Congress Chess Club in 1977

The Congress Chess Club in 1977

José Manuel Torres

Historical Introduction

The problems surrounding the discovery of chess's origin have been the subject of heated debate. The Catalan historian Josep Brunet, in his book "Chess: Investigations into its Origin," published at the end of the 19th century, defended the game's Egyptian origin. Currently, it is considered to derive from the primitive "Chaturanga," which emerged in India in the first half of the first millennium BCE. This game evolved through various Asian countries, giving rise to Chinese chess, Japanese chess, and other games.

The chess we play in the West originated from the evolution of Chaturanga, which spread throughout Europe via the Persians and Arabs. As is well known, Spain is the Western country where the Arabs left the most significant mark. History books recount that the inhabitants of the various Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula waged a struggle that lasted more than 800 years against the followers of Muhammad. The enduring presence of Arab civilization on the Iberian Peninsula led, among other things, to Spain becoming the dominant chess power at the beginning of the Modern Age. During the first half of the 16th century, Spain's supremacy was absolute, and a clergyman from Extremadura, Ruy López de Segura, was the strongest player of the era and author of the most famous chess book of his time, *Libro de la invención liberal y arte del juego de axedrez* (Book of Liberal Invention and the Art of the Game of Chess) in 1561. This period saw the height of the Spanish Empire: the gold and riches of the Americas, the conquistadors' thirst for adventure, and the dominions of Flanders, Italy, and Germany, where the sun never set. The specific socio-economic situation, in a way, conditioned the profound exogenous and endogenous changes that occurred in chess as it transitioned from a medieval state reflecting the beginnings of the Asiatic mode of production to one clearly exhibiting the start of an incipient capitalist mode of production. These changes are reflected in the shift in the queen's value, which in medieval chess was called the alferza and advanced one square diagonally, to its current value; in the ability for pawns to advance two squares on the opening move; and in a series of other, more profound strategic changes that resulted in a much more aggressive and imperialistic game.

The second significant change that occurred in the Modern Age took place in France, where in 1749 François Philidor published his famous Analyse du jeu des échecs (Analysis of the Game of Chess). In this work, Philidor expounded many of the values that govern contemporary chess. Its essential value lies in assigning a preponderant role to pawns within the game. For Philidor, pawns are the soul of chess. This profound change in the strategic conception of the game must be related to the rise of the bourgeoisie, which was emerging on an upward trajectory during this historical period. Subsequently, chess continued to adapt to the society in which it existed, and Romantic chess emerged at the beginning of the 19th century.

Currently, there are around 4,000 registered chess players throughout Catalonia. In addition, there is a slightly higher number of enthusiasts who are members of various clubs without being registered. Finally, there are many people who know how to play, or rather, who know how to move the pieces and who occasionally play a game.

These figures, which I have presented earlier, illustrate the limited number of regular players. But this is even more disheartening when you learn that Catalonia has almost half of the registered players in Spain, and that the club we are going to study has more registered members than some Spanish provinces.

The Congreso Chess Club is located in a ground-floor unit on Federico Mayo Street (currently Francesc Galí Street). Originally a section of the Congreso Association, it became independent in 1958. Until very recently, and in some respects still today, the Congreso neighborhood represented the only outlet for addressing the social needs of residents from other neighborhoods. In addition to the aforementioned organizations, it had, and still has, a La Salle Brothers' school, which is also a vocational school, a Teresian nuns' school, a daycare center, various academies, a soccer club, a basketball and skating club, and a neighborhood association. All of this is clearly insufficient, and the shortage of school places persists. Despite everything, it's all there is.

In 1977, the club had 144 members. Members are basically divided into two categories: registered members and supporters. The distinction between the two lies in the fact that the former are registered with the Catalan Chess Federation, which groups them into various categories, and they are the ones with the highest level of play. Supporting members are generally older people, retirees, or those with a lot of free time. It's common to find them playing a game every afternoon; paradoxically, they're the ones who spend the most time at the club, although many of them hardly ever come around throughout the year. They don't usually play in the club championships, and when they do, it's almost always in the third category, the lowest of all.

Registered players are divided into the following categories: 3rd, 2nd, 1st Preferential, Regional Master, National Master, International Master, and Grandmaster.

