Turin─Glasgow
Twin City Match 1983

Turin, one of Glasgow's twin cities, hosted a major cultural event that featured, among others, a pipe band, folk music, boxers, puppeteers and...chess.

It is clear that the Glasgow team could have been stronger, but selection was based on those who were able to take a number of days away from family and business commitments, and were willing to contribute to the costs of air travel (accommodation was provided by the host city).

The following (abridged) report by Alan Scrimgour is taken from Scottish Chess Nr. 75, June 1983.

Turin Diary
27 April
All went smoothly until our arrival at Turin airport when British Airways confirmed their reputation for 'taking care of you' by sending Walter Buchanan's luggage to Frankfurt. Steve Mitchell did his bit to impress our Italian hosts by arriving reeking of whisky (he had dropped the bag containing the bottle he would have presented to his opponent).

We were met at the airport by Alan Nixon of Turin Chess Club and Bruna Norton of the local council, taken to our hotel (handily in the centre of Turin) and thereafter to the club for dinner. The Turin club has its own bar and restaurant, several large playing rooms and about 300 members. The other clubs in Turin are mostly connected to factories and surprisingly they have no league.

Left, front-back: Alan Nixon, Jim Montgomery, Alistair Hunter, Walter Buchanan.
Right, front to back:  Stephen Mitchell, Chris Boyle, Alan McGowan, Peter Jamieson, Alan Scrimgour (hidden).
The lady is likely Bruna Norton.

28/29 April
On our first morning in Turin, everybody was up for breakfast at 9.00 ─ for some of us our first and last one. Thereafter the late nights began to take their toll as we explored some of the more interesting aspects of Turin's nightlife. A description iof this would take too long, but if you get the chance ask one of the players about Argentinian architects, Peruvian drunks, Greek singers, Welsh linguists, the local Mafia, mugging, the car crash, and supermarkets.

The first morning was spent was spent watching a group of puppeteers, who were staying at our hotel, perform an opera called Amahl and the Night Visitors in a nearby theatre. This provided and endless source of amusement, as Amahl bore an uncanny resemblance to Tommy Milligan. We were all seated in the back row, with Chris Boyle reading Italian numbers out of a phrase book. When he looked up he saw a sea of childrens' faces turning round to spot the retarded individual at the back.

Alistair Hunter

30 April-Round 1
By the time the first match day arrived we suspected that we might well beat our hosts in a drinking contest, but chess might prove more difficult. Before the match Scottish and Italian beverages were exchanged (but not consumed). It was clear from the beginning that the match would be close, but we gradually gained the upper hand as losses on bds 2 and 4 were countered by wins on 6 and 8, where Alan McGowan and Steve Mitchell went straight for the jugular. It seemed we might have a bigger lead, but Peter and Alistair were just held to draws.

The time control was 40 moves in 2 hours and a 30 minute Allegro.

P. Ponzetto-W. Buchanan
Turin 1983 (1)

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O O-O 5. d4 d6 6. c4 Nbd7 7. Nc3 e5 8. dxe5
dxe5 9. Qc2 c6 10. e4 An insipid continuation which should cause Black no problems. For the correct move see Colin McNab.
10...Qc7 11. Rb1 a5 Unnecessarily weakening b6. Best was the immediate ...Nc5.
12. a3 Nc5 13. Be3 Ne6 14. h3 Nh5 The best square for the knight, intending to play ...Nd4 without allowing Nxd4 exd4, Bf4.
15. Na4 Nd4 Also possible was 15...f5. Without the mistake on move 11 White would now have no counterplay.
16. Bxd4 exd4 17. c5 Be6 18. Ng5 Overlooking the reply. I wonder what move he expected. Unclear is 18. Nb6 Rad8 19. Qd2 d3 20. Qxa5 Nxg3 21. fxg3 Qxg3 22. Qd2 Bxh3 23. Qf2 Qg4. Or, instead, 18. Nb6 Rad8 19. Qd3 h6 and if 20. Nc4? is good for Black.
18...Nxg3 19. fxg3 Qxg3 20. Nf3 Bxh3 21. Qf2 Qg4 22. Nh2 Qe6 23. Bxh3 Qxh3
24. Qf3 Qxf3 25. Rxf3 Rae8 26. Re1 f5 27. Nb6 Rxe4 28. Rxe4 fxe4 29. Rxf8+ Kxf8 White would need a Space Invaders Grading of 3000 to stop the pawns.
30. Nc4 d3 31. Kf1 Bd4 32. b4 axb4 33. axb4 h5 34. Nd6 Be5 35. Nxb7 Bxh2 36. Nd8 e3 37. Ne6+ Ke7 38. Nd4 e2+ 0-1

