The seventh running of Italy's Torneo di Capodanno produced one of the tightest finishes in the tournament's early history: four players — Mario Bertok, Rudolf Teschner, István Bilek and Dragoljub Minić — crossed the line locked together on 8½ from 11, with Bertok awarded first prize on tiebreak.
A finish nobody could shake off
The 1964/65 edition, played over the New Year holiday as always, brought together a twelve-player field of Yugoslav, Hungarian, German, Czechoslovak and Italian masters for a single round-robin of 66 games. Yugoslav IM Mario Bertok led from the front for most of the event, but the race stayed crowded to the very end: Hungarian GM István Bilek surged through the final rounds, taking outright first with 8 points after round ten, a half point clear of Bertok, Teschner and Július Kozma.
The last round settled nothing cleanly. Bertok, Teschner and Dragoljub Minić all reached the finish on 8½, and Bilek — who had been alone in front only a round earlier — joined them there too. With four players locked together at the top and no separation possible over the board, the tournament's tiebreak rules gave the title to Bertok, with Teschner, Bilek and Minić credited as equal first alongside him.
The founder in the field
Enrico Paoli, the Italian IM who had made the tournament an annual event in 1958, played in this edition himself and finished eighth on 4 points. From the start, Reggio Emilia's New Year tournament owed as much to its founder's love of the game as to the visiting masters.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Bertok, Mario | 8½/11 | +7 -1 =3 | games |
| =1 | Teschner, Rudolf | 8½/11 | +7 -1 =3 | games |
| =1 | Bilek, Istvan | 8½/11 | +6 -0 =5 | games |
| =1 | Minic, Dragoljub | 8½/11 | +6 -0 =5 | games |
| 5 | Kozma, Julius | 8/11 | +6 -1 =4 | games |
| 6 | Palmiotto, Fiorentino | 5½/11 | +5 -5 =1 | games |
| 7 | Barczay, Laszlo | 4½/11 | +3 -5 =3 | games |
| 8 | Paoli, Enrico | 4/11 | +4 -7 =0 | games |
| 9 | Malcanek, Oldrich | 3½/11 | +3 -7 =1 | games |
| =10 | Damele, Cesare | 2½/11 | +2 -8 =1 | games |
| =10 | Siveri, Armando | 2½/11 | +2 -8 =1 | games |
| 12 | Bagnoli, Paolo | 1½/11 | +1 -9 =1 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bertok, Mario | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2 | Teschner, Rudolf | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Bilek, Istvan | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Minic, Dragoljub | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Kozma, Julius | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Palmiotto, Fiorentino | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Barczay, Laszlo | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Paoli, Enrico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 9 | Malcanek, Oldrich | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 10 | Damele, Cesare | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 11 | Siveri, Armando | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Bagnoli, Paolo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.