Which title was conferred to Duncan Suttles in 1973?
Duncan Suttles Duncan Suttles ( born 21 December 1945 ) is a Grandmaster ( chess ) of chess who was the strongest Canadian player between the eras of Abe Yanofsky and Kevin Spraggett . He is one of the few over-the-board grandmasters who also holds the title of Grandmaster of International Correspondence Chess . Suttles has been inactive in over-the-board play since the mid-1980s . He currently serves with the software firm Magnetar Games , as President and Chief Technologist . Early years . Suttles was born in San Francisco , California , but moved to Canada during the American draft . He was of National Master strength by his mid-teens , which was unusual for Canadian chess at that time . His early mentor was mathematician and master Elod Macskasy . Suttles made his first appearance in the Closed Canadian Chess Championship at Brockville , 1961 , at age 15 , and scored 3/11 . Suttles won the British Columbia Championship in 1963 and 1966 . In his second Closed , he scored 8½ from 15 games at Winnipeg 1963 , finishing just above the middle of the strongest and youngest field yet seen in a Canadian final . Suttles tied for 3rd–5th places in the 1964 Canadian Open Chess Championship in Toronto , and as the top junior , qualified for the 1965 Junior World Chess Championship . He took part in The Gijon International Chess Tournament ( 1965 ) , adchieving 2th behind Luis Bronstein . At home in Vancouver for the 1965 Canadian Championship , Suttles scored 8/11 and finished second , behind eight-time champion Daniel Yanofsky . As a dual Canadian-American citizen , Suttles was also eligible for the United States Championship , New York City 1965–66 , in which he finished last with 2½/11 , an event won by Bobby Fischer . Suttles attended the University of British Columbia , and represented the school in interuniversity chess competition . He earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics , and began doctoral-level studies , but did not complete his PhD . Represents Canada . Suttles represented Canada at the Junior World Chess Championship , Barcelona 1965 , but was drawn into a strong preliminary group which included the eventual winner Bojan Kurajica , and could only score 1½/4 , failing to advance to the finals . Suttles did manage to win the B final , ahead of Raymond Keene . Suttles represented Canada in the qualifying Interzonal event for the World Chess Championship at Sousse 1967 , scoring 9½/21 for 15th place . Suttles won the Canadian Chess Championship held at Pointe-Claire 1969 , after a playoff match with Zvonko Vranesic in Toronto , which Suttles won by 2½–1½ . He took another crack at the Interzonal level at Palma de Mallorca 1970 , scoring 10/23 for a tied 15–16th place , but did not qualify for the final Candidates matches that would choose the title challenger . Olympic stalwart . Suttles appeared at age 18 on the Canadian Olympiad team for Tel Aviv 1964 , for the first of his eight selections , including six in a row , over a period of 20 years . He usually played a large number of games in these team events , close to the maximum . Here are his complete results ; his totals for Canada in Olympiads are : ( +49 −30 =43 ) , for 57.8 percent . He also played board one for Canada on its bronze medal winning team at the 1971 Student Olympiad . - Tel Aviv 1964 : 1st reserve , 5½/10 , +4 −2 =3 ; - Havana 1966 : 4th board , 10/18 , +8 −5 =5 ; - Lugano 1968 : 2nd board , 11½/17 , +7 =9 −1 ; - Siegen 1970 : 2nd board , 8/16 , +3 −3 =10 ; - Mayagüez Student Olympiad 1971 : 1st board , 6½/11 , +6 −4 =1 , team bronze ; - Skopje 1972 : 1st board , 9½/17 , +6 −4 =7 ; - Nice 1974 : 1st board , 10½/19 , +8 −6 =5 ; - Valletta 1980 : 2nd board , 3/8 , +2 −4 =2 ; - Thessaloniki 1984 : 1st board , 5/11 , +4 −5 =2 . Grandmaster . Suttles became a Canadian citizen in 1966 , and married his wife Dobrila in 1968 . Suttles was already of Grandmaster strength by 1968 , and in fact qualified for the grandmaster title at the Lugano Olympiad . However , he was denied the title on the basis of a technicality , that he had played ( and won ) one more than the required number of games in the event . Instead , Suttles settled for the International Master title , earned in 1967 at the Sousse Interzonal . He finally achieved the Grandmaster title at the San Antonio tournament of 1972 , gaining the last half-point he needed against Armenian Grandmaster and former world champion Tigran Petrosian . He won the Canadian Open Chess Championship at Ottawa 1973 . He also won the 1973 La Presse Open in Montreal . Suttles tied for first place in the U.S . Open Chess Championship at Chicago 1973 , scoring 10/12 and defeating GM Walter Browne in the last round . Suttles placed clear second in the 1974 Canadian Open Chess Championship in Montreal with 9½/11 , losing only to the winner Ljubomir Ljubojević . He won the Western Canadian Open , Vancouver 1981 , defeating Tony Miles and Yasser Seirawan in the final two rounds . He won his final Canadian event , the 1984 Vancouver Futurity . While taking a break from over-the-board chess , he won a pre-computer era high level correspondence chess tournament , the Heilimo Memorial , played from 1978–1981 . He was awarded the title of International Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess in 1982 , making him one of the very few players to hold GM titles both for over the board chess and chess by correspondence . Playing style and legacy . In his youth , Suttles was