by the English Chess Federation. There are separate championships for men and women. Since 1923 there have been sections for juniors, and since 1982 there has been an over-sixty championship. The championship venue usually changes every year and has been...
, won by Frederick Yates
Frederick Yates
Frederick Dewhurst Yates was an English chess master who won the British Chess Championship on six occasions...
4/6 ahead of Roland Henry Vaughn Scott 3.5, Henry Ernest Atkins
Henry Ernest Atkins
Henry Ernest Atkins was a British chess master who is best known for his unparalleled record of winning the British Chess Championship nine times in eleven attempts. He won every year from 1905 to 1911, and again in 1924 and 1925...
3, and Richard Griffith 1.5.
In 1921/2, the second Congress, the field was still almost entirely British.
The lone foreign entrant, Borislav Kostić
Borislav Kostic
Borislav Kostić was a Serbian professional chess grandmaster from Vršac , then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire ....
(Yugoslavia), won with a perfect 7/7 score.
The third Congress in 1922/3, began the event as a truly international competition with four foreign participants in the field of ten.
Max Euwe
Max Euwe
Machgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...
(Netherlands) won with 7.5/9. Except for 1924/5 and during World War II, the tournaments would continue as ten-player events with the field half British, half foreign. In 1968 the field was increased to twelve, and in 1971 it was increased again to sixteen.
The Congress was held in the Hastings Town Hall from 1921 to 1929. In 1930 it was held in the Waverly Hotel; from 1931 to 1953 at the White Rock Pavilion; from 1954 to 1965 at the Sun Lounge, St. Leonards-on-Sea; and in 1966 Falaise Hall, White Rock Gardens.
At first the tournament was funded by private donations and a grant from the Hastings Corporation, but eventually commercial sponsorship became necessary.
The 1967 to 1969 tournaments were sponsored by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper and the St Leonards and Hastings Corporations.
This allowed an increase in the prize funds for both the Premier and Challengers' sections, with the prizes for the Premier being 1st £250, 2nd £100, 3rd £50, 4th £25, and £5 per won game for non-prize winners. Challengers prizes were 1st £100, 2nd £50, 3rd £30, 4th £20, 5th £10, and a £20 prize for the best score by a British player. Participants in the by-invitation Premier section had expenses paid. The entry fee for the Challengers' section was £4, with the 32-player field selected from the entries received.
Zetters International Pools was the sponsor in 1975, and Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes plc is a British based gambling company. It is based in Rayners Lane in Harrow, London owned by Bhavin Kakaiya. From 14 May 1999 to 23 February 2006, when it owned the Hilton hotel brand outside the United States, it was known as Hilton Group plc...
in 1976.
Other sponsors included J. D. Slater, W. R. Morry, and the Friends of Chess.
The 1961/2 Congress featured World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik, making his first return to Hastings since 1934/5.
The 1934/5 Congress was Botvinnik's first tournament outside the Soviet Union and he had finished a disappointing fifth behind Sir George Thomas
George Alan Thomas
Sir George Alan Thomas, Bart. was a British badminton, tennis and chess player. He was twice British Chess Champion and a 21-time All-England Badminton champion. He also played in the semi-finals of the men's tennis doubles at Wimbledon in 1911...
, Max Euwe, and Salo Flohr
Salo Flohr
Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...
tied for 1st-3rd, and Capablanca at 4th.
This time Botvinnik was undefeated, winning seven and drawing
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
two to finish first with 7/9.
Svetozar Gligorić
Svetozar Gligoric
Svetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
was second with 6, Flohr third with 5.5, and Arthur Bisguier
Arthur Bisguier
Arthur Bernard Bisguier is an American chess Grandmaster, chess promoter, and writer. Bisguier won two U.S. Junior Championships , three U.S. Open Chess Championship titles , and the 1954 United States Chess Championship title. He played for the United States in five chess Olympiads...
and John Penrose tied for fourth-fifth with 5.
