Dortmund 1984

◈An international dozen

The twelfth Dortmunder Schachtage drew a field from four continents: Hungary's András Adorján, Colombia's Alonso Zapata, Canada's Kevin Spraggett, the Soviet grandmasters Adrian Mikhalchishin and Tamaz Giorgadze, Poland's Aleksander Sznapik, and the defending champion Mihai Suba of Romania. The home contingent reflected the organisers' long-standing policy of seating regional players alongside the internationals: Eric Lobron and Peter Ostermeyer were joined by the young Robert Zysk and the Dortmund-born Eckhard Schmittdiel.

It proved a cagey affair through the middle of the table. Adorján went unbeaten on eight draws, Mikhalchishin on nine, and Giorgadze drew ten of his eleven games without losing — while Suba, the 1983 winner, could not repeat the trick and fell to ninth on 4½.

◈Gruenfeld's title

Yehuda Gruenfeld — born in Poland in 1956, a grandmaster since 1980, and Israeli champion in 1982 — had already taken first prizes at Biel 1980 and New York 1981. In Dortmund he was the field's most effective fighter, scoring five wins on his way to 7½/11 and finishing half a point clear of Zapata and Adorján, who shared second on 7. The victory stands among the strongest results of his career, alongside his share of first at the 1985 World Open in Philadelphia.