Capablanca Memorial 1979
Evgeny Sveshnikov — the Soviet grandmaster whose name is stamped on one of the Sicilian Defence's great variations — dominated the fifteenth Capablanca Memorial, scoring 11 from 13 without a loss and finishing a point and a half clear of the young American Larry Christiansen.
A compact, youthful field
The 1979 memorial in Cienfuegos was a fourteen-player single round-robin of 91 games — a FIDE category 8 event, tighter than the twenty-plus-player marathons of earlier Cuban editions. Alongside the Hungarian grandmaster Győző Forintos and the Cuban contingent, the field leaned young: the 23-year-old American Larry Christiansen, a grandmaster since 1977, and the 19-year-old Soviet junior Artur Yusupov, world junior champion in 1977 and a future three-time Candidates semi-finalist.
Sveshnikov's runaway win
Sveshnikov, 29 and a grandmaster since 1977, was already famous for rehabilitating the ...e5 Sicilian system that now bears his name. In Cienfuegos his over-the-board play matched his theory: nine wins and four draws, undefeated, for 11/13. Christiansen took clear second on 9½ — three U.S. championship titles still lay ahead of him — with Forintos third on 9 and Yusupov fourth on 8½.
For Sveshnikov the victory ranked with Le Havre 1977 among the notable tournament wins of his career, part of a run of form that carried him to No. 25 in the world rankings in the late 1970s.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sveshnikov, Evgeny | 11/13 | +9 -0 =4 | games |
| 2 | Christiansen, Larry Mark | 9½/13 | +7 -1 =5 | games |
| 3 | Forintos, Gyozo Victor | 9/13 | +5 -0 =8 | games |
| 4 | Yusupov, Artur | 8½/13 | +6 -2 =5 | games |
| =5 | Sisniega, Marcel | 6½/13 | +4 -4 =5 | games |
| =5 | Boensch, Uwe | 6½/13 | +3 -3 =7 | games |
| =5 | Rodriguez Cespedes, Amador | 6½/13 | +2 -2 =9 | games |
| =8 | Fernandez Gonzalez, Juan Carlos | 5½/13 | +3 -5 =5 | games |
| =8 | Vilela de Acuna, Jose Luis | 5½/13 | +3 -5 =5 | games |
| =10 | Barreras, Alberto | 5/13 | +2 -5 =6 | games |
| =10 | Hernandez, Jose de Jesus | 5/13 | +2 -5 =6 | games |
| =12 | Gutierrez Herrera, Jose Antonio | 4½/13 | +3 -7 =3 | games |
| =12 | Garcia Martinez, Silvino | 4½/13 | +0 -4 =9 | games |
| 14 | Estevez Morales, Guillermo | 3½/13 | +2 -8 =3 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sveshnikov, Evgeny | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Christiansen, Larry Mark | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | Forintos, Gyozo Victor | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Yusupov, Artur | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Sisniega, Marcel | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | |
| 6 | Boensch, Uwe | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Rodriguez Cespedes, Amador | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 8 | Fernandez Gonzalez, Juan Carlos | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 9 | Vilela de Acuna, Jose Luis | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 10 | Barreras, Alberto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 11 | Hernandez, Jose de Jesus | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | |
| 12 | Gutierrez Herrera, Jose Antonio | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 | Garcia Martinez, Silvino | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | |
| 14 | Estevez Morales, Guillermo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.