Winners
| # | Year | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1920/21 | |
| 2 | 1921/22 | |
| 3 | 1922/23 | |
| 4 | 1923/24 | |
| 5 | 1924/25 | |
| 6 | 1925/26 | |
| 7 | 1926/27 | |
| 8 | 1927/28 | |
| 9 | 1928/29 | |
| 10 | 1929/30 | |
| 11 | 1930/31 | |
| 12 | 1931/32 | |
| 13 | 1932/33 | |
| 14 | 1933/34 | |
| 15 | 1934/35 | |
| 16 | 1935/36 | |
| 17 | 1936/37 | |
| 18 | 1937/38 | |
| 19 | 1938/39 | |
| 20 | 1939/40 | |
| 21 | 1945/46 | |
| 22 | 1946/47 | |
| 23 | 1947/48 | |
| 24 | 1948/49 | |
| 25 | 1949/50 | |
| 26 | 1950/51 | |
| 27 | 1951/52 | |
| 28 | 1952/53 | |
| 29 | 1953/54 | |
| 30 | 1954/55 | |
| 31 | 1955/56 | |
| 32 | 1956/57 | |
| 33 | 1957/58 | |
| 34 | 1958/59 | |
| 35 | 1959/60 | |
| 36 | 1960/61 | |
| 37 | 1961/62 | |
| 38 | 1962/63 | |
| 39 | 1963/64 | |
| 40 | 1964/65 | |
| 41 | 1965/66 | |
| 42 | 1966/67 | |
| 43 | 1967/68 | |
| 44 | 1968/69 | |
| 45 | 1969/70 | |
| 46 | 1970/71 | |
| 47 | 1971/72 | |
| 48 | 1972/73 | |
| 49 | 1973/74 | |
| 50 | 1974/75 | |
| 51 | 1975/76 | |
| 52 | 1976/77 | |
| 53 | 1977/78 | |
| 54 | 1978/79 | |
| 55 | 1979/80 | |
| 56 | 1980/81 | |
| 57 | 1981/82 | |
| 58 | 1982/83 | |
| 59 | 1983/84 | |
| 60 | 1984/85 | |
| 61 | 1985/86 | |
| 62 | 1986/87 | |
| 63 | 1987/88 | |
| 64 | 1988/89 | |
| 65 | 1989/90 | |
| 66 | 1990/91 | |
| 67 | 1991/92 | |
| 68 | 1992/93 | |
| 69 | 1993/94 | |
| 70 | 1994/95 | |
| 71 | 1995/96 | |
| 72 | 1996/97 | |
| 73 | 1997/98 | |
| 74 | 1998/99 | |
| 75 | 1999/00 | |
| 76 | 2000/01 | |
| 77 | 2001/02 | |
| 78 | 2002/03 | |
| 79 | 2003/04 | |
| 80 | 2004/05 | |
| 81 | 2005/06 | |
| 82 | 2006/07 | |
| 83 | 2007/08 | |
| 84 | 2008/09 | |
| 85 | 2009/10 | |
| 86 | 2010/11 | |
Summer Congress
| # | Year | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1895 | |
| 2 | 1919 | |
| 3 | 1922 | |
| 4 | 1995 |
Hastings 1895 is considered one of the greatest tournaments in the history of chess. It was one of the first tournaments to include all the top players, including former World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...
and current champion Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...
, Mikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin also was a leading Russian chess player...
, Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch was one of the strongest chess players and most influential chess teachers of the late 19th century and early 20th century....
, Karl Schlechter, Joseph Henry Blackburne
Joseph Henry Blackburne
Joseph Henry Blackburne , nicknamed "The Black Death", dominated British chess during the latter part of the 19th century. He learned the game at the relatively late age of 18 but quickly became a strong player and went on to develop a professional chess career that spanned over 50 years...
, David Janowski
Dawid Janowski
Dawid Markelowicz Janowski was a leading Polish chess master and subsequent French citizen....
, and others. The result of the 22-game round-robin was a surprise, as American Harry Nelson Pillsbury
Harry Nelson Pillsbury
Harry Nelson Pillsbury , was a leading chess player. At age 22, he won one of the strongest tournaments of the time , but his illness and early death prevented him from challenging for the World Chess Championship.- Early life :Pillsbury was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, moved to New York City...
won with 16.5 points despite playing in his first international tournament.
The Hastings 1919 "Victory Tournament" was the first international tournament held in an allied country
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
after World War I.
The field was chiefly British, but the tournament was dominated by Cuban José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
(soon to be World Champion) and Yugoslav grandmaster Borislav Kostić
Borislav Kostic
Borislav Kostić was a Serbian professional chess grandmaster from Vršac , then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire ....
. Capablanca won 10.5/11 without a loss, drawing only his game to Kostić who placed second with 9.5. George Alan Thomas
George Alan Thomas
Sir George Alan Thomas, Bart. was a British badminton, tennis and chess player. He was twice British Chess Champion and a 21-time All-England Badminton champion. He also played in the semi-finals of the men's tennis doubles at Wimbledon in 1911...
and Frederick Yates
Frederick Yates
Frederick Dewhurst Yates was an English chess master who won the British Chess Championship on six occasions...
tied for 3rd-4th with 7 points.
Hastings 1922 was a double round-robin with Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
, Akiba Rubinstein
Akiba Rubinstein
Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein was a famous Polish chess Grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th century. He was scheduled to play a match with Emanuel Lasker for the world championship in 1914, but it was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War I...
, Efim Bogoljubov, Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch was one of the strongest chess players and most influential chess teachers of the late 19th century and early 20th century....
, George Alan Thomas
George Alan Thomas
Sir George Alan Thomas, Bart. was a British badminton, tennis and chess player. He was twice British Chess Champion and a 21-time All-England Badminton champion. He also played in the semi-finals of the men's tennis doubles at Wimbledon in 1911...
, and Frederick Yates
Frederick Yates
Frederick Dewhurst Yates was an English chess master who won the British Chess Championship on six occasions...
. Capablanca and Lasker had been invited but were unable to attend. The tournament featured a slower time control
Time control
A time control is a mechanism in the tournament play of almost all two-player board games so that each round of the match can finish in a timely way and the tournament can proceed. Time controls are typically enforced by means of a game clock...
than had been usual in England—17 moves per hour instead of 20 moves per hour. The outcome wasn't decided until the final round. Bogoljubov lost all his games against tournament leaders Alekhine and Rubinstein. Rubinstein needed a final round victory over Thomas to tie for first with Alekhine, but achieved only a draw to fall a half point short. Alekhine won with 7.5, Rubinstein was second with 7, and Bogoljubow and Thomas tied for third-fourth with 4.