Torn from oblivion: *October Tournaments* in Novi Sad, part 1.

   Tal, Ribli, Andrej Sokolov, Hort... It was in 1985, a highschool youngster was asked by his coach to give contribution of his own to chess tournament in Novi Sad, the second most populated city in Serbia, Country in Europe. The 9th in a row tournament of a kind. To help organizers, on demonstration board he had to present games to the audience in the hall where battles between participants of tournament took place...

   The year is 2023, memories come flooding back on a row of tournaments in Novi Sad that for years gathered cream of World chess. In three parts to the chess.com audience will be presented review of all nine of *October Tournaments* in Novi Sad, that took place 1972 - 1985. Review relies mainly on the memory of the writer of these lines, but also on authentic photos (Not all of photos ), documents,- on grandmaster Petar Popovic analyses of the games that can be found years later. So, let the story begin... 

   First *October in Novi Sad* tournament took place in 1972, and was dedicated to the 50 years of existence of *Novi Sad Chess Club*, one of the oldest in Europe. 

      The tournament brought triumph to Soviet Grandmaster Anatoly Lein, without defeat, leaving behind names like Benko, coach of Fischer,- Ivkov, world youth champion in 1951, Rossolimo, creator of *Rossolimo Attack* in *Sicilian Defence*...

   Next year, a reprise took place, win by Lein without defeat, this time in front of domestic star Matulovic, Hungarian rising star Adorjan... This way Lein completed his impressive performance in Novi Sad, achieving in two tournaments 18 victories, 12 draws, without defeat. Soon, he would emigrate to United States, Soviet authorities allowed him to leave, *You have to have lived in U.S.S.R. to understand why I emigrated*, he claimed in newspapers later on. Today, rivals of the 2nd *October in Novi Sad*, Lein, Matulovic, Adorjan probably continue their rivalry among angels, up there, while games from tournament remained to remind us how big rivals they were.

   In 1974, it was the third tournament in a row, and it was the first one I remember. Although little kid I was at the time, memory remained, and reason is simple, Tal took place in the tournament. It was that much pulsating energy in the air every time Tal stepped into the playing hall, in the hall of Novi Sad train station filled on each and every tournament day  with no less than 2000 attendants -  that it looked like some music or movie star had just entered, stepped on stage. 

   Genius of Baltic arrived in Novi Sad two days late, a delay he previously had announced. Among visitors in Novi Sad, one Polish Grandmaster claimed he had heard from reliable sources that Tal received a *Yellow card* from Soviet authorities because of *Freer behaviour abroad*. Tal case, by word of Polish considered nobody else but Brezhnev himself. Yet again, the shadow of ideology leaned over the tournament, but when Tal finally arrived in Novi Sad, organizers were relieved. They were waiting for days before Tal appeared at the entrance of playing hall, introduced himself to the doorman. Approaching the organizing committee of the tournament inside hall, doorman zealously noticed them:

   - Your reserve arrived!

    As the former World Champion, Tal didn`t arrive in Novi Sad with the intention of winning no matter what, all the heights had already been conquered. Never the less, he won the tournament. Won it in a poetic manner, not counting pieces, this was his style, this was him. During those rainy October days, as a friend of Tal, Novi Sad journalist Dusan Bucan testified, chess enthusiasts followed two of them all the time, all over the place, in playing hall, in the press room, in the station restaurant. 

   *..To our table approaching Ramo Mujagic, Candidate Master. Reminding Tal that in 1966 he, Ramo, made a draw against him. It was simultaneous production of Tal against hundreds of  workers in the cable factory of Novi Sad when the draw was created.

   
    - Do you remember me? - Mujagic asked.

     - I almost - don`t remember you! - Tal answered...*

   During the day off at the tournament, Tal and Bucan visited *Serb national theater* in Novi Sad. During visit, prima donna of theater Dragica Brkovic approached Tal.

   - We are kindred, artistic souls.

   - Difference is, you have a prompter.

   That evening, *Maestro* Janika Balaz on Petrovaradin Fortress, in a restaurant, performed specially for Tal. 

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt3BQ42pPhw&lc=UghU69fb7UU4HXgCoAEC

   Over the evening, friends surrounded Tal, among them Mladen Gulan, the main referee of *October in Novi Sad* tournament. During the talk, Gulan expressed an eternal complex of his about *Spanish Gambit*. 

    - Misa, I would be Champion Of The World if all opponents of mine would agree me to play *Spanish Gambit* to them!

    - Mladen, my friend, a miserable world it would be.

   After the answer, Tal surrendered to the curiosity of one young actress in a restaurant. 

   The day after, it was Ilijc, a domestic player from Novi Sad to suffer defeat in one of the shortest games of the tournament.

   Here they come, a couple more tournament symphonies of Tal which remain unforgettable.

   In the next one, it was Deze, domestic player from Novi Sad who faced brilliancy. 

   It was a tournament to be remembered thanks to *Pirat of Riga*, but it would be unfair not to mention Forintos, Hernandez, Radulov who contributed in style, drawn, together with Tal, in 1974 City Of Novi Sad on the chess map of the world. As a matter of fact, all of the participants contributed with heart and soul; Autumn it was, the year was 1974. 

               In creation of blog been used segments from the book of Dusan Bucan *October of Novi Sad*.