In only his first appearance at Linares, the Soviet prodigy Vasyl Ivanchuk — not yet twenty — went through a Category XVI field without losing a game and finished clear first ahead of former World Champion Anatoly Karpov. It was the opening act of a long love affair between Ivanchuk and the Andalusian tournament.
The debut
Vasyl Ivanchuk arrived under a fortnight before his twentieth birthday and treated Linares as a stage. He won five games and drew five, the only undefeated player in the event, and edged home on 7½/10 — half a point clear of the runner-up.
That runner-up was Anatoly Karpov, world champion from 1975 to 1985 and still one of the two best players alive. To finish above him on debut announced Ivanchuk as a genuine member of the world elite. It was the first of his three Linares titles; he would win again in 1991 and 1995.
An eleven-man field
The tournament was contested by an odd number of players, so each round one competitor sat out with a bye; Ivanchuk himself had no opponent in the opening round. A twelfth participant had been possible, but adding him would have dropped the average rating and cost the event its Category XVI billing, so the organisers kept the eleven-player line-up.
Behind Ivanchuk and Karpov, Ljubomir Ljubojević took third on 6, with Nigel Short and Jan Timman sharing fourth. The field of Soviet and Western grandmasters confirmed how quickly Luis Rentero's tournament was maturing into one of the strongest annual events anywhere.
“Ivanchuk dazzled at his Linares debut with a clear first place ahead of former world champion Karpov.”
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | 7½/10 | +5 -0 =5 | games |
| 2 | Karpov, Anatoly | 7/10 | +5 -1 =4 | games |
| 3 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 6/10 | +4 -2 =4 | games |
| =4 | Short, Nigel D | 5½/10 | +3 -2 =5 | games |
| =4 | Timman, Jan H | 5½/10 | +2 -1 =7 | games |
| 6 | Yusupov, Artur | 5/10 | +2 -2 =6 | games |
| 7 | Beliavsky, Alexander G | 4½/10 | +3 -4 =3 | games |
| 8 | Portisch, Lajos | 4/10 | +1 -3 =6 | games |
| =9 | Gulko, Boris F | 3½/10 | +0 -3 =7 | games |
| =9 | Sokolov, Andrei | 3½/10 | +0 -3 =7 | games |
| 11 | Hjartarson, Johann | 3/10 | +2 -6 =2 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Karpov, Anatoly | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Short, Nigel D | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Timman, Jan H | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Yusupov, Artur | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 7 | Beliavsky, Alexander G | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | |
| 8 | Portisch, Lajos | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 9 | Gulko, Boris F | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Sokolov, Andrei | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 11 | Hjartarson, Johann | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.