The third and second categories are represented by a blue and green card, respectively, where the player's information and a photograph are recorded; this is called the federation card. These are the lowest categories and their scope is regional. To move from one category to another, a player must achieve the required 70% in the Catalan individual championship. Currently, with the decentralization of chess, it is also possible to advance through smaller tournaments, but this is not yet fully regulated, although it is expected that full decentralization of the sport will take place in the near future.
The first category gives the player a national scope, allowing them to participate in all open international tournaments.

Game Notation Systems:

Throughout the long history of chess, several systems for notating games have been devised. Their usefulness is very important, as they allow the classification of games according to various criteria and are truly a language of their own, enabling communication among all chess players.

Currently, two notation systems are used: algebraic and descriptive. At the Congreso Chess Club, as well as in the rest of Catalonia and throughout Spain, the descriptive system is used much more frequently. However, recently, the Catalan Chess Federation, along with other world federations, has been making a significant effort to eliminate descriptive notation and implement algebraic notation, a system used by socialist countries and officially adopted by FIDE (the International Chess Federation) for all its publications.

Thus, we can see how the descriptive system is losing ground and how algebraic notation is infiltrating publications, books, and even the players themselves. It is worth noting that algebraic notation has been more widely adopted by high-level players than by lower-level players, and more so by young players than by adults. The explanation lies in the fact that stronger players consult material from the USSR or FIDE, which is written in algebraic notation. The same can be said of young players who, eager to stay up-to-date, avidly consult these publications.

Activities.

Initially, given the association's name, Club Ajedrez Congreso (Congress Chess Club), it might seem that this noble game is the only activity undertaken. However, as I have observed, there are a number of games and behaviors that are unrelated to the practice of chess. First, there are the card games and dominoes: these are played in the club's bar, which is separated from the main building only by a door, more or less soundproofed. Some time ago, about two years ago, these games became incredibly popular, to the point that bets were placed between participants. Because of this betting issue, a members' meeting was held, and it was decided to prohibit these games. As a result, many members threatened to resign, and after some back and forth, the games were allowed, but not the betting. Currently, these games seem to be resurfacing, and small bets are being placed. In fact, there are quite a few members who only come to the club to play these games of chance. Normally, only one table is set up; more is impossible due to the small size of the premises.

Another activity that takes place besides chess, especially on Sunday afternoons, is watching football matches. The club's finances have never been in good shape, much less enough to acquire a television. They finally managed to get one thanks to the skill and expertise of their most outstanding players, who were crowned champions of the "Dicen" chess trophy, winning a television as a prize. Having won it twice, and with a surplus of televisions, they organized a raffle for the remaining one.

We have previously discussed these games that bear no resemblance to chess and are, in fact, contrary to its spirit. Next, I will talk about others that, although closely related to it, are quite different.

If we enter the premises around eight in the evening, it is very likely that we will see a small group gathered around two players moving the pieces at breakneck speed and then punching a clock that keeps track of the time; This type of game is called rapid chess, and it's very popular, especially among young people. Each side typically has 5 minutes, and the player who is checkmated or runs out of time loses. At first glance, it might seem like just a faster version of chess, but this actually leads to profound transformations in the game, which some say make it the closest thing to chess. It's undoubtedly the most widely played variant after chess itself.

Another variant that gained popularity a couple of years ago, but is hardly played now, is called Catch 4. The rules are quite complicated to explain to someone unfamiliar with the game. Basically, it consists of the following: The game is played with four players paired up, one controlling the white pieces and the other the black. Captured enemy pieces are passed to the opponent, who then places them back on their board when they deem it appropriate. The team that exceeds the time limit of about 5 minutes per game or is checkmated loses.

There is also a game called "Monster," which follows the same rules as chess except that one player is left with one less queen, and their knights have the movement of both knight and bishop simultaneously.

Blindfold chess, in which one or both opponents play without a board, is also played sporadically. This discipline is considered quite dangerous for the mind, as it produces a tremendous effort, and the Soviet Chess Federation has banned it.

Simultaneous games are also sometimes played, in which a strong player, usually a master, competes against several players at once. Since there are no players of this caliber in the club we studied, it is understandable that it is rarely played.

