IBM Amsterdam 1972
In the summer of 1972, as Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky fought for the world crown in Reykjavík, the twelfth IBM international tournament in Amsterdam produced a Soviet one-two at the top of the table. Lev Polugaevsky — then the world's fourth-ranked player — took clear first with 12 out of 15, a full point ahead of his compatriot Viktor Korchnoi, in one of the strong sponsor's classic summer festivals on the Amstel.
◈The festival on the Amstel
The IBM international was one of the great annual fixtures of Western European chess. Sponsored by the computing company IBM and staged in Amsterdam from 1961 to 1981, it grew into a genuine festival — a strong grandmaster "A" group alongside parallel master and reserve sections, connected in spirit to IBM's interest in promoting the young art of computer programming. Over its two decades the winners' list would include five world champions.
The 1972 edition drew sixteen players into a single round-robin of fifteen rounds. It ran in a year dominated by the Fischer–Spassky match in Iceland, so much of the chess world's attention lay elsewhere — yet the field in Amsterdam was thoroughly international, mixing Soviet and Eastern European grandmasters with Dutch hosts and a rising Western generation.
◈Polugaevsky clear
Lev Polugaevsky, ranked fourth in the world on the July 1972 FIDE list, controlled the event and finished on 12/15 — a full point clear of the field. Second place went to Viktor Korchnoi, the world's fifth-ranked player, on 11/15, so the two leading finishers were also two of the five strongest players on the planet. Wolfgang Uhlmann took third with 9½.
It was, however, the fourth-placed finisher who caught the reporters' pens: the veteran Hungarian grandmaster László Szabó, on 9/15, was singled out by the chess press for a run of fine, sharply tactical games. Behind them the pack bunched tightly, with Kick Langeweg and the young Ljubomir Ljubojević on 8½ and a knot of players — Jan Hein Donner, the twenty-year-old Jan Timman and Hans Ree — sharing eight points.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polugaevsky, Lev | 12/15 | +9 -0 =6 | games → |
| 2 | Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich | 11/15 | +7 -0 =8 | games → |
| 3 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | 9½/15 | +6 -2 =7 | games → |
| 4 | Szabo, Laszlo | 9/15 | +5 -2 =8 | games → |
| 5 | Langeweg, Kick | 8½/15 | +6 -4 =5 | games → |
| 6 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 8½/15 | +5 -3 =7 | games → |
| =7 | Donner, Jan Hein | 8/15 | +4 -3 =8 | games → |
| =7 | Timman, Jan H | 8/15 | +4 -3 =8 | games → |
| 9 | Ree, Hans | 8/15 | +3 -2 =10 | games → |
| 10 | Malich, Burkhard | 7/15 | +3 -4 =8 | games → |
| 11 | Ivkov, Borislav | 7/15 | +2 -3 =10 | games → |
| 12 | Robatsch, Karl | 6/15 | +3 -6 =6 | games → |
| 13 | Browne, Walter Shawn | 5/15 | +1 -6 =8 | games → |
| 14 | Padevsky, Nikola Bochev | 4½/15 | +2 -8 =5 | games → |
| 15 | Enklaar, Bert F | 4/15 | +2 -9 =4 | games → |
| 16 | Hartoch, Robert G | 4/15 | +1 -8 =6 | 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 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 4 | Szabo, Laszlo | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Langeweg, Kick | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | |
| 6 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Donner, Jan Hein | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Timman, Jan H | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Ree, Hans | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Malich, Burkhard | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 11 | Ivkov, Borislav | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 12 | Robatsch, Karl | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 13 | Browne, Walter Shawn | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | |
| 14 | Padevsky, Nikola Bochev | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 15 | Enklaar, Bert F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 16 | Hartoch, Robert G | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.
“The IBM international chess tournament, held in Amsterdam, is won by Lev Polugaevsky on 12/15, ahead of Viktor Korchnoi (11/15) and Wolfgang Uhlmann (9½/15). It is however fourth placed László Szabó who catches the eye of the chess writers, producing some fine, tactical games.”