Viktor Korchnoi turned the 1966 Bucharest international into a procession. Already a four-time Soviet champion, he went through the fifteen-player field unbeaten, scoring 12½/14 to finish two and a half points clear of Romania's own grandmaster, Florin Gheorghiu.
◈No contest at the top
Fifteen players met in Bucharest in 1966, each playing fourteen games across a single round-robin of 105 games. Korchnoi, one of the strongest players in the world and the dominant figure in Soviet chess at the time, made it look routine: 12½ from 14, unbeaten, two and a half points ahead of everyone else.
Gheorghiu, by then Romania's first grandmaster, took clear second on 10. Lubomír Kavalek was third on 9½, with Milan Matulović and Béla Sóos sharing fourth on 9.
◈Korchnoi at his peak
By 1966 Viktor Korchnoi had already won the Soviet Championship four times — in 1960, 1962, 1964, and 1965 — and was firmly established among the world's elite. A dominant margin in a mixed international field like Bucharest was exactly what a player of his standing was expected to produce, and he delivered without dropping a game.
The runner-up carried a Romanian story of his own. Florin Gheorghiu — World Junior Champion in 1963 and, from 1965, his country's first grandmaster — was the leading local player of his generation and would go on to hold Romania's Olympiad first board for three decades.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich | 12½/14 | +11 -0 =3 | games → |
| 2 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 10/14 | +7 -1 =6 | games → |
| 3 | Kavalek, Lubomir | 9½/14 | +8 -3 =3 | games → |
| 4 | Matulovic, Milan | 9/14 | +6 -2 =6 | games → |
| 5 | Soos, Bela | 9/14 | +5 -1 =8 | games → |
| 6 | Czerniak, Moshe | 8/14 | +6 -4 =4 | games → |
| 7 | Minic, Dragoljub | 7½/14 | +6 -5 =3 | games → |
| 8 | Bednarski, Jacek B | 7/14 | +5 -5 =4 | games → |
| 9 | Kolarov, Atanas Stefanov | 7/14 | +3 -3 =8 | games → |
| 10 | Ghitescu, Theodor | 5½/14 | +3 -6 =5 | games → |
| 11 | Ciocaltea, Victor | 5½/14 | +2 -5 =7 | games → |
| 12 | Garcia, Gilberto | 4/14 | +3 -9 =2 | games → |
| 13 | Partos, Charles | 4/14 | +1 -7 =6 | games → |
| 14 | Pavlov, Mircea Sergiu | 3½/14 | +2 -9 =3 | games → |
| 15 | Neamtu, Serban | 3/14 | +1 -9 =4 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Gheorghiu, Florin | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 3 | Kavalek, Lubomir | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Matulovic, Milan | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 5 | Soos, Bela | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Czerniak, Moshe | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Minic, Dragoljub | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Bednarski, Jacek B | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 9 | Kolarov, Atanas Stefanov | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Ghitescu, Theodor | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 11 | Ciocaltea, Victor | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Garcia, Gilberto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 13 | Partos, Charles | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | |
| 14 | Pavlov, Mircea Sergiu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 15 | Neamtu, Serban | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.