Las Palmas 1972
On Gran Canaria in the spring of 1972, sixteen masters gathered for one of the strongest of the early Las Palmas tournaments. Hungary's Lajos Portisch — the positional craftsman they called the Hungarian Botvinnik — went through the field unbeaten, finishing a point clear of Bent Larsen, former World Champion Vasily Smyslov, and David Bronstein.
◈A strong field on Gran Canaria
The 1972 edition drew a genuinely international field of sixteen to the Canary Islands for a single round-robin of 120 games. At its head stood four of the world's best: the ever-dangerous Dane Bent Larsen, the former World Champion Vasily Smyslov, David Bronstein — who had come within a drawn match of the title in 1951 — and Portisch himself, by then a fixture in the Candidates cycle.
Around them were the American grandmaster Pal Benko, Italy's Stefano Tatai, Romania's Florin Gheorghiu, and the young Swede Ulf Andersson, filled out by a strong home contingent including Spain's Arturo Pomar and Antonio Medina.
◈Portisch takes command
Portisch played the tournament of a front-runner: nine wins, six draws, and not a single loss for 12 points out of 15. His decisive meeting with Larsen came in the third round, on 31 May 1972, and he won it with the White pieces — a result that set the tone for the fortnight.
Larsen and Smyslov shared second on 11, a full point back, with Bronstein a further point behind on 10. Benko and Tatai tied for fifth on 9. For all the depth beneath him, Portisch was never caught.
◈A win in character
The victory was typical of Portisch's peak years. He was, in this period, capable of beating any Soviet on his day and did so with a Botvinnik-like blend of deep opening preparation and endgame patience rather than tactical fireworks. Las Palmas 1972 sits comfortably among the tournament wins that made him one of the strongest non-Soviet players of the 1960s and 1970s and a perennial World Championship candidate.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portisch, Lajos | 12/15 | +9 -0 =6 | games → |
| 2 | Larsen, Bent | 11/15 | +9 -2 =4 | games → |
| 3 | Smyslov, Vassily V | 11/15 | +8 -1 =6 | games → |
| 4 | Bronstein, David Ionovich | 10/15 | +5 -0 =10 | games → |
| =5 | Benko, Pal C | 9/15 | +5 -2 =8 | games → |
| =5 | Tatai, Stefano | 9/15 | +5 -2 =8 | games → |
| 7 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 8½/15 | +5 -3 =7 | games → |
| 8 | Andersson, Ulf | 8/15 | +4 -3 =8 | games → |
| 9 | Lehmann, Heinz | 7½/15 | +2 -2 =11 | games → |
| 10 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 7/15 | +4 -5 =6 | games → |
| 11 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | 7/15 | +3 -4 =8 | games → |
| 12 | Menvielle Laccourreye, Augusto | 5½/15 | +3 -7 =5 | games → |
| 13 | Visier Segovia, Fernando | 5/15 | +1 -6 =8 | games → |
| =14 | Dominguez Sanz, Juan Pedro | 3½/15 | +1 -9 =5 | games → |
| =14 | Huguet, Bernard | 3½/15 | +1 -9 =5 | games → |
| 16 | Valcarcel, Juan J | 2½/15 | +0 -10 =5 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portisch, Lajos | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Larsen, Bent | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Smyslov, Vassily V | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Bronstein, David Ionovich | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Benko, Pal C | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Tatai, Stefano | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Gheorghiu, Florin | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 8 | Andersson, Ulf | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Lehmann, Heinz | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Menvielle Laccourreye, Augusto | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 13 | Visier Segovia, Fernando | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 14 | Dominguez Sanz, Juan Pedro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 15 | Huguet, Bernard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 16 | Valcarcel, Juan J | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.