Other variations exist, such as nuclear chess, advantage chess, modern chess, correspondence chess, etc., but we have practically no evidence of their practice.

One interesting fact to note is the complete lack of checkers practice. I've only seen a few games played between people who weren't club members. On the other hand, the level of the checkers players is similar to that of any average person who knows the rules of the game.

Next, we'll discuss chess itself. First, we'll talk about so-called friendly games, which are characterized mainly by their informal nature and a relaxation of the rigid rules of championship chess. Players often talk while playing and generally display a touch of boasting. There's a curious case of a member who tries so hard to be humble that he repeats the phrase "non se gaire" (I don't know much) while playing, and this phrase has become his nickname. We should distinguish between players who never play in tournaments and those who do so more or less frequently. The latter play very few friendly games, and when they do, they prefer rapid games. The reason is this: if they play against a lower-ranked player, the game is uninteresting; they're said to be out of practice. And if they play against players of a similar rank, they risk playing for several hours, and there's usually not enough time for that. The expression "touched piece, moved piece" is generally respected in this discipline. When a player doesn't follow it, it's said that they've "touched the piano" and are urged to move the piece they played. Sometimes disputes arise over this, but it rarely happens with tournament players, as these games are played at a much more relaxed pace.

Tournaments.

Currently, the following social tournaments are held, meaning that all members of the organization can participate:
Inaugural Tournament, Multicolor Tournament, Social Championship, Social Rapid Chess Championship, and Annotated Games Championship. All of these tournaments, except the last two, fall squarely within the realm of chess proper and adhere to the rules of the Catalan Chess Federation and the International Chess Federation. These tournaments are not held every year due to the decline in membership, a trend that currently seems to have slowed. This is due to competition from other tournaments organized by the Catalan Chess Federation, which, by awarding titles to participants who reach a certain score and granting small prizes, attract the attention of the more ambitious members who are reluctant to play in social tournaments where they only risk their reputation without gaining anything in return. The club championships are played on Friday evenings. There used to be championships for junior members on Saturday afternoons, but these have since been discontinued. The Inaugural Championship opens the season, played using the Swiss system over eight rounds. It usually starts at the end of September and finishes at the end of the year. Immediately afterward, the Multicolor Championship begins, which is in danger of disappearing due to the emergence of an official tournament played concurrently. This is a team tournament, generally for four players. At the end of January, the club championship, the highlight of the club season, is played using a league system by age categories. A few years ago, when the number of participating members was higher, it had to be played using the Swiss system. The rapid chess tournament is played near the end of the season, in May or June; the format varies, and it wasn't held last season. Finally, there is the annotated games tournament held in the summer. A prominent player from the club presents a game played by grandmasters, and the attendees have to guess a series of moves. The winner of the session receives a bottle of cava if they are a full member (over 18 years old) and a bottle of Cacaolat if they are a junior member. At the end, the player with the most points across several sessions is declared champion and awarded a trophy. The same is done for a less experienced player who has achieved a high score.

Throughout the season, the Catalan Chess Federation organizes the following tournaments: the Catalan Team Championship, the Catalan Individual Championship, the Barcelona Tournament, and a series of smaller tournaments in different regions. The Dicen Trophy, organized by the newspaper Dicen, is also played.

The Catalan Team Championship is the pinnacle of Catalan chess. Congreso has been a member of the Preferente, the highest regional division, since 1970. To date, they have never had a successful championship and have occasionally struggled to maintain their division. In the 1977-78 season, the club fielded four teams in different categories, and not long ago it had as many as seven, one of them being the "F" team, made up exclusively of women. To participate in this tournament and all those organized by the federation, a sports registration is required; the number of registrations is quite high. This tournament boasts the highest participation rate of all those held in Catalonia. It takes place on Sunday mornings.

The individual championship is the second most important tournament in Catalonia, attracting many members of the club, although fewer than the previous one. It is divided into various categories, and players advance from one to the next by achieving a certain number of points. The first-place finisher is recognized as the Catalan champion of their respective category. Finally, there is the highest category, called the "Catalan Championship, Semifinal of the Spanish Championship." The winner is proclaimed the absolute champion of Catalonia and is awarded the title of Regional Master. It is also held on Sunday mornings.

