In the rooms of the Hotel Santa Catalina, from 9 to 21 June, the 9th Ciudad de Las Palmas International Tournament was held, under the direction of international arbiter Antonio Medina, supervised by José Miguel Fraguela, with Manuel Quevedo as deputy and Pérez, Ardura, and Santana as assistants.

By the Sonnenborn system, the British player Miles won, tied on points with the Soviet players Petrosian and Geller, who were also classified in that order by the same system. These three players, who had occupied the top of the standings from the beginning, remained shoulder to shoulder until the very end, when the Englishman was finally able to defeat Bellon after more than seven hours of play. The uncertainty over the winner, and the very good performances by the Spaniards Bellon with 6 points and J. L. Fernández with 4.5, were the most positive aspects of this edition in those beautiful Canary Islands.

Of the three leaders, Miles was the one who did most to deserve victory. The two Soviet masters stayed within their usual pattern: Petrosian even drew one game in 9 moves, in a kind of “rest” mode, using that tactic so positive for “not losing” but so little brilliant for the public, in games later reproduced by enthusiasts in specialist magazines.

The Swede Andersson and the Dutchman Sosonko performed in line with their well-known international standing, but only “more or less”. They seemed infected by the general atmosphere of conformity.

Bellon, sensational up to and including the ninth round, played on equal terms with Guillermo García and Andersson, and could have overtaken Petrosian completely — he was better when he accepted the draw offers made by the Soviet player — and Sosonko, whom he defeated cleanly. He lost his last two games of the tournament, against Geller and Miles, fighting to the limit, and I think that sharing the points would not have been unjust in either case.

It was the fighting Bellon whom the fans admired, playing with eagerness and showing that he is one of our best players.

I found the Cuban Guillermo García tired, and he was not at the level of the newly crowned Cuban champion and winner of three other tournaments so far this year, including the Capablanca Memorial. He played unevenly, and I saw only a couple of noteworthy games from him.

José Luis Fernández had a good tournament, scoring 4.5 points, which is not little in a competition where, out of 11 games, 7 are against grandmasters. The Bilbao-born player, settled in Barcelona, demonstrated — without the ostentation of a title — his class and his exceptional theoretical knowledge. Very good.

Román Hernández, frankly, did badly. −4, =6, +1 is a very small haul for a grandmaster, despite the strength of the tournament.