LaviChess

First against last

In the last round of the world's first Interzonal, László Szabó, one of the two leaders, met Erik Lundin, who was in last place and had not won a single game. “First place and last place!” wrote Alexander Kotov. Lundin won, and Szabó lost first place.

  • WhiteLászló Szabó
  • BlackErik Lundin
  • WhereSaltsjöbaden
  • WhenAugust 14, 1948
  • EventSaltsjöbaden Interzonal, round 19 (the last round)
  • Result0–1, Black won
  • OpeningBenko Gambit (A58)
  • Length44 moves

In the summer of 1948 the world's first Interzonal tournament was played in Saltsjöbaden, outside Stockholm. FIDE, the world chess federation, had taken over the world championship after Alexander Alekhine's death, and the Interzonal was a new step on the road to the title. The best players went on to the Candidates Tournament.

The Hungarian László Szabó led for nearly the whole tournament. In the next-to-last round David Bronstein caught up with him, and going into the last round they were level. Bronstein won his last game, against Savielly Tartakower. So Szabó had to win to share first place.

His opponent was Erik Lundin, who was in last place and had not won a single game. “The outcome seemed settled in advance. First place and last place!” wrote Alexander Kotov, who also played in the tournament. “Besides, Szabo had White, and that is a big plus.”

The players

László Szabó (1917–1998) from Budapest won his first Hungarian championship at eighteen, in 1935. He was among those who received FIDE's first grandmaster titles in 1950, and he played in three Candidates Tournaments.

Erik Lundin (1904–1988) was one of Sweden's leading players for more than fifty years. He won the Swedish championship seven times and four Olympiad medals. Saltsjöbaden was heavy going, but he had an unusual opening up his sleeve.

Read more about Erik Lundin among the great chess players.

The game move by move

Step through with the arrows or tap a move. Moves with a dot have a comment.

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László Szabó has the white pieces, Erik Lundin the black.

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Open on the analysis board

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Play like Lundin

Guess the moves Lundin played, one at a time. The move from the game earns two points, and a move Lavi thinks is about as good earns one. The other side's moves and the game's notes come as you go.

Play like LundinPlay like Szabó

The moments that decided it

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After 26…Qxb2: Szabó's plan with 27.Qd8+ and 28.Rc8 doesn't work, because the king goes to h6.
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After 31…Rxd5: the tail-ender is two pawns up, and Szabó is on his way to second place.

The end

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The final position after 44.Kb7. White resigned after 44.Kb7.

Tidskrift för Schack gives the game only as far as 31…Rxd5 and then writes that “Black won easily.” The rest of the moves, up to and including 44.Kb7, are in two databases, which both say Black won. Whether Szabó resigned after his own move or lost in some other way, none of the sources we have read says.

Why the game is famous

“Sensationally, Lundin won against Szabo and thereby banished the Hungarian to second place. The Swede's only win of the tournament!” wrote Tidskrift för Schack. David Bronstein won the first Interzonal, a point ahead of Szabó.

Alexander Kotov wrote that Lundin, “who until then had not won a single game in the tournament, carried out this decisive bout in grand style.” And the opening was later named after Pal Benko, who wrote a book about it in 1974.

