Fourteen masters gathered at the Sliač health resort in June 1932 for one of the strongest tournaments of the year. It became a two-man race: the young Czechoslovak star Salo Flohr and the veteran Slovenian amateur Milan Vidmar finished level on 9½/13, both without losing a game.
A spa-town gathering
The tournament was played from 10 to 28 June 1932 at the Slovensko Hotel, the centrepiece of the Sliač health resort, renovated the year before. The field mixed the old guard — Géza Maróczy, Rudolf Spielmann, Efim Bogoljubow, Milan Vidmar, and Karel Treybal — with the rising generation led by Flohr and the Yugoslav Vasja Pirc, plus Peru's Esteban Canal and a strong Czechoslovak contingent including Karel Opočenský and Amos Pokorný.
No 1932 event matched the strength of Bled 1931, but Sliač stood out in a year otherwise dominated by world champion Alekhine's wins at Bern, Pasadena, and Mexico City.
A two-horse race
A race between Vidmar and Flohr developed, and neither man blinked: each finished on 9½/13 with six wins and seven draws, undefeated. Pirc followed at 8½, with Canal, Maróczy, and Spielmann sharing the next places on 8. Bogoljubow's tournament was the strangest in the field — thirteen games, six wins, six losses, and just one draw.
For the 23-year-old Flohr, fresh from winning Hastings 1931/32 with 8/9, the shared first extended a breakthrough run that would soon make him a world-title candidate. For Vidmar — a professor of electrical engineering in Ljubljana who played chess as an amateur throughout his career — it was proof he could still match the world's best at 47.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Flohr, Salo | 9½/13 | +6 -0 =7 | games |
| =1 | Vidmar, Milan Sr | 9½/13 | +6 -0 =7 | games |
| 3 | Pirc, Vasja | 8½/13 | +5 -1 =7 | games |
| =4 | Canal, Esteban | 8/13 | +5 -2 =6 | games |
| =4 | Maroczy, Geza | 8/13 | +5 -2 =6 | games |
| =4 | Spielmann, Rudolf | 8/13 | +5 -2 =6 | games |
| 7 | Treybal, Karel | 7/13 | +3 -2 =8 | games |
| 8 | Bogoljubov, Efim | 6½/13 | +6 -6 =1 | games |
| 9 | Pokorny, Amos | 5½/13 | +3 -5 =5 | games |
| =10 | Walter, Max | 5/13 | +2 -5 =6 | games |
| =10 | Opocensky, Karel | 5/13 | +1 -4 =8 | games |
| 12 | Rohacek, Ivan Vladimir | 4/13 | +2 -7 =4 | games |
| 13 | May, Desider | 3½/13 | +0 -6 =7 | games |
| 14 | Engel, Jindrich | 3/13 | +1 -8 =4 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flohr, Salo | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 2 | Vidmar, Milan Sr | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Pirc, Vasja | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Canal, Esteban | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Maroczy, Geza | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Spielmann, Rudolf | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 7 | Treybal, Karel | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Bogoljubov, Efim | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Pokorny, Amos | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Walter, Max | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 11 | Opocensky, Karel | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Rohacek, Ivan Vladimir | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 13 | May, Desider | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 14 | Engel, Jindrich | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.