Linares 1988
After a decade of irregular scheduling, the tournament sponsored by Luis Rentero in the Andalusian town of Linares settled into the annual rhythm it would keep for more than twenty years. The Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman set the tone for what became the Wimbledon of chess, taking a Category XV field apart to win by a full point and a half and never really being caught.
◈A tournament finds its calendar
Linares had been staged on and off since 1978, when the little-known Swede Jaan Eslon won a modest open. It was held only every other year until 1987, when the town instead hosted the Candidates' Final between Anatoly Karpov and Andrei Sokolov. From 1988 the event became the annual super-tournament chess would come to call the Wimbledon of chess — one of the strongest gatherings on the circuit.
The driving force was the Spanish businessman Luis Rentero, an implacable enemy of the short draw. Rentero offered cash bonuses for hard-fought games, and it was said that grandmasters who agreed too many quiet draws risked simply not being invited back the following year.
◈Timman cruises
Jan Timman, then among the very strongest players outside the Soviet Union, made the running from the start. He scored 6½ of his first seven points and lost only a single game all event — to Murray Chandler in round nine — cruising home on 8½/11, a point and a half clear of the field.
Alexander Beliavsky took clear second on 7, losing only to the champion himself, while Artur Yusupov was undefeated in third with two wins and nine draws. The women's world champion, Maia Chiburdanidze, held her own against a field of leading grandmasters and finished last with 2½, the only woman in the line-up.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timman, Jan H | 8½/11 | +7 -1 =3 | games → |
| 2 | Beliavsky, Alexander G | 7/11 | +4 -1 =6 | games → |
| 3 | Jussupow, Artur | 6½/11 | +2 -0 =9 | games → |
| 4 | Chandler, Murray G | 6/11 | +4 -3 =4 | games → |
| 5 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 6/11 | +3 -2 =6 | games → |
| 6 | Nunn, John DM | 5½/11 | +3 -3 =5 | games → |
| =7 | Georgiev, Kiril | 5½/11 | +2 -2 =7 | games → |
| =7 | Portisch, Lajos | 5½/11 | +2 -2 =7 | games → |
| 9 | Illescas Cordoba, Miguel Angel | 5½/11 | +1 -1 =9 | games → |
| 10 | Hjartarson, Johann | 4/11 | +1 -4 =6 | games → |
| 11 | Nikolic, Predrag | 3½/11 | +0 -4 =7 | games → |
| 12 | Chiburdanidze, Maia | 2½/11 | +1 -7 =3 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timman, Jan H | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Beliavsky, Alexander G | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | Jussupow, Artur | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 4 | Chandler, Murray G | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Nunn, John DM | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Georgiev, Kiril | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | Portisch, Lajos | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 9 | Illescas Cordoba, Miguel Angel | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Hjartarson, Johann | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 11 | Nikolic, Predrag | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Chiburdanidze, Maia | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.
“Timman scored 6.5 points in the first seven rounds, and cruised to victory with 8.5/11. He lost one game, to Chandler, in Round 9.”