Nearly a decade after his Havana triumphs, former world champion Vasily Smyslov returned to Cuba and won the tenth Capablanca Memorial without losing a game — 16½ from 21, a point clear of the East German grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann, the man he had shared the 1964 title with.
A marathon in Cienfuegos
The tenth Capablanca Memorial, the second held in Cienfuegos, was a long one: twenty-two players, twenty-one rounds and 231 games over six weeks in the spring of 1973. Three Soviet grandmasters, Smyslov, Gennady Kuzmin and Vladimir Savon, headed a field that included Uhlmann, the Dutch grandmaster Jan Hein Donner, Hungary's Iván Faragó and a large group of Cuban and Latin American players.
Smyslov's third Cuban title
Smyslov, then 51, had shared first place with Uhlmann at Havana 1964 and won the memorial outright in 1965. In Cienfuegos he did it again: twelve wins and nine draws, undefeated, for 16½/21. Uhlmann pressed him all the way with 15½, while Kuzmin and Cuba's Silvino García Martínez — the host nation's best result — tied for third on 15, ahead of Donner on 14.
It was one more win in a long, successful late career for the former world champion, who kept finishing near the top of strong tournaments through the 1970s and beyond, more than twenty years after his title matches with Botvinnik.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smyslov, Vasily V | 16½/21 | +12 -0 =9 | games |
| 2 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | 15½/21 | +13 -3 =5 | games |
| =3 | Garcia Martinez, Silvino | 15/21 | +10 -1 =10 | games |
| =3 | Kuzmin, Gennadi P | 15/21 | +10 -1 =10 | games |
| 5 | Donner, Jan Hein | 14/21 | +10 -3 =8 | games |
| =6 | Spassov, Liuben | 13½/21 | +9 -3 =9 | games |
| =6 | Savon, Vladimir A | 13½/21 | +8 -2 =11 | games |
| =8 | Rodriguez Vargas, Orestes | 12½/21 | +10 -6 =5 | games |
| =8 | Garcia Gonzales, Guillermo | 12½/21 | +7 -3 =11 | games |
| 10 | Farago, Ivan | 12/21 | +8 -5 =8 | games |
| 11 | Marovic, Drazen | 11½/21 | +6 -4 =11 | games |
| 12 | Damjanovic, Mato | 10/21 | +4 -5 =12 | games |
| =13 | Peev, Peicho Chonev | 9/21 | +6 -9 =6 | games |
| =13 | Cobo Arteaga, Eldis | 9/21 | +4 -7 =10 | games |
| 15 | De Greif, Boris | 8½/21 | +3 -7 =11 | games |
| 16 | Boudy Bueno, Julio Leonardo | 7½/21 | +4 -10 =7 | games |
| 17 | Barreras, Alberto | 7/21 | +3 -10 =8 | games |
| =18 | Lebredo Zaragoitia, Gerardo | 6/21 | +3 -12 =6 | games |
| =18 | Paoli, Enrico | 6/21 | +3 -12 =6 | games |
| =18 | Pinal, Nelson Borges | 6/21 | +1 -10 =10 | games |
| 21 | Levy, David Neil Lawrence | 5½/21 | +1 -11 =9 | games |
| 22 | Diaz Diaz, Joaquin Carlos | 5/21 | +2 -13 =6 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smyslov, Vasily V | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Garcia Martinez, Silvino | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Kuzmin, Gennadi P | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Donner, Jan Hein | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 6 | Spassov, Liuben | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Savon, Vladimir A | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 8 | Rodriguez Vargas, Orestes | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Garcia Gonzales, Guillermo | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 10 | Farago, Ivan | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Marovic, Drazen | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 12 | Damjanovic, Mato | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 13 | Peev, Peicho Chonev | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 14 | Cobo Arteaga, Eldis | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 15 | De Greif, Boris | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 16 | Boudy Bueno, Julio Leonardo | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 17 | Barreras, Alberto | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 18 | Lebredo Zaragoitia, Gerardo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 19 | Paoli, Enrico | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 20 | Pinal, Nelson Borges | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 21 | Levy, David Neil Lawrence | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | |
| 22 | Diaz Diaz, Joaquin Carlos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.