During the summer, open tournaments are held throughout the region. These tournaments are characterized by the fact that anyone holding a national membership card (first category or higher) can participate. They typically last 10 rounds, with one game per day and a rest day in the middle. Participation from members of the Congress is considerable, as they often dedicate their holidays to playing chess. The most famous tournaments are those held in Berga, Badalona, Manresa, and Mallorca.

Player Attitude in Tournaments:

Chess is, fundamentally, an individual game. However, "team" championships have played a very important role both within the Congress and in Catalonia and the rest of the world. Players participating in team tournaments are subject to a double pressure: their own and that of the rest of the team. The responsibility is also twofold, since losing a game often means the defeat of the team. Sometimes a chess player finds themselves in an unclear position, or with no chance of winning, and is forced by team pressure to force the position, often resulting in defeat. According to a prominent member of the club, "in team tournaments, the only right is to win," and the sense of group identity is reinforced in these kinds of tournaments. The Catalan Team Championship represents the most important unifying link within the community for the Congress and other clubs in Catalonia. Many players who are quite detached from the game and rarely attend the club participate in this tournament to feel more connected to the community.

The club championship once held the role that the team championship now occupies, but it no longer does, despite the club's efforts to maintain its prestige. The attitude in individual tournaments is substantially different from that in team tournaments. First, because you only need to be concerned with your own game; the other games being played in the venue should be completely irrelevant to you. Whether you win, lose, or draw, no one will criticize you. You might make a very serious mistake and receive a warning, but only from a technical standpoint, never a moral one.

The Player and the Game:

Before the game begins, the players greet each other with a handshake, usually a sincere one. Then, the player with the white pieces makes their first move and starts the clock, which has been previously set by the arbiter or tournament delegate. The game has begun. The time control varies depending on the category, but we could say that the average is 50 moves in two and a half hours; that is, the player has to make a predetermined number of moves within a specific time, otherwise they will have lost. Games lost due to time constraints are not very numerous, occupying a negligible place, but games lost as a consequence of time trouble are quite frequent: a player may have made 35 moves in two hours and 55 minutes and is forced to make fifteen moves in five minutes. In this short time, driven by nervousness and lack of time, it is very likely that they will not find the most correct move and will make a mistake, losing the game.

The game is divided into three phases: opening, middlegame, and endgame. The opening is the first phase of the game in which both players try to develop their pieces to occupy or control the maximum space in the shortest possible time. This is followed by the middlegame, a phase in which both opponents try to convert the small time or space advantages they gained in the opening, either into something material (winning a pawn or a piece), or through an attack on the king. The last phase of the game is called the endgame, and in it, the aim is to achieve victory by trying to capitalize on the advantage gained in the middlegame.

During a game, a chess player experiences anxiety as they try to determine the most correct move. In correspondence chess, a player has days, even weeks, to analyze a single move and can consult books, magazines, and the opinions of other chess players. Here, however, they only have a few minutes per move. Sometimes the opposite happens, and brilliant combinations of 10 or more moves can be calculated, but this is very rare and is usually reported in all specialized publications.

In addition to this anxiety about their own moves, there is also a certain uncertainty caused by the opponent's move. Recently, a chess computer championship was held, with the Soviet and American computers reaching the final. The Soviet computer won, and according to experts, it "thought" it was waiting for the opponent's response. This rarely happens in competitive games, as the player waiting their turn usually gets up from their chair, walks around the playing room, or, if they remain seated, is absorbed by thoughts unrelated to chess.

All this nervous tension translates into high blood pressure, especially in grandmasters, many of whom often die from heart attacks and strokes. However, at Congreso, since there are no grandmasters, it is unlikely that they will suffer these problems.

There are some members who suffer from cardiovascular issues, but they are all elderly, and none of them hold a high ranking. Many players suffer from gastric problems, both before and after games. Some players are unable to eat before playing and go to the bathroom several times during the game.