The whole game with notes, as text

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 Black sacrifices a pawn on the queenside. Tidskrift för Schack called the opening “Swedish-Czech”: the idea had been played in Czechoslovakia, and in Sweden above all by Fritz Kaijser, a specialist in original openings. “Fritz Kaijser is Szabo's indirect conqueror!” wrote the magazine. Today the opening is called the Benko Gambit or the Volga Gambit. 4. cxb5 a6 Lundin had played the same opening against Bronstein in round 8 and got a good game, but lost after a mistake on move 22. 5. bxa6 g6 6. Nc3 Bxa6 7. e4 d6 8. Bxa6 Nxa6 9. Nf3 Bg7 10. O-O Nd7 11. Bf4 O-O 12. Qe2 Qc7 13. Rfc1 Rfb8 14. Rab1 Bxc3 Black trades off the knight on c3. “Characteristic of the opening is Black's initiative on the queenside,” wrote Tidskrift för Schack. Black is a pawn down, but the a- and b-files are open for the rooks and the queen. 15. Rxc3 Qa5 16. Nd2 Nc7 17. Ra3 Qb6 18. Rxa8 Rxa8 19. a3 Nb5 20. Be3 Ra4 21. Rc1 Nd4 22. Bxd4 cxd4 Black gets a passed pawn on d4, and it will become dangerous. 23. Nf3 Nf6 24. Qc2 Ra5 25. Nd2 d3 The passed pawn advances to d3. 26. Qc7 A mistake. With 26.Qc8+ Kg7 27.Qc3, which Tidskrift för Schack suggested, White would have been clearly better. 26… Qxb2 Black takes the pawn on b2. Only now did Szabó see that his plan, 27.Qd8+ Kg7 28.Rc8, didn't work, wrote Tidskrift för Schack: Black answers 28…Kh6. 27. e5 The decisive mistake. Szabó was short of time. “Time trouble helps bring about this desperate decision,” wrote Tidskrift för Schack. White wants to win the knight on f6, but Black takes the knight on d2 first. 27… Qxd2 28. exf6 exf6 White has taken the knight, but Black has taken White's. Now Lundin is a pawn up and has a dangerous passed pawn on d3. Kotov wrote that Szabó to some extent underestimated the Swede, “and that cost him points and first prize.” 29. h4 Kg7 30. Qc3 Qxc3 31. Rxc3 Rxd5 The queens are gone, and Black is two pawns up. This is where Tidskrift för Schack's score ends: “and Black won easily.” 32. Rc1 g5 33. Kf1 gxh4 34. Ra1 f5 35. a4 Kf6 36. Ke1 Re5+ 37. Kd2 Re2+ 38. Kxd3 Rxf2 White has taken the passed pawn on d3, but the rook eats up the pawns on the kingside. 39. a5 Rxg2 40. a6 Rg8 41. Kc4 f4 42. Kd5 Kf5 43. Kc6 f3 44. Kb7 The white king helps the a-pawn, but Black has a rook and five pawns against a rook and one. The game ended in a win for Black.

PGN – the game as text for other chess programs
[Event "Saltsjöbaden Interzonal, round 19 (the last round)"]
[Site "Saltsjöbaden"]
[Date "1948.08.14"]
[Round "?"]
[White "László Szabó"]
[Black "Erik Lundin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A58"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 g6 6. Nc3 Bxa6 7. e4 d6 8. Bxa6 Nxa6 9. Nf3 Bg7 10. O-O Nd7 11. Bf4 O-O 12. Qe2 Qc7 13. Rfc1 Rfb8 14. Rab1 Bxc3 15. Rxc3 Qa5 16. Nd2 Nc7 17. Ra3 Qb6 18. Rxa8 Rxa8 19. a3 Nb5 20. Be3 Ra4 21. Rc1 Nd4 22. Bxd4 cxd4 23. Nf3 Nf6 24. Qc2 Ra5 25. Nd2 d3 26. Qc7 Qxb2 27. e5 Qxd2 28. exf6 exf6 29. h4 Kg7 30. Qc3 Qxc3 31. Rxc3 Rxd5 32. Rc1 g5 33. Kf1 gxh4 34. Ra1 f5 35. a4 Kf6 36. Ke1 Re5+ 37. Kd2 Re2+ 38. Kxd3 Rxf2 39. a5 Rxg2 40. a6 Rg8 41. Kc4 f4 42. Kd5 Kf5 43. Kc6 f3 44. Kb7 0-1

Download .pgn

Sources

  • Tidskrift för Schack 1948 no. 8–9: the rounds (pp. 179–180), Alexander Kotov on the tournament (p. 184) and the game with notes (pp. 211 and 222)
  • PGN Mentor, Interzonal1948.pgn
  • Mark Weeks: 1948 Saltsjobaden Interzonal
  • Wikipedia: Interzonal tournament, Saltsjöbaden 1948
  • Wikipedia: Benko Gambit
  • Wikipedia: László Szabó

The moves compared in three sources: PGN Mentor and Mark Weeks are identical, 87 half-moves, and Tidskrift för Schack 1948, the Swedish federation's magazine, has the same moves up to and including 31…Rxd5, where it stops. The date, August 14, 1948, and the fact that it was the last round are in the magazine. That Szabó and Bronstein were level before the round is there too, and it agrees with the results of all 190 games of the tournament in PGN Mentor. Every move has also been replayed by computer and checked against the rules of chess.

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Updated November 14, 2026