16th Mar del Plata International — 1953
Svetozar Gligorić won the 16th Mar del Plata International with 16/19, a point and a half ahead of Miguel Najdorf. Their game here gave the Mar del Plata Variation of the King's Indian Defense its name.
The sixteenth international
The invitational International was the established elite event that preceded the later Mar del Plata Open. Twenty players from Europe and the Americas met in the salón nácar of the Casino Central, completing all 190 pairings.
Gligorić scored 16, Najdorf 14½, Julio Bolbochán 13½ and Petar Trifunović 13. Miguel Cuéllar Gacharná placed fifth on 12½, ahead of a field rich in Argentine and visiting masters.
A variation takes the city’s name
Najdorf–Gligorić became the event’s most durable historical marker. Their King’s Indian featured the strategic scheme now known as the Mar del Plata Variation, tying the tournament’s name permanently to opening theory.
Gligorić won the game and the tournament outright. There was no playoff, and every player completed nineteen games.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 16/19 | +14 -1 =4 | games |
| 2 | Najdorf, Miguel | 14½/19 | +11 -1 =7 | games |
| 3 | Bolbochan, Julio | 13½/19 | +8 -0 =11 | games |
| 4 | Trifunovic, Petar | 13/19 | +8 -1 =10 | games |
| 5 | Cuellar Gacharna, Miguel | 12½/19 | +10 -4 =5 | games |
| 6 | Pilnik, Hermann | 11½/19 | +8 -4 =7 | games |
| =7 | Letelier Martner, Rene | 11/19 | +7 -4 =8 | games |
| =7 | Eliskases, Erich Gottlieb | 11/19 | +6 -3 =10 | games |
| 9 | Rossetto, Hector | 10½/19 | +6 -4 =9 | games |
| =10 | Guimard, Carlos Enrique | 10/19 | +7 -6 =6 | games |
| =10 | Ojanen, Kaarle Sakari | 10/19 | +5 -4 =10 | games |
| 12 | Bolbochan, Jacobo | 9½/19 | +5 -5 =9 | games |
| 13 | Shocron, Ruben | 9/19 | +7 -8 =4 | games |
| 14 | Steiner, Herman | 8½/19 | +5 -7 =7 | games |
| =15 | Maderna, Carlos Hugo | 7½/19 | +5 -9 =5 | games |
| =15 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 7½/19 | +5 -9 =5 | games |
| 17 | Wexler, Bernardo | 6½/19 | +1 -7 =11 | games |
| 18 | Jauregui Andrade, Carlos | 3/19 | +1 -14 =4 | games |
| =19 | Burgalat, Francisco | 2½/19 | +2 -16 =1 | games |
| =19 | Carvalho, Flavio | 2½/19 | +1 -15 =3 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Najdorf, Miguel | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Bolbochan, Julio | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 4 | Trifunovic, Petar | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Cuellar Gacharna, Miguel | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Pilnik, Hermann | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Letelier Martner, Rene | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Eliskases, Erich Gottlieb | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Rossetto, Hector | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Guimard, Carlos Enrique | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Ojanen, Kaarle Sakari | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Bolbochan, Jacobo | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 13 | Shocron, Ruben | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 14 | Steiner, Herman | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Maderna, Carlos Hugo | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 16 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 17 | Wexler, Bernardo | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | |
| 18 | Jauregui Andrade, Carlos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 19 | Burgalat, Francisco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 20 | Carvalho, Flavio | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.