Round one opened with a minute of silence for Leonid Stein, the previous year's co-winner, who had died only months before. What followed was a coming-out party for a different kind of talent: the young Yugoslav Ljubomir Ljubojević tore through the field with eight wins against a single loss, finishing on 11 out of 15 — a full point clear of a chasing pack that included two future grandmasters just beginning their careers.
A field remembering an absent friend
The third Gran Torneo Internacional was played in the saloons of the Hotel Santa Catalina from 15 April to 4 May 1974, with tournament director Pierre Joly Dumesnil again in charge and Harry Golombek as chief arbiter. Before the first move, the players stood for a minute of silence in memory of Leonid Stein, who had shared the 1973 title and died that July.
The sixteen-player field was headed by the former World Championship candidate Fridrik Olafsson of Iceland, the Soviet veteran Lev Polugaevsky, Denmark's Bent Larsen, Sweden's Ulf Andersson, and a promising twenty-year-old from Lvov named Alexander Beliavsky. Cuba sent Guillermo García González, another twenty-year-old on the rise, alongside Zoltán Ribli, Lubomir Kavalek, Walter Browne, Miguel Quinteros, and a strong Spanish contingent led by Arturo Pomar.
Ljubojevic's runaway
Ljubojevic had a breakthrough tournament: eight wins, six draws and just one loss for 11 points from 15 games, a full point clear of the field. Beliavsky and Olafsson shared second on 10, with a group including García González, Polugaevsky, Andersson and Larsen close behind on 9½. Beliavsky and García González both earned grandmaster norms.
The best-game prize, sponsored by Isador Samuel Turover, went to Ljubojevic for his win over the American champion Walter Browne.
The start of something
Las Palmas 1974 was the first of what would become two Las Palmas titles for Ljubojevic: he returned the following year to defend the title successfully, the only player in the series' history to do so, and was voted runner-up for the Chess Oscar in 1975. On Gran Canaria in the spring of 1974, though, this was simply the tournament where the mercurial Yugoslav grandmaster first showed he belonged among the very best.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 11/15 | +8 -1 =6 | games |
| =2 | Garcia Gonzales, Guillermo | 10/15 | +7 -2 =6 | games |
| =2 | Olafsson, Fridrik | 10/15 | +7 -2 =6 | games |
| =2 | Beliavsky, Alexander G | 10/15 | +5 -0 =10 | games |
| =5 | Larsen, Bent | 9½/15 | +8 -4 =3 | games |
| =5 | Andersson, Ulf | 9½/15 | +6 -2 =7 | games |
| =5 | Polugaevsky, Lev | 9½/15 | +4 -0 =11 | games |
| 8 | Quinteros, Miguel Angel | 7½/15 | +7 -7 =1 | games |
| =9 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | 7/15 | +3 -4 =8 | games |
| =9 | Ribli, Zoltan | 7/15 | +3 -4 =8 | games |
| =11 | Browne, Walter Shawn | 6½/15 | +5 -7 =3 | games |
| =11 | Kavalek, Lubomir | 6½/15 | +4 -6 =5 | games |
| 13 | Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel | 5/15 | +2 -7 =6 | games |
| 14 | Hartston, William R | 4½/15 | +2 -8 =5 | games |
| 15 | Menvielle Laccourreye, Augusto | 4/15 | +3 -10 =2 | games |
| 16 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 2½/15 | +1 -11 =3 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Garcia Gonzales, Guillermo | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Olafsson, Fridrik | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 4 | Beliavsky, Alexander G | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Larsen, Bent | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Andersson, Ulf | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Polugaevsky, Lev | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | Quinteros, Miguel Angel | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 10 | Ribli, Zoltan | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 11 | Browne, Walter Shawn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Kavalek, Lubomir | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 | Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 14 | Hartston, William R | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | Menvielle Laccourreye, Augusto | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 16 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.