Evening star., 1932-07-23

The International Chess Masters
Tournament at Berne, Switzerland, be-
gan July 16. There were 16 entries,
10 from Switzerland. and in addition
Dr. Alexander Alekhine of France,
world champion; Sultan Khan Of Great
Britain, S. Flohr of Czechos.ovakia, E.
D. BogoljuboW of Germany, DR.. Max
Euwe of Holland and DR.. o. Bernstein
of France. DR.. Alekhine has assumed
the lead with four straight victories.
He is followed in order, by j. Colin
of Switzerland, DR.. Euwe, Flohr and
Voelimy. the latter also of Switzerland.
DR.. Alekhine defeated Sultan Khan in
the first round, but he has his hardest
games yet to play. Other games of
note we're the draw of Flohr with Bo-
goljubow, the win of DR.. EuWe from
Bogoljubow, the win of Khan from
DR.. Naegeli of Switzerland, who had
recently won from DR.. Alekhine in a
practice tournament, and the draw
games between Hans Joiner and Flohr,
Bogoljubow and Bernstein, and Prof.
River and DR.. Euwe.
THE Star Of July made reference
i to the complaint of Rudolph
Spielman of Vienna, Austria, of
the methods adopted by DR.. Alexander
Alekhine, world champion, to control
the list of entrants in tournaments In
which he has participated. 1t was
stated that Alekhine has a shifting
scale of charges for his services, and
made it difficult for him to enter the
tournaments in which Alekhine has
taken part. They have not met in
Buenos Aires for the world champion
ship in 1927.
Now comes cable message from
Havana stating that Capablanca has
given up his plans to participate in
the California Chess Congress, to which
he had been invited, and had accepted
tentatively. The reason given Is that
Capablanca found it impossible to go
to California because Alekhine had in
sisted that he receive an additional
$4,000 to the amount otherwise guar
anteed if Capablanca took part in the
tournament. The Tournament Com
mittee was not prepared to pay this
additional amount. Alekhine had been
invited first and the committee felt
obligated to take him.
Any such method of controlling the
selection of opponents or of preventing
the best players from competing by
champion does not appear to be fair
play and will lessen interest in the
performances of the world champion.
II is to be hoped there will not be
repetition in selecting players for
the Chess Congress at the World Fair
at Chicago next year.
At the Marshall Chess Club, New
York City, Reuben Fine, City College
chess champion and champion of the
Marshall Chess Club, won a match
from Herman Steiner of last years
champion United States team by the
score of 512 to Az.
In the match of six games between
Fred Reinfeld, State champion, and A.
Edward Santasiere, former champion,
the latter leads, after four games, by
l to 0, with three games drawn.
Fine, Reinfeld and Santasiere are en-
tered in the California Chess Congress.
THE Christian Science Monitor prints
i dispatch from Mento Park, Calf
stating that Gustavus A. Pfeiffer of
New York has just added to his COL
lection of $50 sets of rare chess men a
historical early California set. This
set is said to be work of art which
was designed and carved by Parker L.
Hall, a sculptor Of San Francisco.
Spaniards and Indians represent the
antagonists on the chess board. The
squares of the board are covered with
gold and silver leaf. and the figures are
carved from magnolia wood, the Span
iards being colored white and gold, the