The tenth IBM international drew reigning World Champion Boris Spassky to Amsterdam, and he set the standard he was expected to — but he could not shake off Lev Polugaevsky. The two Soviet grandmasters finished level and unbeaten on 11½/15, sharing first place a full point ahead of the field.
A world champion in Amsterdam
By the summer of 1970 Boris Spassky was world champion, having taken the title from Tigran Petrosian a year earlier. His appearance headlined the tenth edition of the IBM tournament — a sixteen-player single round-robin over fifteen rounds and nineteen days, again run by chief arbiter Constant Orbaan.
The supporting cast was strong: Spassky's compatriots Polugaevsky and Efim Geller, the East German Wolfgang Uhlmann, Czechoslovakia's Vlastimil Hort, Yugoslavia's Svetozar Gligoric, Bulgaria's Georgi Tringov, and a home group led by Jan Hein Donner, Hans Ree and Rob Hartoch.
Two unbeaten leaders
Spassky and Polugaevsky each finished the tournament without losing a single game — both scoring +8 =7 for 11½/15. Neither could break the other, and their shared first left them a clear point ahead of the chasing pack. Their head-to-head, one of the event's marquee pairings, was drawn.
Uhlmann took clear third on 10½ with only one defeat, and Geller was fourth on 10. For Polugaevsky the result was a signpost: he would return to Amsterdam two years later to win the IBM tournament outright in 1972.
The pack
Hort and Gligoric shared fifth on 8½, and after the leading quartet the scoring fell away sharply. Tringov drew thirteen of his fifteen games; the Dutch players, outmatched by the visiting grandmasters, filled the lower half, with Alexander Jongsma finishing last on 4.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Polugaevsky, Lev | 11½/15 | +8 -0 =7 | games |
| =1 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | 11½/15 | +8 -0 =7 | games |
| 3 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | 10½/15 | +7 -1 =7 | games |
| 4 | Geller, Efim P | 10/15 | +7 -2 =6 | games |
| =5 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 8½/15 | +4 -2 =9 | games |
| =5 | Hort, Vlastimil | 8½/15 | +3 -1 =11 | games |
| =7 | Janosevic, Dragoljub | 7½/15 | +5 -5 =5 | games |
| =7 | Tringov, Georgi Petrov | 7½/15 | +1 -1 =13 | games |
| 9 | Ciric, Dragoljub M | 7/15 | +2 -3 =10 | games |
| 10 | Donner, Jan Hein | 6½/15 | +2 -4 =9 | games |
| 11 | Scholl, Eddie C | 6/15 | +1 -4 =10 | games |
| =12 | Csom, Istvan | 5½/15 | +1 -5 =9 | games |
| =12 | Hartoch, Robert G | 5½/15 | +0 -4 =11 | games |
| =14 | Langeweg, Kick | 5/15 | +1 -6 =8 | games |
| =14 | Ree, Hans | 5/15 | +1 -6 =8 | games |
| 16 | Jongsma, Alexander | 4/15 | +0 -7 =8 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polugaevsky, Lev | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Geller, Efim P | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 6 | Hort, Vlastimil | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Janosevic, Dragoljub | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Tringov, Georgi Petrov | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 9 | Ciric, Dragoljub M | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 10 | Donner, Jan Hein | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 11 | Scholl, Eddie C | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Csom, Istvan | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 13 | Hartoch, Robert G | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 14 | Langeweg, Kick | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 15 | Ree, Hans | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 16 | Jongsma, Alexander | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.