Bucharest 1971

A Soviet veteran and a surprise East German share the spoils
12–27 June 1971 · Bucharest, Romania
Averbakh and Hennings shared first on 9/14
Event Index 105 GAMES

The 1971 edition ended in a tie for first between experience and surprise. The veteran Soviet grandmaster Yuri Averbakh — endgame authority and future chess historian — shared the top prize on 9/14 with the unheralded East German International Master Artur Hennings, half a point ahead of Victor Ciocâltea and Milko Bobotsov.

A fifteen-player field

Held over a fortnight in June 1971, the tournament brought fifteen players together for a single round-robin of 105 games. The line-up spanned the map of European chess: Soviet grandmaster Yuri Averbakh, Bulgaria's Milko Bobotsov, Czechoslovakia's Vlastimil Jansa, Yugoslavia's Enver Bukić, Cuba's Silvino García Martínez, Italy's Stefano Tatai, Poland's Andrzej Sydor, East Germany's Artur Hennings, and Hungary's young Zoltán Ribli, then still a teenager and years from his run to the Candidates.

The home contingent was led by Florin Gheorghiu and Victor Ciocâltea, supported by Dieter Ghizdavu, Mircea Pavlov, Emil Ungureanu, and Mihai Ghindă.

Shared first

Averbakh and Hennings finished level on 9 points from 14 games. Averbakh's Candidates appearance was long behind him, and by now he was as well known for his writing and his work as an official as for his play, but he could still win tournaments. For Hennings, a little-known International Master, sharing first with a grandmaster of Averbakh's standing was the surprise of the event.

Ciocâltea and Bobotsov followed a half-point back on 8½, with Ghizdavu on 8. The result underlined how deep the middle of these Bucharest fields had become, with home players pressing hard on the visiting stars.

Final standings

9/14
Averbakh and Hennings shared first on 9/14
# Player Score Record
=1 Averbakh, Yuri L 9/14 +6 -2 =6 games
=1 Hennings, Artur 9/14 +5 -1 =8 games
=3 Ciocaltea, Victor 8½/14 +5 -2 =7 games
=3 Bobotsov, Milko Georgiev 8½/14 +3 -0 =11 games
5 Ghizdavu, Dumitru 8/14 +3 -1 =10 games
6 Gheorghiu, Florin 7½/14 +3 -2 =9 games
=7 Jansa, Vlastimil 7/14 +4 -4 =6 games
=7 Garcia Martinez, Silvino 7/14 +3 -3 =8 games
=7 Bukic, Enver 7/14 +1 -1 =12 games
=10 Ribli, Zoltan 6½/14 +4 -5 =5 games
=10 Pavlov, Mircea Sergiu 6½/14 +2 -3 =9 games
=10 Ungureanu, Emil 6½/14 +2 -3 =9 games
=13 Sydor, Andrzej 5/14 +2 -6 =6 games
=13 Tatai, Stefano 5/14 +0 -4 =10 games
15 Ghinda, Mihail Viorel 4/14 +1 -7 =6 games

Cross Table

Player 123456789101112131415
1 Averbakh, Yuri L ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 1 1 1
2 Hennings, Artur ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1
3 Ciocaltea, Victor 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ ½
4 Bobotsov, Milko Georgiev ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1
5 Ghizdavu, Dumitru 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1
6 Gheorghiu, Florin ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1
7 Jansa, Vlastimil 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 0 1 ½ 0
8 Garcia Martinez, Silvino ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½
9 Bukic, Enver ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
10 Ribli, Zoltan ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1
11 Pavlov, Mircea Sergiu 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½
12 Ungureanu, Emil 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
13 Sydor, Andrzej 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1
14 Tatai, Stefano 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½
15 Ghinda, Mihail Viorel 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½

Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.

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