Palma de Mallorca 1972

From November 26 to December 17 of last year, the traditional international tournament of the same name was held in Palma de Mallorca. This year it reached its eighth edition and belonged to category 11 of the Elo system.

No fewer than twelve grandmasters of the first rank in world chess gathered at the Hotel Jaime I in the beautiful Balearic capital, together with two international masters and two national masters, to compete for the prestigious distinction of victory in Palma.

Walther-Woods
Tournament Arbiter

The tournament really began under the sign of surprise when, in the second round, Bellón defeated the Yugoslav grandmaster Ljubojević in 18 moves. Ljubojević, together with Panno, had been the winner of the previous edition of the event. However, it was not until the fifth round that important defeats were suffered by the Soviet favorites, Korchnoi and Polugaevsky, who had to resign respectively against Panno and Ljubojević. This caused a considerable upheaval in the standings, to the point that Korchnoi occupied places 6–9 at the end of the round.

In the sixth round there was another Spanish victory, also a surprising one. Bellón, always especially motivated against his compatriots, achieved an extraordinary victory over the Swedish phenomenon Ulf Andersson, who until then had led the tournament table together with the surprising Czech grandmaster Jan Smejkal, the true revelation of the tournament.

At the start of the eleventh round, only two players remained undefeated: Smejkal and Averbakh. Both, with steady progress and relying on many draws interspersed with more or less normal victories, appeared to be serious candidates for final victory.

In the thirteenth round a decisive game was played between Korchnoi and Ljubojević, since a victory by the Soviet player would have more or less settled the tournament in favor of the Leningrad player. The encounter, which followed the lines of the King’s Indian Defence, lasted 12 hours and 38 minutes, during which 112 moves were made, breaking the tournament record for length. With the point finally shared, everything was left to the last and decisive round.

Five players were contenders for first place before the final day: Panno, Korchnoi, Averbakh, Andersson and Smejkal. The draw provided the large number of spectators with two exceptional encounters: Korchnoi–Polugaevsky and Panno–Smejkal, while Andersson and Averbakh had, in theory, easier games against Hug and Calvo respectively. Thus one could even expect a possible five-way tie for first place.

But when Panno and Smejkal agreed to a draw, the Soviet “derby” also took no risks and was likewise drawn. The decisive games were therefore Andersson–Hug and Calvo–Averbakh. The Swede was unable to break the resistance of the world junior champion and had to settle for a draw. Meanwhile, the surprise came in the other encounter: after the first session of play, Calvo was in a winning position against the Soviet grandmaster. In the resumption, Averbakh resigned, losing the undefeated record he had maintained throughout the event, and with it his well-founded hopes of sharing first place.

An excellent tournament was played by Panno and Smejkal. Both were very consistent and provided the spectators, who daily filled the comfortable halls of the Hotel Jaime I in the Balearic capital, with fine chess. Panno achieved his magnificent triumph after his victory of the previous year and confirmed his justified hopes ahead of the forthcoming Interzonal tournaments for the World Championship. Smejkal was magnificent as well, and could hardly have made a better debut after recently being awarded the grandmaster title.

The great favorite, Korchnoi, despite sharing first place, produced one of his poorer performances in Palma. He saved truly incredible games from almost lost positions. What he did allow us to appreciate was his extraordinary ability in rapid play, which enabled him to obtain valuable points.

The excellent fourth place was achieved by the revelation of Skopje, Ulf Andersson, who, like Smejkal, was appearing in Palma with the grandmaster title for the first time. His position in the standings once again confirmed the excellent qualities he had displayed at the Skopje Olympiad. Given his youth, he is one of the European players with the greatest future.

The veteran Averbakh performed very well. He was the most consistent player in the tournament, and had it not been for his unexpected stumble against Calvo in the last round, he could have added one more triumph to his already long chess career.

Gheorghiu had a good performance; his aspirations to the title were not frustrated until the very last moment. Polugaevsky’s participation was discreet. He came from winning three first prizes in his most recent appearances and was regarded as an unquestionable favorite together with his compatriot Korchnoi. However, his defeat in the fifth round against Ljubojević reduced his chances and affected his play, to the point that he “collected” three losses during the tournament.

Ljubojević was very irregular in the early rounds, recovering his form as the tournament progressed. This, however, was not enough for him to approach the places of honor. The other Yugoslav grandmaster, Ivkov, adopted his customary line of quick draws; one might say that we practically did not see him, nor did he allow us to appreciate his recognized good play.

In tenth place, contrary to all predictions, finished Calvo. His victory over Averbakh enabled him to move up four places at the last moment, leaving him only half a point short of obtaining the international master norm.

The world junior champion, Werner Hug, confirmed his reputation as a fighter, although he still needs to polish his play somewhat if his youth is to become his best ally in higher-level competitions.

Pomar gave a discreet performance, showing the fatigue caused by his continuous participation in tournaments throughout 1972.

The Hungarian grandmaster István Bilek, silver medalist on second board at the 20th Olympiad in Skopje, had a poor tournament. It should be mentioned in his defense that he was ill during part of the event.

The Austrian grandmaster Karl Robatsch began very well, but his performance declined as the tournament progressed. Nevertheless, given the category of the tournament, his result may be considered relatively normal.

Bellón played well, despite the place he occupied in the final standings. If he did not score more points, it was due to a little lack of experience and a little bad luck in his games against Polugaevsky, Smejkal and Averbakh. He could have scored 2.5 points more and consequently obtained his second international master norm. Even so, his play pleased the spectators and showed notable progress, giving grounds for well-founded hopes of success in the very near future.

Medina played poorly, suffering from the same defect as Pomar: too many tournaments lead to fatigue. Even so, the Spanish international master obtained excellent positions in the openings and middlegames, only later to fall into severe time trouble and spoil his earlier fine work.

Judging the organization of the Palma de Mallorca tournament is always difficult, since a separate supplement would be needed to describe the immense work carried out by Don Jorge Puig, the gentlemen of Casals, the Hotel Jaime I and so many other direct and indirect collaborators. They make it possible for all Spanish chess enthusiasts to see our country as the world capital of chess during the months of November and December, thanks to the incomparable work of great enthusiasts and best friends.

Chess, like any religion, needs martyrs for its realization, and Palma de Mallorca already has them.

Don Juan Casals

Our most cordial congratulations in the name of chess!

/ Dn. Juan Casals, Jaque No.14, Feb 1973 /