Reggio Emilia 1968/69
The eleventh Torneo di Capodanno produced the tightest finish in the young series: four players — Czechoslovakia's Ladislav Mista, Bulgaria's Ivan Radulov, Romania's Victor Ciocâltea, and tournament founder Enrico Paoli himself — all ended level on 7 from 11. The roll of winners records Mista, the only man among the four to lose just a single game, as the champion.
◈A four-way photo finish
Twelve players — one grandmaster and five international masters among them — contested the eleventh New Year's tournament, and nobody could break clear. Mista, Radulov, Ciocâltea, and Paoli all reached 7 points; Radulov, Ciocâltea, and Paoli each scored five wins against two losses, while Mista got there the steadier way, with four wins, six draws, and a single defeat.
Just behind the leading quartet, Yugoslavia's Dragoljub Minić and Romania's Theodor Ghițescu shared fifth on 6½ — Ghițescu without losing a game — and the field's lone grandmaster, Mato Damjanović of Yugoslavia, had to settle for seventh on 6.
◈The founder on the podium
The tie for first carried its own stories. Victor Ciocâltea, who had taken the 1966/67 edition on tiebreak, was back at the top of the table, and Enrico Paoli — the Reggio Emilia master who had founded the Torneo di Capodanno a decade earlier and was days short of his 61st birthday when the event ended — shared first place in his own creation.
Wikipedia's list of Reggio Emilia champions names Ladislav Mista as the winner of the 1968/69 edition, the first Czechoslovak name on the trophy.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Ciocaltea, Victor | 7/11 | +5 -2 =4 | games → |
| =1 | Paoli, Enrico | 7/11 | +5 -2 =4 | games → |
| =1 | Radulov, Ivan | 7/11 | +5 -2 =4 | games → |
| =1 | Mista, Ladislav | 7/11 | +4 -1 =6 | games → |
| 5 | Minic, Dragoljub | 6½/11 | +3 -1 =7 | games → |
| 6 | Ghitescu, Theodor | 6½/11 | +2 -0 =9 | games → |
| 7 | Damjanovic, Mato | 6/11 | +2 -1 =8 | games → |
| 8 | Bertok, Mario | 5/11 | +2 -3 =6 | games → |
| 9 | Zinser, Sylvain | 4/11 | +1 -4 =6 | games → |
| 10 | Filep, Tibor | 3½/11 | +2 -6 =3 | games → |
| 11 | Klein, Manfred | 3½/11 | +1 -5 =5 | games → |
| 12 | Trincardi, Tullio | 3/11 | +1 -6 =4 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ciocaltea, Victor | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Paoli, Enrico | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Radulov, Ivan | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Mista, Ladislav | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 5 | Minic, Dragoljub | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Ghitescu, Theodor | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Damjanovic, Mato | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 8 | Bertok, Mario | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 9 | Zinser, Sylvain | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | |
| 10 | Filep, Tibor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | |
| 11 | Klein, Manfred | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Trincardi, Tullio | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.