Raymond Keene won Alicante 1977 with 7½/11, half a point ahead of Leon Piasetski, Ángel Martín González and Orestes Rodríguez Vargas.
The Ciudad de Alicante tournament
The fourth international Ciudad de Alicante tournament, also titled the Memorial Luis Gimeno, ran from 3 to 14 January in the Salón Poniente of the Apartotel Meliá. The Alicante chess federation organized the event. Twelve players completed eleven rounds and 66 games.
Keene lost his opening game to Piasetski, then recovered to finish with five wins, five draws and one loss. His final-round draw with Javier Sanz secured first place by half a point.
The places behind Keene
Piasetski took second place on Sonneborn-Berger, ahead of Martín González and Rodríguez Vargas, who also scored 7. The contemporary report highlighted Martín González’s first International Master norm.
Karl Robatsch finished unbeaten on 6 with one win and ten draws. Arturo Pomar and Román Hernández also scored 6. Half of the tournament’s 66 games were drawn. All 66 games are represented in the archive.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keene, Raymond | 7.5/11 | +5 -1 =5 | games |
| 2 | Piasetski, Leon David | 7/11 | +4 -1 =6 | games |
| 3 | Martin Gonzalez, Angel | 7/11 | +5 -2 =4 | games |
| 4 | Rodriguez Vargas, Orestes | 7/11 | +5 -2 =4 | games |
| 5 | Robatsch, Karl | 6/11 | +1 -0 =10 | games |
| 6 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | 6/11 | +2 -1 =8 | games |
| 7 | Hernandez Onna, Roman | 6/11 | +3 -2 =6 | games |
| =8 | Sanz Alonso, Francisco Javier | 5/11 | +2 -3 =6 | games |
| =8 | Garcia Padron, Jose | 5/11 | +2 -3 =6 | games |
| 10 | Eslon, Jaan | 4.5/11 | +2 -4 =5 | games |
| 11 | Sanchez Guirado, Francisco Javier | 3/11 | +1 -6 =4 | games |
| 12 | Soler, | 2/11 | +1 -8 =2 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keene, Raymond | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 2 | Piasetski, Leon David | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | Martin Gonzalez, Angel | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Rodriguez Vargas, Orestes | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Robatsch, Karl | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 6 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 | Hernandez Onna, Roman | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Sanz Alonso, Francisco Javier | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Garcia Padron, Jose | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Eslon, Jaan | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | |
| 11 | Sanchez Guirado, Francisco Javier | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | |
| 12 | Soler, | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.