Riga 1979 Interzonal

Former World Champion Mikhail Tal returned to his native Riga and won its Interzonal without losing a single game, finishing two and a half points clear on 14/17. It was one of the great results of his later career, and it carried him into the Candidates cycle for the 1981 world title.

◇A champion's homecoming

The Riga Interzonal was one of the two 1979 qualifiers — Rio de Janeiro was the other — feeding the Candidates matches for the 1981 World Championship. Eighteen players contested a single round-robin, and the top three would go through.

Tal, playing in the city where he had grown up and learned the game, was imperious. He led from an early run of wins and was never caught, finishing on 14/17 without a defeat — two and a half points clear of the field. For a player whose career had been repeatedly interrupted by ill health, it was a resounding statement.

◇The race for third

Lev Polugaevsky took second on 11½ to claim the other automatic qualifying place. The last Candidates spot came down to two Hungarians, András Adorján and Zoltán Ribli, who tied on 11. Their play-off in Budapest was fought to a 3–3 standstill, and Adorján advanced on the tie-break of his Interzonal score.

One scheduled game was never played: Slim Bouaziz of Tunisia did not appear against Yehuda Gruenfeld of Israel, and the full point was awarded to Gruenfeld by default. All played round-robin games are preserved; the default has no moves to replay.

“This time, I played well from the very start, and the Riga people's support helped me very much.”

“We fought like Hussars here.”