Palma de Mallorca 1966
For its second edition — the "II Torneo Internacional de Palma de Mallorca" — the tournament stepped up sharply: a bigger budget, a stronger field of sixteen, and many players arriving straight from the Havana Chess Olympiad. It was former World Champion Mihail Tal who came out on top, edging home favourite Arturo Pomar by a single point in the closest race the young series had yet produced.
◈A bigger, stronger second edition
A year after its modest ten-player debut, Palma de Mallorca returned with real ambition. The tournament was sponsored by the Hotel Jaime I, the local tourist industry, the publishing house Asociación de la Prensa, and the Spanish Chess Federation, giving the organisers a far larger budget than in 1965 and letting them field sixteen players, several of them fresh off the 1966 Chess Olympiad in Havana, which had closed on 20 November.
The headline name was Mihail Tal, World Champion from 1960 to 1961 and still one of the most feared attacking players alive. Around him sat Lajos Portisch, Borislav Ivkov, Aleksandar Matanović, Helmut Pfleger, Leonid Shamkovich, and a returning Albéric O'Kelly de Galway, who had shared first in Palma's inaugural year.
◈Tal by a point
Tal finished on 12 points from 15 games, a clear point ahead of Arturo Pomar — born on the island and, by his own biographers' account, playing one of the strongest international tournaments of his career. Portisch was third on 10, with Ivkov fourth on 9½ and Matanović fifth on 9.
Pfleger took sixth on 8; Shamkovich and O'Kelly shared seventh and eighth on 7½; Svetozar Trifunović and Heinz Lehmann shared ninth and tenth on 7, Lehmann earning the tournament's Best Game prize for his win over Shamkovich. The rest of the field — Menvielle Laccourreye, Torán Albero, Robatsch, Wade, Medina García, and Visier Segovia — filled out the remaining places.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tal, Mihail | 12/15 | +9 -0 =6 | games → |
| 2 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | 11/15 | +8 -1 =6 | games → |
| 3 | Portisch, Lajos | 10/15 | +7 -2 =6 | games → |
| 4 | Ivkov, Borislav | 9½/15 | +5 -1 =9 | games → |
| 5 | Matanovic, Aleksandar | 9/15 | +3 -0 =12 | games → |
| 6 | Pfleger, Helmut | 8/15 | +5 -4 =6 | games → |
| 7 | Shamkovich, Leonid Alexandrovic | 7½/15 | +4 -4 =7 | games → |
| 8 | O'Kelly de Galway, Alberic | 7½/15 | +3 -3 =9 | games → |
| 9 | Lehmann, Heinz | 7/15 | +3 -4 =8 | games → |
| 10 | Trifunovic, Petar | 7/15 | +1 -2 =12 | games → |
| 11 | Menvielle Laccourreye, Augusto | 6½/15 | +3 -5 =7 | games → |
| 12 | Toran Albero, Roman | 5½/15 | +2 -6 =7 | games → |
| 13 | Robatsch, Karl | 5½/15 | +1 -5 =9 | games → |
| 14 | Wade, Robert Graham | 5/15 | +2 -7 =6 | games → |
| 15 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 4½/15 | +2 -8 =5 | games → |
| 16 | Visier Segovia, Fernando | 4½/15 | +0 -6 =9 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tal, Mihail | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Portisch, Lajos | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Ivkov, Borislav | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 5 | Matanovic, Aleksandar | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 6 | Pfleger, Helmut | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 7 | Shamkovich, Leonid Alexandrovic | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | O'Kelly de Galway, Alberic | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 9 | Lehmann, Heinz | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 10 | Trifunovic, Petar | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 11 | Menvielle Laccourreye, Augusto | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Toran Albero, Roman | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 13 | Robatsch, Karl | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 14 | Wade, Robert Graham | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 16 | Visier Segovia, Fernando | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.