strongly influenced by Aron Nimzowitsch , and became well known due to his preference for hypermodern openings . He was perhaps the worlds leading advocate of the Modern Defence from the mid-1960s , and showed that this line , a universal defence against any White opening move , was fully playable , which had not been the case before his time . The line was nicknamed the Rat , for the Black fianchettoed bishop which kept dodging around in its holes ! As White , Suttles favoured 1.e4 , with a predilection for the Closed Variation against the Sicilian Defence , and the baroque Vienna Game after 1.e4 e5 . He occasionally played the English Opening ( 1.c4 ) as well . By the early 1970s , he was frequently opening with 1.g3 as White , aiming for a reversed Modern Defence , another new opening idea . His unique skills – such as the avoidance of main opening lines , use of a defensive kingside fianchetto , development of knights to unusual squares , and sudden eruption of tactics – are well illustrated by the selection of games listed below , which are all characteristic of Suttles at his best . Suttles was the leader in a group of strong young British Columbia masters mentored by the veteran Macskasy . The players competed hard head-to-head , but also worked together , learned from each other , and employed original playing styles to largely dominate Canadian chess for the better part of a decade . Other members of this group from the late 1960s included Peter Biyiasas , Bruce Harper , Jonathan Berry , and Robert Zuk . In the book The World of Chess ( 1974 ) , authors Anthony Saidy and Norman Lessing described Suttles as the most original strategist since Nimzowitsch . A significant project , entitled Chess on the Edge , includes the largest annotated collection of his games , more than 600 in all . Simultaneous publication of the three volumes took place in March , 2008 , with the publisher being the Chessn Math Association . FM Bruce Harper , one of Suttles students , led the effort , with assistance from GM Yasser Seirawan , Dutch IM Gerard Welling , and GMC Jonathan Berry . Notable chess games . - Gyozo Forintos vs Duncan Suttles , Tel Aviv Olympiad 1964 , Modern Defence / Queens Pawn Game ( A40 ) , 0–1 White responds in quiet and unusual fashion , but the game soon intensifies to Blacks advantage . - Milan Matulovic vs Duncan Suttles , Sousse Interzonal 1967 , Modern Defence , Averbakh Variation ( A42 ) , 0–1 The strong Yugoslav Grandmaster is seemingly perplexed by Blacks unusual strategy . - Bent Larsen vs Duncan Suttles , Sousse Interzonal 1967 , Modern Defence ( B06 ) , 0–1 Larsen was the Chess Oscar winner for 1967 , so this win was perhaps the biggest so far for the young Canadian . - Hans-Joachim Hecht vs Duncan Suttles , Belgrade 1969 , Modern Defence ( B06 ) , 0–1 Another Modern execution of a strong European ; the game is finally decided after a very long endgame . - Duncan Suttles vs Borislav Ivkov , Belgrade 1969 , Modern / Hungarian Opening ( A00 ) , 1–0 One of the first games for this new variation , and it turns out successfully for White . - Larry Evans vs Duncan Suttles , San Antonio 1972 , Modern Defence ( B06 ) , 0–1 The many-time American champion gets schooled in new ways . - Ken Rogoff vs Duncan Suttles , Canadian Open , Ottawa 1973 , Modern Defence ( B06 ) , 0–1 Two young stars debate leading edge opening ideas . - Duncan Suttles vs Kevin Spraggett , Canadian Open , Ottawa 1973 , Sicilian Defence , Closed Variation ( B26 ) , 1–0 Spraggett was one of the top young Canadians of the next generation at this stage ; he would go on to become Canadas strongest-ever player . - Walter Browne vs Duncan Suttles , U.S . Open , Chicago 1973 , Modern Defence ( B06 ) , 0–1 The rising star Browne , an eventual six-time American champion , learns painfully about Suttles exploitation of weak squares . - Duncan Suttles vs Pal Benko , Hastings 1973–74 , Modern / Hungarian Opening ( A00 ) , 1–0 It was Benko himself who had first introduced this variation in the early 1960s , but here Suttles shows off a few new twists . - Karl Robatsch vs Duncan Suttles , Nice Olympiad 1974 , Modern Defence ( A41 ) , 0–1 Suttles shows he is still among the worlds best with the Modern . - Lubomir Kavalek vs Duncan Suttles , Nice Olympiad 1974 , Pirc Defence ( B08 ) , 0–1 The top American board has to concede defeat . - Duncan Suttles vs Bent Larsen , Canadian Open , Montreal 1974 , English Opening ( A13 ) , 1–0 Suttles takes off the many-time Candidate Larsen again , this time on home soil . - Duncan Suttles vs Samuel Reshevsky , Lone Pine 1975 , English Opening ( A26 ) , 1–0 Reshevsky was the epitome of orthodox play in chess , so this game is a fascinating contrast of styles . - Duncan Suttles vs Tony Miles , Vancouver 1981 , Modern / Hungarian Opening ( A00 ) , 1–0 Miles , after losing this game , would go on to use this variation himself with success . - Yasser Seirawan vs Duncan Suttles , Vancouver 1981 , English Opening ( A21 ) , 0–1 Seirawan was one of the worlds top young players , and he would develop a style which resembled that of Suttles . - Pal Benko vs Duncan Suttles , Boston 1964 , Modern Defence , 1–0 Suttles loses this game due to an oversight at the end but it is a wonderful game full of tactics and plays like one long combination . This game was chosen by Canadian IM Lawrence Day as his favourite game in Learn From The Grandmasters . External links . - Suttles biographical sketch at Canadian Chess - Suttles game collection - Interview of Duncan Suttles