The eighth Gran Torneo Internacional of Palma de Mallorca had the closest finish of the whole series: Argentina's Oscar Panno, Czechoslovakia's Jan Smejkal and the Soviet star Viktor Korchnoi all reached 10/15, and Panno took the title on tiebreak for his second Palma win in a row. It was the last of the island's annual round robins; the tournament moved to Madrid the following year.
The last Gran Torneo
By 1972 Jorge Puig's Palma de Mallorca tournament was an established fixture of the international calendar — this was its eighth edition, and the organisers again assembled a genuinely elite sixteen. By the Chessmetrics rankings of the day the field included Lev Polugaevsky (No. 5 in the world), Viktor Korchnoi (No. 7), Jan Smejkal (No. 16), Oscar Panno (No. 22), Borislav Ivkov (No. 24) and Ljubomir Ljubojević (No. 25), alongside Yuri Averbakh, Florin Gheorghiu, the young Swede Ulf Andersson, Switzerland's Werner Hug, Hungary's István Bilek and a strong Spanish contingent led by Arturo Pomar. Puig published the tournament book in Barcelona in 1973 — by which time the event itself had moved to Madrid, making this the final Palma tournament of the series.
A three-way fight for first
Panno, Smejkal and Korchnoi fought each other to a standstill at the top. Panno struck the decisive blow early, beating Korchnoi with the white pieces in round five, and though Ljubojević handed the Argentine his only loss in round ten — a game that earned the young Yugoslav the First Brilliancy Prize — Panno held his ground, drawing with Smejkal in the final round to complete the tie at 10/15. The tie-break went to Panno, sealing back-to-back Palma titles after his 1971 win.
Behind the leaders, Andersson took clear fourth on 9½, with Polugaevsky, Gheorghiu and Averbakh grouped on 9. Korchnoi's ten points came from the most combative record among the winners — seven wins and six draws against two defeats — while Panno and Smejkal each lost only once.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Korchnoi, Viktor Lvovich | 10/15 | +7 -2 =6 | games |
| =1 | Panno, Oscar | 10/15 | +6 -1 =8 | games |
| =1 | Smejkal, Jan | 10/15 | +6 -1 =8 | games |
| 4 | Andersson, Ulf | 9½/15 | +6 -2 =7 | games |
| =5 | Polugaevsky, Lev | 9/15 | +6 -3 =6 | games |
| =5 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 9/15 | +5 -2 =8 | games |
| =5 | Averbakh, Yuri L | 9/15 | +4 -1 =10 | games |
| 8 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 8½/15 | +4 -2 =9 | games |
| 9 | Ivkov, Borislav | 8/15 | +2 -1 =12 | games |
| =10 | Bilek, Istvan | 6/15 | +2 -5 =8 | games |
| =10 | Calvo Minguez, Ricardo | 6/15 | +2 -5 =8 | games |
| =10 | Hug, Werner | 6/15 | +2 -5 =8 | games |
| =10 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | 6/15 | +2 -5 =8 | games |
| 14 | Robatsch, Karl | 5½/15 | +1 -5 =9 | games |
| 15 | Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel | 5/15 | +3 -8 =4 | games |
| 16 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 2½/15 | +0 -10 =5 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korchnoi, Viktor Lvovich | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 2 | Panno, Oscar | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Smejkal, Jan | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Andersson, Ulf | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 5 | Polugaevsky, Lev | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Averbakh, Yuri L | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 8 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 9 | Ivkov, Borislav | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Bilek, Istvan | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 11 | Calvo Minguez, Ricardo | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 12 | Hug, Werner | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 14 | Robatsch, Karl | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 15 | Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 16 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.