The 1962 edition of Bucharest's international round-robin was a wide, sixteen-player field mixing Romania's home talent with guests from across Europe. It was decided at the top by the two Soviet entrants: Ratmir Kholmov won clear first on 11½/15, a point ahead of the Ukrainian master Vladislav Shianovsky, with the young Dolfi Drimer and Florin Gheorghiu sharing third.
A broad international field
Sixteen players contested a single round-robin of 120 games. The line-up reached well beyond the socialist bloc's usual borders: alongside the Soviet pair of Ratmir Kholmov and Vladislav Shianovsky and a strong Romanian contingent — Drimer, Gheorghiu, Radovici, Mititelu, Pavlov, Georgescu — came Bulgaria's Luben Popov, East Germany's Fritz Baumbach, Hungary's Károly Honfi, Czechoslovakia's Július Kozma and Jaroslav Šajtar, Poland's Roman Drozd, Belgium's Arthur Dunkelblum, and Iceland's Freysteinn Thorbergsson.
That breadth made the tournament a genuine international test rather than a regional gathering, and it was the visiting Soviets who set the pace.
Kholmov clear at the top
Ratmir Kholmov finished first with 11½ from 15, a full point clear of Shianovsky on 10½. Drimer and Gheorghiu shared third on 10. A famously solid and resourceful defender who would beat several world champions across his long career, Kholmov was near his peak in the early 1960s.
Bucharest was not his only prize that year: Kholmov also won the international tournament at Kecskemét in 1962, a strong double for a player whose reputation as one of the Soviet Union's toughest competitors was by then firmly established.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kholmov, Ratmir D | 11½/15 | +8 -0 =7 | games |
| 2 | Shianovsky, Vladislav I | 10½/15 | +6 -0 =9 | games |
| =3 | Drimer, Dolfi | 10/15 | +6 -1 =8 | games |
| =3 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 10/15 | +6 -1 =8 | games |
| 5 | Popov, Luben | 9/15 | +4 -1 =10 | games |
| =6 | Mititelu, Gheorghe | 8½/15 | +3 -1 =11 | games |
| =6 | Radovici, Corvin | 8½/15 | +3 -1 =11 | games |
| =8 | Baumbach, Friedrich | 7½/15 | +3 -3 =9 | games |
| =8 | Kozma, Julius | 7½/15 | +3 -3 =9 | games |
| =10 | Honfi, Karoly | 7/15 | +5 -6 =4 | games |
| =10 | Drozd, Ryszard | 7/15 | +4 -5 =6 | games |
| 12 | Thorbergsson, Freysteinn | 5½/15 | +2 -6 =7 | games |
| =13 | Dunkelblum, Arthur | 5/15 | +1 -6 =8 | games |
| =13 | Sajtar, Jaroslav | 5/15 | +0 -5 =10 | games |
| 15 | Pavlov, Mircea Sergiu | 4/15 | +0 -7 =8 | games |
| 16 | Georgescu, Vasile Maxim | 3½/15 | +1 -9 =5 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kholmov, Ratmir D | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Shianovsky, Vladislav I | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Drimer, Dolfi | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Popov, Luben | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Mititelu, Gheorghe | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Radovici, Corvin | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Baumbach, Friedrich | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 9 | Kozma, Julius | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Honfi, Karoly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Drozd, Ryszard | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Thorbergsson, Freysteinn | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 13 | Dunkelblum, Arthur | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 14 | Sajtar, Jaroslav | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 15 | Pavlov, Mircea Sergiu | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 16 | Georgescu, Vasile Maxim | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.