Barcelona 1946
Staged by the Club d'Escacs Barcelona to celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary, this fourteen-player round-robin brought a strong international field to Catalonia in the first years after the war. Miguel Najdorf, in the middle of a triumphant 1946 European campaign, simply ran away with it — scoring 11½ from 13 and finishing two full points clear of the field.
◈A tournament for the club's silver jubilee
The Club d'Escacs Barcelona organised the event to mark its twenty-fifth anniversary, and the entry list mixed a broad international contingent with the best of Spanish chess. Argentina sent Najdorf and Carlos Guimard; Canada's Daniel Yanofsky and Belgium's Albéric O'Kelly de Galway travelled from further afield, along with the English players Baruch Wood and Robert Wade.
The Spanish presence was deep. Antonio Medina García and Miquel Albareda both finished among the leaders, and the field also included Manuel Golmayo de la Torriente, Pedro Cherta, Rafael Lloréns and Josep Vilardebó. Playing near the foot of the table was the teenage prodigy Arturo Pomar, already a national celebrity, holding his own against grandmaster-strength opposition.
◈Najdorf runs away with it
Najdorf was in a class of his own. He totalled 11½ from his 13 games and never looked in danger, taking clear first two points ahead of Yanofsky, who came second on 9½. Guimard and Medina García shared the next places on 9, with Albareda close behind on 8½.
The result was one of several dominant showings for Najdorf in 1946: the same autumn had already brought him first prize at the Treybal Memorial in Prague, and Barcelona confirmed him as the strongest player active in Western Europe in the immediate post-war period.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Najdorf, Miguel | 11½/13 | +10 -0 =3 | games → |
| 2 | Yanofsky, Daniel Abraham | 9½/13 | +8 -2 =3 | games → |
| 3 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 9/13 | +8 -3 =2 | games → |
| 4 | Guimard, Carlos Enrique | 9/13 | +6 -1 =6 | games → |
| 5 | Albareda, Miguel Crues | 8½/13 | +6 -2 =5 | games → |
| 6 | O'Kelly de Galway, Alberic | 6½/13 | +5 -5 =3 | games → |
| =7 | Llorens, M | 6½/13 | +4 -4 =5 | games → |
| =7 | Perez Perez, Francisco Jose | 6½/13 | +4 -4 =5 | games → |
| 9 | Wood, Gabriel Jacquin | 6/13 | +4 -5 =4 | games → |
| 10 | Golmayo de la Torriente, Manuel | 6/13 | +2 -3 =8 | games → |
| 11 | Cherta Clos, Pedro | 4½/13 | +2 -6 =5 | games → |
| =12 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | 3/13 | +2 -9 =2 | games → |
| =12 | Wade, Robert Graham | 3/13 | +2 -9 =2 | games → |
| 14 | Vilardebo Picurena, Jose | 1½/13 | +1 -11 =1 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Najdorf, Miguel | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Yanofsky, Daniel Abraham | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Guimard, Carlos Enrique | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Albareda, Miguel Crues | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | O'Kelly de Galway, Alberic | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 | Llorens, M | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Perez Perez, Francisco Jose | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 9 | Wood, Gabriel Jacquin | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Golmayo de la Torriente, Manuel | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 11 | Cherta Clos, Pedro | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 12 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 | Wade, Robert Graham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | Vilardebo Picurena, Jose | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.