The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, September 01, 1971 - Page 6
In Chess Climax - Hard Last Stage Faces Spassky Wed, Sep 1, 1971 – 6 · The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) · Newspapers.com
In Chess Climax - Hard Last Stage Faces Spassky by Bill Rayner
Chess fever inched toward the critical stage Tuesday as the Canadian Open championship entered its final — and most tense—phase.
Tournament director Phil Haley had to haul out his rule book twice to decide the outcome of two key games, while several other were adjourned with the outcome in doubt.
The rule book gave grandmaster Hans Ree of The Netherlands a draw with world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union and denied one to U.S. grandmaster Lubomir Kavalek.
In question was the rule governing the claiming of a draw by repetition of position.
Ree, in a complicated middle game with Spassky, noted that the position was repeated three times and claimed the draw under the pertinent rule.
Spassky seemed mildly surprised but smilingly agreed to the draw when Haley confirmed Ree's claim.
Kavalek tried the same thing in his game with young Ed Formanek of Ottawa. However the rule states that the repetition must be backed up by the player's score sheet, and Haley decided that Kavalek did not record his moves properly because of time trouble.
Kavalek, a rook down, resigned the game pending the outcome of an appeal of Haley's decision.
The appeal committee turned down Kavalek today, however, giving Formanek his second win over a grandmaster in the tournament.
He had defeated Australian Walter Browne Saturday, and Tuesday's win gives him 6½ points, just one point off the lead.
It was Browne, curiously enough, who was the most vociferous supporter of Kavalek's draw claim, to the extent of helping Kavalek compose his written appeal.
Before all this took place, however, Vancouver's international master, Duncan Suttles, moved into a first place tie by defeating Surrey's Bob Zuk.
Suttles' win was a pretty one, stemming from an English Opening as white. It was Zuk's first loss, and leaves him at six points.
Suttles now has seven points, as have Ree and George Kuprejanov of Toronto.
Kuprejanov defeated international master Zvonski Vranesic of Toronto in a game also marked by a tense position and time trouble.
Spassky, meanwhile, has 6½ points after accepting his third draw in the last four games.
He now will have a difficult time winning the tournament. With only three rounds to go in the 11-round Swiss event, Spassky has already played Ree and Suttles and must rely on others to defeat them before he can claim the title.
None of the adjourned games has a bearing on first place, although Browne can move into a second-place tie with Spassky and Formanek if he wins his adjourned game with E. Bone of Texas.
The other divisions in the tournament are also up for grabs.
In the Expert class, Ian Hambleton of Toronto and Roy Ervin of Venice, Calif., lead with six points, with Bone having 5½ points and his adjourned game with Browne.
In Class A, several players are grouped with five points, or have adjourned games which bear on the lead, while Jerry Aspler of Montreal and B. Thorvardson of Surrey share the Class B lead with five points each.
Jon Berry of Vancouver has a clear lead in the junior class, with six points.
The tournament continues tonight at 6 at the University of B.C.'s Ponderosa Cafeteria.
