From April 6 to 29, the 4th International Chess Tournament was held in the halls of the splendid Hotel Santa Catalina in Las Palmas, also known as the 1st Ruy López Memorial.

This fourth edition promised, on paper, to be the most interesting of those held so far, and it truly did not disappoint the fans. The attraction of seeing the Brazilian phenomenon Mecking after his disputed defeat against Korchnoi, and facing the Soviets Tahl and Petrosian, was enough to justify the trip. Nor was there any disappointment in this respect, because the game Mecking–Tahl was worth seeing, and by itself would have been enough to compensate for the journey.

Years ago we wrote of Ljubomir Ljubojevic that, Fischer apart, he was the player with the greatest class and possibilities of contesting the world title. In Las Palmas he has shown that the prediction still stands, and his triumph in this tournament was beyond dispute. He finished one point ahead of his runners-up, and the margin could have been greater had necessity not obliged him to increase his pace of play, as he finished with three comfortable draws. This young Yugoslav performed very well and is in splendid form.

Henrique Costa Mecking also showed great form, and if he was deprived of final victory it was due solely to his high fighting spirit, which led him to reject a draw with the winner; this was his only defeat. His play is cheerful, aggressive, and technically very strong. He is well prepared and found good moral support in his “second” — Miranda, Brazilian champion — who constantly “wrapped him up”. We also found him calmer in his eccentricities.

Ulf Andersson came from winning the Capablanca Memorial and, perhaps somewhat tired, conceded too many draws — two fewer than Petrosian — even in positions with possibilities. This young Swede is very combative and is always at the level of the best. As a matter of archival curiosity, we shall say that he was the only player in the tournament who had taken part in all four editions.

Miguel Tahl lost to Olafsson and Mecking, but together with the winner he was the player who won the most games. Despite this, his result and his magnificent placing seem precarious to us, because more is always expected of Tahl. It caused a sensation that one always asks the maximum of him, while he sometimes gives it only in his play — as in this case — and he also won the fighting-spirit prize.

Hort and Olafsson performed in accordance with their possibilities, although the Czechoslovak played very conservatively.

Petrosian, with ten draws and four wins, disappointed the spectators, and we forget that two years earlier, with a similar score, he won this same tournament jointly with the ill-fated Stein. But on this occasion it was necessary to “go all out” to finish first. He showed us the solid play we all know, and very little more. Barely adequate.

Juan Manuel Bellón was close to obtaining his first norm. A little more luck in some games and a little more calm in others, and he would have achieved the required score. What a won game he lost against Olafsson! In any case, he is in a good moment of form and perhaps in Lanzarote he may achieve what he did not manage here. He finished second in the fighting-spirit prize. Well done, Bellón!

Tatai, with the same score as the Spaniard, sold his defeats dearly, and his placing is normal. The tournament was very strong.

The Filipino Cardoso is going through a clearly poor run of form, and his placing is completely abnormal given his recognized international class. We have long insisted on the advisability of a well-deserved rest. These tournaments are very hard, and one after another is too much. Luck did not accompany him much either.

The performance of the Peruvian master Rodríguez was once again disappointing, and his results during the long season he has spent in our country have never matched his Elo. We repeat that these very low scores, for someone aspiring to obtain not the title, but even a grandmaster norm, are frankly — because repeated — very poor.

Fernando Visier was unable to win a single game, although eight draws in this competition for an untitled player cannot be called bad either. Nevertheless, we expected more from Visier. Perhaps in Lanzarote?

Ángel Fernández — a local player — had to his credit meritorious draws with Petrosian and a victory over Rodríguez in a sensational game. Luck also failed him in some favourable games. His final placing, in this case, is not dishonourable.

Larsen withdrew from the tournament after having played six games, winning two, drawing two others, and losing the remaining two. It was a great pity. A true pity, because the Dane is a born fighter and would have given more excitement to a competition that was notable from the start for the fighting spirit of most of the participants. Without Larsen, apart from the lowering of his category by one point, the chances of some of the others affected by his withdrawal undoubtedly also decreased. Bad luck for the organization, which in no way deserved a drop in this category after the effort made to assemble such an interesting field.

The closing prize-giving ceremony was sensational, offered to us by the Canary Chess Federation, where the mayor of Las Palmas, in a brief address, promised greater help for the fifth edition in 1976. Could one ask for more?