The eighth IBM international, a sixteen-player round-robin that opened on 16 July 1968, gave Lubomír Kavalek the first major international victory of his career. The Czechoslovak champion finished on 10½/15, half a point ahead of the veteran David Bronstein — weeks before Warsaw Pact tanks rolled into Prague and changed the course of his life.
The IBM series
Sponsored by IBM Nederland and staged in Amsterdam from 1961 to 1981, the IBM international was one of Western Europe's premier invitational events and the centrepiece of a large summer chess festival. The 1968 tournament was the eighth edition and the biggest main group yet — sixteen players contesting fifteen rounds, with the opening round played on 16 July.
Kavalek edges Bronstein
Lubomír Kavalek, the reigning Czechoslovak champion, scored 10½ out of 15 to take clear first, half a point in front of David Bronstein on 10. A crowded chase followed: Dragoljub Ćirić, Leonid Shamkovich, Kick Langeweg, Levente Lengyel and Hans Ree all shared third on 8½, with Borislav Ivkov and Jan Hein Donner just behind on 8.
It was the first big international tournament win of Kavalek's career, and the last he would achieve as a Czechoslovak player.
History intervenes
Weeks after the Amsterdam triumph, on 21 August 1968, Warsaw Pact armies invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the Prague Spring. Kavalek was abroad, playing the Akiba Rubinstein Memorial in Poland, where he finished second. Rather than return home, he chose exile.
By his own later account, and according to chess obituaries, he used his tournament winnings to buy crates of vodka, bribed the border guards with it and drove west to Germany. He emigrated to the United States two years later and became one of America's leading grandmasters, so the Amsterdam IBM tournament came right at the turning point of his career.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kavalek, Lubomir | 10½/15 | +8 -2 =5 | games |
| 2 | Bronstein, David Ionovich | 10/15 | +5 -0 =10 | games |
| =3 | Ciric, Dragoljub M | 8½/15 | +5 -3 =7 | games |
| =3 | Shamkovich, Leonid Alexandrovich | 8½/15 | +5 -3 =7 | games |
| =3 | Langeweg, Kick | 8½/15 | +4 -2 =9 | games |
| =3 | Lengyel, Levente | 8½/15 | +4 -2 =9 | games |
| =3 | Ree, Hans | 8½/15 | +3 -1 =11 | games |
| =8 | Ivkov, Borislav | 8/15 | +4 -3 =8 | games |
| =8 | Donner, Jan Hein | 8/15 | +2 -1 =12 | games |
| =10 | Kotov, Alexander | 7½/15 | +5 -5 =5 | games |
| =10 | Marovic, Drazen | 7½/15 | +3 -3 =9 | games |
| 12 | Bilek, Istvan | 7/15 | +2 -3 =10 | games |
| 13 | Bouwmeester, Hans | 6/15 | +1 -4 =10 | games |
| 14 | Jongsma, Alexander | 5/15 | +1 -6 =8 | games |
| 15 | Kuijpers, Frans | 4½/15 | +1 -7 =7 | games |
| 16 | Zuidema, Coen | 3½/15 | +0 -8 =7 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kavalek, Lubomir | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Bronstein, David Ionovich | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 3 | Ciric, Dragoljub M | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Shamkovich, Leonid Alexandrovich | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Langeweg, Kick | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Lengyel, Levente | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Ree, Hans | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 8 | Ivkov, Borislav | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Donner, Jan Hein | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Kotov, Alexander | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 11 | Marovic, Drazen | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 12 | Bilek, Istvan | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 13 | Bouwmeester, Hans | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 14 | Jongsma, Alexander | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 15 | Kuijpers, Frans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 16 | Zuidema, Coen | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.