A. McGowan-S. Sarno
Turin 1983 (1)

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bg5 e6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Nf3 b6 8. c3 Bb7 9. Qc2 Nd7 10. O-O-O O-O 11. Bd3 Rc8 12. g4 g6 13. g5 Simpler would have been h4.
13...Bg7 Black played this almost instantly, but did he properly consider 13... Bxe4 14. Bxe4 Bxg5+? He may not have liked the idea of opening files against his King in return for a pawn.
14. Kb1 Qe7 15. h4 c5 16. Qd2 Rfd8 The answer to 16...e5 would have been 17. Rhe1, which Black did not like. He therefore allows White's next move, as he feels he has an adequate line of play against it.
17. Qf4 cxd4 18. cxd4 e5 19. dxe5 Nxe5 As planned; all the Black pieces seem to spring to life, with a double attack on the Bd3 and powerful pressure on the a8-h1 diagonal.
20. Nf6+ Bxf6 21. gxf6 Qe6 The computer says 21..Qd6 was stronger, for if 22. Be2 Nd3.
22. Nxe5 Bxh1 23. Rxh1 Rc5 24. Ng4 Kf8 Played after considerable thought. He is obliged to do something about the Qh6 threat, but 24... Qd6 would have been simpler, when White would have been obliged to permit the exchange of Queens. After the text move Black has
serious problems.
25. Qh6+ (90 mins.) 25...Ke8 (100 mins.) 26. Qd2 Qd6 Or 26... Qxg4 27. Re1+ Kd7 28. Be2+, and 26... Qd5 27. Re1+ Kd7 28. b4.
27. Bb5+ 27. Re1+ could have been played here: 27...Kd7 28. Re7+ Kc8 29. Ba6+ Kb8 30. Rb7+ Ka8 31. Qxd6 Rxd6 32. b4 Rf5 33. Rxf7 etc. White, however, chooses a different route.
27... Rxb5 28. Qe2+ Kf8 29. Qxb5 Qd4 Threatening the Ng4, as well as ...Qe4+ to pick up the Rh1.
30. Qe2 Re8 31. Rd1 Qf4 32. Qd2 Black resigns. 1-0 
32. Rd8 would have been a more convincing finish.

McGowan v Sarno

May 1-Round 2
Not much sleep for any of us due to a May Day rally outside our hotel. We were quietly confident that we could retain our lead, although the Italian team was supposed to be stronger than the day before. Their team was different because so many of their members wanted to play in the match.

As on the first day, the match seemed for a while to be going our way but losses suffered by Steve, Peter and Walter in rapid succession swung the match towards Turin, countering wins by Chris and Alistair. Walter had his king and queen forked by Ponzetto, whom he had beaten yesterday.

The last two games to finish were Jim's and mine (Alan Scrimgour), with nobody able to tell what was happening in Jim's game (except Jim) and everybody confident that I could win (except me). In the end Jim won (with the aid of a mysterious rook move─in capturing a pawn he lifted it from the board, hesitated, and then realised he had forgotten what square the rook was capturing it on) and so did I─with a 20 move king manoeuvre (everyone else could see a win in 6).

Final result: Glasgow 9-7 Turin

The spectators had seen plenty of hard-fought (but not always accurate) chess played in good spirits. Alan Nixon's impression was that the Italians played too much 5-minute chess and insufficient at a slow time control.

The Whistlebinkies, a public performance.

We attended a magnificent farewell banquet for all the Glaswegians involved, which ended with Scottish-Italian folk singing. Everyone involved would agree that that the hospitality was magnificent.

Finally, a song dedicated to the Buchanan-Ponzetto game:

Nice one, Ponzetto!
One-nil to me
A big fat grading
From Italy.

But this...
I had not seen
A forking knight
He take my Queen!

(With apologies to Wall's Ice-Cream)

*****

Compiled by
Alan McGowan

added 8/2/2025