Analysis by sex:

Of the 144 members that the Congreso Chess Club had when I conducted the count (December 1977), six were female. This fact, at first glance, demonstrates a tremendous imbalance between the sexes, but this difference is further accentuated when we consider that of the nine participants in the individual championship of Catalonia (province of Barcelona), five belong to the club we are studying. Three of the members hold national licenses (1st category) and have been Catalan champions on several occasions. They consistently achieve good rankings in the Spanish Championship, and one of them represented Spain on the women's chess team at the last Olympiad held in Israel. One of them is the oldest member of the club, at 76 years old. She has been playing chess for over 50 years, since before the Catalan Chess Federation was even founded, and is the widow of a strong chess player. I learned this from an elderly member who told me that her husband was the one who played well, that "she didn't know anything." The other two members with national licenses are 18 and 20 years old, sisters, and play on the second team. According to some, "they play like men." The other three members are recent beginners; two of them are young students, and the third is a middle-aged woman.

I was once told that in the Catalan Women's Chess Championship, the participants, seated several boards apart, would talk amongst themselves about their families, children, husbands, boyfriends, and so on. I've had the opportunity to observe this myself, and I heard nothing of the sort.

When a player has played an aggressive game (with sharp tactical complications and brilliant combinations), it's said that he has played very manly. Unfortunately, sexism is also present in chess. If we observe the way women play, we find a lack of this "manly" style, but nowadays this doesn't mean anything because I no longer play in such a "manly" way, as it requires a lot of composure, good physical and mental health, and a solid theoretical knowledge. When I began this work, I was very afraid of reaching this point, as concluding that women play a more conservative, more feminine game could be very risky and surely false. Fortunately, I haven't reached that conclusion; Reviewing various chess magazines, especially Soviet ones, it is observed that when there is a minimal statistical basis, a percentage of "manly" games similar to that of men is seen.

Analysis of professions:

Students are the most common profession. I have considered anyone born after 1960 to be a student; those born before 1960 are considered schoolchildren. The faculties and higher schools of chemistry, biology, architecture, and engineering (in various branches) are those that most polarize the concerns of young university students. Regarding the behavior of these students, it must be said that some of them are true prodigies in their respective specialties, although there are quite a few who have problems with their studies. There is no correlation between chess ability and academic performance. Many of these good students are truly hopeless at chess, whether due to a lack of patience, excessive nerves, or, for the most part, a lack of time or interest.

The second most common profession is that of administrative worker in its different forms (19), followed by a significant proportion of merchants (10) and mechanics (10). It's interesting to note that the banking sector is represented by five members, two of whom are bank employees. It's worth mentioning that there's only one laborer.

The service sector dominates. A good proportion of the workers are self-employed: shopkeepers, photographers, taxi drivers, etc. There are a few small business owners, and a large majority are salaried employees.

I haven't been able to find out the unemployment figure, if there is one. Although I imagine it will affect young people most, especially those seeking their first job. I've deduced this because quite a few are taking banking or IT courses hoping to find employment.

Among the shopkeepers, there's growing indignation over the repeated attacks and robberies their establishments have suffered, culminating in the murder of a jeweler whose son was a member of the cooperative.

The economic situation of the cooperative's members is diverse. The salaried employees, many of them skilled, earn relatively modest wages. Given the meager pensions provided by social security, it's clear that the retirees won't be able to perform many miracles. The self-employed are also unlikely to receive much, given that we are in a period of crisis and they depend on the public. Finally, it is safe to assume that employers and senior executives have incomes far above the average.

Visiting Hours:

The premises are open every weekday from 6 pm to 10 pm. On Fridays, the day on which most social tournaments are played, they are open until 2 am. On Saturday afternoons, they usually open at 4 pm, as youth competitions between various clubs in the city are frequently held. When this is not the case, they open at 6 pm and officially close at 10 pm, but in practice, some groups always stay to play games of chance until the early hours of the morning.

On Sundays, the premises are normally open from 11 am to 2 pm, or until 9 am if there is a tournament. On Sunday afternoons, they are normally open from 6 pm to 10 pm, but often, postponed games need to be played, and they must open between 4 pm and 5 pm. In all cases where the official hours are not respected, the tournament delegate or arbiter opens the premises.

