IBM Amsterdam 1964
The 1964 grandmaster group belonged to Denmark's Bent Larsen, whose appetite for risk carried him to 7/9 and clear first. By his own account he stood in danger at some point in seven of his nine games — and won the tournament anyway, finishing half a point ahead of Jan Hein Donner.
◈The grandmaster group
The 1964 edition again decided its elite in a ten-player grandmaster round-robin. The draw was made at Amsterdam's Europe House on 20 July, and play began the next day with Donner meeting Larsen in the first round. The international field also included Andreas Dückstein of Austria, Heinz Lehmann of West Germany, the Hungarian Gedeon Barcza, Yugoslavia's Vasja Pirc and Denmark's Jens Enevoldsen.
Larsen was in the middle of a breakthrough period; earlier that same summer he had tied for first at the Amsterdam Interzonal and taken his place in the Candidates.
◈Winning on the edge
Larsen played as he did throughout these years — pressing for a win in every game and accepting real risk without tipping into recklessness. The Dutch magazine Schakend Nederland admired precisely that fearlessness, and Larsen himself reckoned he had stood in danger of losing in seven of his nine games.
It worked. He finished on 7/9, half a point clear of Donner, with Dückstein third on 6. At the foot of the table sat the Dutch original Dick van Geet, later celebrated for his offbeat opening repertoire, who managed just half a point.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larsen, Bent | 7/9 | +5 -0 =4 | games → |
| 2 | Donner, Jan Hein | 6½/9 | +5 -1 =3 | games → |
| 3 | Dueckstein, Andreas | 6/9 | +5 -2 =2 | games → |
| 4 | Lehmann, Heinz | 5½/9 | +3 -1 =5 | games → |
| 5 | Van Scheltinga, Theo D | 5/9 | +3 -2 =4 | games → |
| 6 | Kuijpers, Frans | 4½/9 | +4 -4 =1 | games → |
| =7 | Barcza, Gedeon | 3½/9 | +2 -4 =3 | games → |
| =7 | Pirc, Vasja | 3½/9 | +2 -4 =3 | games → |
| 9 | Enevoldsen, Jens | 3/9 | +2 -5 =2 | games → |
| 10 | Van Geet, Dick Daniel | ½/9 | +0 -8 =1 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larsen, Bent | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Donner, Jan Hein | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Dueckstein, Andreas | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Lehmann, Heinz | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Van Scheltinga, Theo D | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Kuijpers, Frans | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Barcza, Gedeon | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | Pirc, Vasja | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 9 | Enevoldsen, Jens | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 10 | Van Geet, Dick Daniel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.