Manila 1976 Interzonal
Manila was the second of the two 1976 Interzonals, and it was a triumph for the Brazilian star Henrique Mecking, who won the twenty-player round-robin on 13/19 and qualified once more for the Candidates matches.
◈The Manila Interzonal
Held at Manila from June into July 1976, this was the companion Interzonal to Biel in the 1976–78 World Championship cycle, its leading finishers advancing to the Candidates matches. Twenty players contested nineteen rounds, seventeen of them grandmasters, with a field that included Vlastimil Hort, Lev Polugaevsky, former world champion Boris Spassky, Ljubomir Ljubojević, Vitaly Tseshkovsky and the local hero Eugenio Torre.
For host nation the Philippines it was a showcase event, and for the visiting elite a hard-fought scramble for a small number of qualifying places.
◈Mecking again
Henrique Mecking, who three years earlier had won the Petrópolis Interzonal at home in Brazil, took first place here too. He finished clear on 13/19, ahead of Hort and Polugaevsky, who tied on 12½ to fill the remaining qualifying places. It was the second consecutive Interzonal that Mecking had topped, confirming him as one of the strongest players in the world in the mid-1970s.
Mecking, Hort and Polugaevsky advanced from Manila to the 1977 Candidates matches, joining the qualifiers from Biel in the hunt to challenge Anatoly Karpov.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mecking, Henrique | 13/19 | +8 -1 =10 | games → |
| 2 | Hort, Vlastimil | 12½/19 | +9 -3 =7 | games → |
| 3 | Polugaevsky, Lev | 12½/19 | +7 -1 =11 | games → |
| 4 | Tseshkovsky, Vitaly | 12/19 | +8 -3 =8 | games → |
| 5 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 11½/19 | +8 -4 =7 | games → |
| 6 | Ribli, Zoltan | 11½/19 | +7 -3 =9 | games → |
| 7 | Panno, Oscar | 10½/19 | +7 -5 =7 | games → |
| 8 | Kavalek, Lubomir | 10½/19 | +6 -4 =9 | games → |
| 9 | Balashov, Yuri S | 10½/19 | +5 -3 =11 | games → |
| =10 | Mariotti, Sergio | 10/19 | +6 -5 =8 | games → |
| =10 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | 10/19 | +6 -5 =8 | games → |
| =12 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 10/19 | +4 -3 =12 | games → |
| =12 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | 10/19 | +4 -3 =12 | games → |
| 14 | Quinteros, Miguel Angel | 9/19 | +7 -8 =4 | games → |
| 15 | Browne, Walter Shawn | 8½/19 | +4 -6 =9 | games → |
| 16 | Torre, Eugenio | 7/19 | +4 -9 =6 | games → |
| 17 | Biyiasas, Peter | 6/19 | +3 -10 =6 | games → |
| 18 | Harandi, Khosro | 5/19 | +3 -12 =4 | games → |
| 19 | Tan, Lian Ann | 5/19 | +2 -11 =6 | games → |
| 20 | Pachman, Ludek | 5/19 | +0 -9 =10 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mecking, Henrique | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Hort, Vlastimil | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Polugaevsky, Lev | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 4 | Tseshkovsky, Vitaly | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 5 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Ribli, Zoltan | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 7 | Panno, Oscar | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | Kavalek, Lubomir | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 9 | Balashov, Yuri S | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Mariotti, Sergio | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | |
| 12 | Gheorghiu, Florin | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 13 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 14 | Quinteros, Miguel Angel | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Browne, Walter Shawn | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | |
| 16 | Torre, Eugenio | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 17 | Biyiasas, Peter | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 18 | Harandi, Khosro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 19 | Tan, Lian Ann | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 20 | Pachman, Ludek | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.