Finances:

The club is primarily supported by member contributions, which are as follows:

Supporting Member: 250 pesetas and up;
Full Member: 125 pesetas;
Junior Member: 100 pesetas (up to 18 years old);
Retired Member (to be agreed upon)
; Child of Inactive Member: 25 pesetas
; Child of Member: 100 pesetas
; Female Member: 50 pesetas
; Supporting Member: 50 pesetas;

General Admission: 250 pesetas;
Youth Admission: 200 pesetas.

The remaining income is generated through lottery ticket sales. The club distributes ticket books to members, who then distribute them among their friends and acquaintances. Member contributions are very important, and according to the previous president, "without the lottery, we couldn't cover expenses." In addition to the lottery and member contributions, there has been a small annual contribution from the Savings Bank for some time, which last year reached 25,000 pesetas. Occasionally, books are donated to the library, and some members pay for trophies.

Expenses are divided among the upkeep of the premises: rent, cleaning, electricity, heating, water, caretaker, and federation fees: registration fees and travel.

Previously, the club paid the registration fees for all members who signed up for official tournaments of the Catalan Chess Federation. Currently, it no longer does so due to financial difficulties caused by the decline in membership and the country's general inflation.

From June 1967 to January 1976, a newsletter was published, but financial difficulties forced its discontinuation. However, not all the difficulties were financial; besides being very significant, other factors contributed, such as the departure of the magazine's editor, a journalism student and one of the club's best writers. He left because of the emergence of a professional chess club, which severely damaged the club's competitive standing and much of its social cohesion.

Population composition

by age:

1: 1901, 1902, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1916, 1919, 1921, 1925, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1943, 1945, 1949, 1955, 1962, 1963, 1971.
2: 1903, 1913, 1922, 1924, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1942, 1947, 1951, 1952, 1959, 1966, 1970.
3: 1927, 1940, 1953, 1961, 1965
4: 1939, 1944, 1946, 1950
5:1955, 1958, 1960
6:1926, 1932
8:1957
17: no date of birth on the card

1901:1
1902:1
1903:2
1907: 2
1908:2
1901:1
1909:1
1910:1
1913:2
1916:2
1918:1
1919:1
1921:1
1922:2
1924:2
1925:1
1926:6
1927:3
1928:2
1930:2
1931:2
1932:6
1933:2
1934:1
1935:1
1936:4
1937:2
1938:1
1939:4
1940:3
1942:2
1943:1
1944:4
1945:1
1946:4
1947:2
1949:1
1950:4
1951:2
1952:2
1953:3
1954:1
1955:5
1956:5
1957:8
1958:5
1959:2
1960:5
1961:3
1962:1
1963:1
1965:3
1966:2
1970:2
1977:1
No date, 17

Professions

1: Computer scientist, tailor, pattern maker, industrial property technician, commercial administrator, metalworker, measuring instrument technician, telephone mechanic, workshop manager, bookstore clerk, economist, civil servant, mining engineer, graphic arts, sales representative, laborer, employee, doctor, chemist, chemical expert, chemical engineer, industrial engineer, welder, apprentice bricklayer, telephone technician, varnisher, decorator, technical architect.
2: Accountant, photographer, primary school teacher, printer, taxi driver.
3: Industrial
5: Banking (2 directors)
6: Retired, representative
10: Commerce, mechanic
11: Not known, missing from the record
12: Schoolchildren
19: Administrative
24: Student


Vocabulary

Like every science, game, art, or sport (this noble game has been classified in these four ways, and a few more), chess has its own vocabulary. Thus, we find that the game is divided into three phases: opening, middlegame, and endgame. Openings, in turn, are classified as open, semi-open, closed, flank, etc. Similarly, we can categorize different types of middlegame and endgame positions. We also find a board divided into squares. A horizontal sequence of squares is a rank, a vertical one is a file, and a diagonal one is a diagonal. We also find the names of the pieces: king, queen, rook, bishop, knight, and pawn.

This vocabulary comes from various languages: Persian, French, Italian, German, Russian, Spanish, etc., and with the help of the algebraic system, it can be expressed using conventional symbols, making any commentary in any other language unnecessary.
Players usually express themselves in their native language, Catalan or Spanish. However, it is common for expressions in both languages to be mixed.