By our director José M.ª González, from Las Palmas

From 5 to 24 April, the fifth International Tournament was held in the capital of Gran Canaria, organised by the Provincial Chess Federation of Las Palmas.

The Soviet player Geller won. Almost from the beginning he was at the head of the standings until the penultimate round, when he was overtaken by the young Cuban Hernández, who handed the title on a platter to the Dane Larsen; Larsen, in turn, was defeated in the final round by Hübner, losing his excellent chances.

It was a deserved triumph for the veteran grandmaster from the USSR, who, except for his aforementioned game with Hernández, showed himself to be in his best form.

Bent Larsen played as we had not seen him play for some time, wanting to show that his long “slump” was now behind him. He did indeed fight hard and took risks, except in his games against Debarnot and Menvielle. He had a magnificent opportunity to win the tournament, but failed to take advantage of it. Even so, his second place overall is very good, given both the quality and the number of grandmasters taking part.

Robert Byrne is another player who also seems to have recovered from his poor form, and with a less conservative spirit he might perhaps have improved his placing and even won the tournament. Eleven draws are too many, although he has the merit of having been the only undefeated player.

The German Robert Hübner, had he not lost to Fraguela, might also have finished first, which already says a great deal about his performance.

Lajos Portisch somewhat disappointed the public, because much more had been expected of him. Nevertheless, his placing is not bad, since one point in this tournament was worth several places. Perhaps he played somewhat apathetically and in “relaxed” mode, with his Interzonal in mind.

Vitaly Zeshkovsky was the second Soviet grandmaster taking part in Las Palmas. Having recently won the tournaments at Leipzig and Dubna, we expected a great deal from him; and although sixth place is not a poor result, it is not much for someone who came preceded by laurels. His defeat against the young Canarian revelation García Padrón perhaps diminished the impression made by his performance.

Florin Gheorghiu lost only to Larsen, but, as is now customary with our collaborator, he was too “calm” and conceded ten draws. A pity, because with greater ambition the Romanian grandmaster would have improved his placing considerably.

The Icelandic grandmaster Guðmundur Sigurjónsson continues on an upward path in the quality of his play, and his eighth place may be considered within his normal level.

The American international master Kenneth Rogoff performed with great consistency throughout the tournament, although without great aspirations. We feel that there were too many draws for a young player aspiring to a higher title.

For a long time the “young” Argentine Roberto Debarnot had been aiming for his first international master norm. He had come “close” on several occasions, and on others it seemed to us that he would not manage it. Well, in Las Palmas he showed that his aspirations were justified, and by playing “better than ever” he earned his first stone on the road to the longed-for title. It is to be hoped that this will encourage Debarnot in his next performances. Good luck!

We very much liked the Cuban Román Hernández, although his score may have fallen below the international master title he holds. We liked him for his aggressive play, although without making concessions to the gallery, because he made only two draws, because he was the only player who defeated the winner, and because he always went for the point. It would not surprise us to see him soon alongside his compatriots Silvino and Guillermo.

José García Padrón is a name we may perhaps hear about in the future of Spanish chess. He has all the necessary ingredients for it: barely 18 years old, quality of play, environment, and so on. He only needs not to “believe it,” to be well guided, and to persevere in his studies. Reaching the title of international master costs a great deal — ask Debarnot — but on the path this Canarian youngster is following, he should achieve it. In Las Palmas he played very well, although he lacked experience to settle some points. He drew with Byrne, Rogoff and Rodríguez, defeating Zeshkovsky, Sigurjónsson, Debarnot and Menvielle. He was the highest-placed Spanish player. Not bad, is it?

José Miguel Fraguela is not following the upward line that we all expected of him. His victory over Hübner and his draws with Portisch and Gheorghiu are all that can be highlighted from his performance. Our national champion, at only 23 years of age and with two IM norms, should, in our opinion, aspire to more.

The Peruvian Orestes Rodríguez continues along the mediocre line that has become habitual with him, and which we have commented on before in these pages. A player who came to our country two years ago with the ambition of obtaining the grandmaster title and who, apart from a few triumphs in open tournaments or events not valid for that purpose, has almost without exception produced scores that fall far short even of the international master title he holds, seems to us very little.

Juan Manuel Bellón is going through an alarming loss of form which, in my opinion, deserves serious reflection. Except for his draws with Geller, Byrne and Zeshkovsky, he would have gone unnoticed in this tournament. From a player of his recognised class, much more should be expected, and he must take care over his future performances.

Augusto Menvielle closed the standings, and apart from his draws with Larsen and Portisch there is little more we can record to his credit. Someone had to finish last, but Menvielle has accustomed us to selling his defeats more dearly.

The organisation and the conditions of the playing hall were magnificent, with Antonio Medina acting as arbiter. The prize-giving and closing dinner were extraordinary. They were presided over by the main authorities of Las Palmas, and in addition to the normal prizes in the standings, the following awards were granted:

• Prize for the best ending: Portisch, for his game against Hernández.
• Prize for the best game: Geller, for his game against Hübner.
• Prize for the best attack: Larsen, for his game against Fraguela.
• Prize for the best Spanish player: José García Padrón.
• Prize for sportsmanship: Lajos Portisch.
• Prize for correctness: Vitaly Zeshkovsky.
• Prize for friendliness: Efim Geller.
• Prize for the most combative player: José García Padrón.

In summary, another great international tournament in Las Palmas. Although it may perhaps have been somewhat inferior to last year’s in terms of participation, it provided as compensation great interest in discovering the winner, which remained undecided until the final minute of the last round.