Bent Larsen won the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix with 9½/13, half a point ahead of Mikhail Botvinnik. The 14-player round robin brought together several of the era's leading grandmasters and is preserved here in all 91 games.
A field of champions and Candidates
Fourteen players met once each over 13 rounds, producing 91 official played games. The field included former world champions Botvinnik and Smyslov, together with Larsen, Lajos Portisch, Vlastimil Hort, Robert Byrne, Pal Benko, and Wolfgang Uhlmann.
Every scheduled pairing is present. The direct crosstable and the archived scores agree on all 14 final point totals.
Larsen's fifth clear victory
Larsen scored seven wins, five draws, and one loss for 9½. Botvinnik took second on 9 without losing a game, while Smyslov and Hort shared the next score on 8½, also unbeaten.
The Monte Carlo win was Larsen's fifth clear first place in a row in major tournaments, at the height of his career.
The games
There were 46 decisive games and 45 draws. The standings keep Larsen's half-point margin, the shared third place and the full order of all 14 players.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larsen, Bent | 9½/13 | +7 -1 =5 | games |
| 2 | Botvinnik, Mikhail | 9/13 | +5 -0 =8 | games |
| =3 | Hort, Vlastimil | 8½/13 | +4 -0 =9 | games |
| =3 | Smyslov, Vasily V | 8½/13 | +4 -0 =9 | games |
| 5 | Byrne, Robert Eugene | 8/13 | +4 -1 =8 | games |
| =6 | Portisch, Lajos | 7½/13 | +5 -3 =5 | games |
| =6 | Benko, Pal C | 7½/13 | +3 -1 =9 | games |
| =6 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 7½/13 | +3 -1 =9 | games |
| 9 | Forintos, Gyozo Victor | 6½/13 | +3 -3 =7 | games |
| =10 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | 5½/13 | +3 -5 =5 | games |
| =10 | Damjanovic, Mato | 5½/13 | +2 -4 =7 | games |
| 12 | Padevsky, Nikola Bochev | 5/13 | +2 -5 =6 | games |
| 13 | Letzelter, Jean Claude | 1½/13 | +1 -11 =1 | games |
| 14 | Zinser, Sylvain | 1/13 | +0 -11 =2 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larsen, Bent | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Botvinnik, Mikhail | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Hort, Vlastimil | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Smyslov, Vasily V | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Byrne, Robert Eugene | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Portisch, Lajos | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 | Benko, Pal C | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Forintos, Gyozo Victor | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Damjanovic, Mato | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Padevsky, Nikola Bochev | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 13 | Letzelter, Jean Claude | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | |
| 14 | Zinser, Sylvain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.