The 25th international tournament at Mar del Plata was an outstanding success for the rising Soviet star Lev Polugaevsky, who went through fifteen rounds without losing a game and took first prize with 11½/15 — two full points clear of former world champion Vasily Smyslov and Hungary's László Szabó.
The 25th Mar del Plata
The seaside resort's silver-jubilee international drew a genuinely worldwide field of sixteen. From the Soviet Union came Smyslov, world champion only five years earlier, and the 27-year-old Polugaevsky; from Europe, Szabó, Czechoslovakia's Ludek Pachman, England's Jonathan Penrose, and the reigning world junior champion Bruno Parma of Yugoslavia; from the United States, Donald Byrne. Against them stood the Argentine old guard — Miguel Najdorf, Oscar Panno, Raúl Sanguineti, Héctor Rossetto, Carlos Guimard, Hermann Pilnik, and the young Carlos Bielicki — plus the naturalised Austrian Erich Eliskases and Chile's René Letelier.
A two-point margin
Polugaevsky, awarded the international grandmaster title by FIDE that same year, dominated from start to finish: eight wins and seven draws, including a round-eight defeat of Szabó and steady draws with Smyslov and Najdorf. His 11½/15 left the joint runners-up two full points behind — Szabó and Smyslov on 9½ — with Byrne, Najdorf, and Sanguineti heading the chasing group on 8½. Young Parma also reached 8½ without losing a game all event.
It was the first of Polugaevsky's two Mar del Plata titles — he returned to win again in 1971 — and one of the early international results that announced the future world-championship candidate outside the Soviet Union.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polugaevsky, Lev | 11½/15 | +8 -0 =7 | games |
| =2 | Szabo, Laszlo | 9½/15 | +6 -2 =7 | games |
| =2 | Smyslov, Vasily V | 9½/15 | +5 -1 =9 | games |
| =4 | Byrne, Donald | 8½/15 | +4 -2 =9 | games |
| =4 | Najdorf, Miguel | 8½/15 | +4 -2 =9 | games |
| =4 | Sanguineti, Raul | 8½/15 | +4 -2 =9 | games |
| =4 | Parma, Bruno | 8½/15 | +2 -0 =13 | games |
| 8 | Pachman, Ludek | 8/15 | +4 -3 =8 | games |
| 9 | Panno, Oscar | 7½/15 | +3 -3 =9 | games |
| 10 | Eliskases, Erich Gottlieb | 7/15 | +2 -3 =10 | games |
| =11 | Rossetto, Hector | 6½/15 | +4 -6 =5 | games |
| =11 | Pilnik, Hermann | 6½/15 | +1 -3 =11 | games |
| 13 | Guimard, Carlos Enrique | 5½/15 | +2 -6 =7 | games |
| =14 | Letelier Martner, Rene | 5/15 | +2 -7 =6 | games |
| =14 | Penrose, Jonathan | 5/15 | +0 -5 =10 | games |
| 16 | Bielicki, Carlos | 4½/15 | +2 -8 =5 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polugaevsky, Lev | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Szabo, Laszlo | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | Smyslov, Vasily V | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Byrne, Donald | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 5 | Najdorf, Miguel | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 6 | Sanguineti, Raul | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Parma, Bruno | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | Pachman, Ludek | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | |
| 9 | Panno, Oscar | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Eliskases, Erich Gottlieb | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 11 | Rossetto, Hector | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 12 | Pilnik, Hermann | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 13 | Guimard, Carlos Enrique | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 14 | Letelier Martner, Rene | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 15 | Penrose, Jonathan | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 16 | Bielicki, Carlos | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.