Chigorin Memorial 1974
Months after a one-sided Candidates quarter-final loss to a rising Anatoly Karpov, Lev Polugaevsky returned to the tournament circuit he knew best and won the Chigorin Memorial in Sochi outright, finishing two clear points ahead of a shared second place.
◈A familiar stage
Polugaevsky already owned a piece of this tournament's history — he had won the very first Sochi-era edition back in 1963 — and the 1974 field followed the format's usual pattern: sixteen players, fifteen rounds, 120 games. The Soviet delegation included former world champion Vasily Smyslov, Ratmir Kholmov, Vitaly Tseshkovsky, Evgeny Sveshnikov, Vladimir Antoshin, Nukhim Rashkovsky and Yuri Anikaev, alongside Hungary's Győző Forintos, Czechoslovakia's Vlastimil Jansa, Poland's Aleksander Sznapik, Austria's Karl Robatsch, Cuba's Silvino García Martínez, and Finland's Heikki Westerinen — the same Westerinen who had won Dortmund's inaugural tournament the year before and would win it again in 1975.
◈A statement after Moscow
Earlier in 1974, Polugaevsky had been outplayed in a Candidates quarter-final by the 22-year-old Anatoly Karpov, losing 5½–2½ in Moscow. At Sochi he answered in the form that had made him one of the world's leading grandmasters, scoring 11 from 15 to finish two clear points ahead of a tie for second between East Germany's Lutz Espig — an international master (he would not earn the grandmaster title until 1983) enjoying a career-best result — and the veteran Soviet theoretician Alexey Suetin, both on 9.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polugaevsky, Lev | 11/15 | +7 -0 =8 | games → |
| =2 | Espig, Lutz | 9/15 | +5 -2 =8 | games → |
| =2 | Suetin, Alexey S | 9/15 | +5 -2 =8 | games → |
| =4 | Kholmov, Ratmir D | 8½/15 | +4 -2 =9 | games → |
| =4 | Smyslov, Vassily V | 8½/15 | +4 -2 =9 | games → |
| =4 | Tseshkovsky, Vitaly | 8½/15 | +4 -2 =9 | games → |
| 7 | Sveshnikov, Evgeny | 8/15 | +5 -4 =6 | games → |
| 8 | Forintos, Gyozo Victor | 7½/15 | +4 -4 =7 | games → |
| 9 | Jansa, Vlastimil | 7½/15 | +3 -3 =9 | games → |
| 10 | Westerinen, Heikki MJ | 7/15 | +4 -5 =6 | games → |
| =11 | Antoshin, Vladimir S | 6½/15 | +1 -3 =11 | games → |
| =11 | Rashkovsky, Nukhim N | 6½/15 | +1 -3 =11 | games → |
| =13 | Garcia Martinez, Silvino | 6/15 | +2 -5 =8 | games → |
| =13 | Robatsch, Karl | 6/15 | +2 -5 =8 | games → |
| 15 | Anikaev, Yuri N | 6/15 | +1 -4 =10 | games → |
| 16 | Sznapik, Aleksander | 4½/15 | +2 -8 =5 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polugaevsky, Lev | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 2 | Espig, Lutz | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | Suetin, Alexey S | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 4 | Kholmov, Ratmir D | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 5 | Smyslov, Vassily V | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Tseshkovsky, Vitaly | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 | Sveshnikov, Evgeny | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Forintos, Gyozo Victor | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Jansa, Vlastimil | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 10 | Westerinen, Heikki MJ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 11 | Antoshin, Vladimir S | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Rashkovsky, Nukhim N | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 13 | Garcia Martinez, Silvino | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | |
| 14 | Robatsch, Karl | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | |
| 15 | Anikaev, Yuri N | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 16 | Sznapik, Aleksander | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.