Andrew Soltis — a 24-year-old reporter for the New York Post who was still years away from his international master and grandmaster titles — dominated the fourteenth Torneo di Capodanno, scoring an unbeaten 8½ from 11 to finish a full point clear of Yugoslav grandmaster Mato Damjanović.
Soltis runs clear
After sharing third place in the sixteen-player 1970/71 edition, Soltis came back to Reggio Emilia and left no doubt: six wins, five draws, and no losses gave him 8½ points and outright first. Damjanović, second on 7½, also went through the event undefeated — but with four wins and seven draws he could not keep pace. Switzerland's André Lombard took third on 7, ahead of Hungary's László Kovács on 6½.
The rest of the twelve-player field mixed the tournament's international reach with its Italian roots: Yugoslavia's Ljubomir Mašić and Cuba's Silvino García Martínez shared fifth on 6, while home players Tullio Trincardi and Renato Cappello filled out the lower half of the table.
Before the titles
The win came early in a double career. Soltis had joined the New York Post as a news reporter in 1969 and played on the gold-medal United States team at the 1970 World Student Team Championship; FIDE made him an international master in 1974 and a grandmaster in 1980. He became at least as well known as a writer, the author of many books and a long-running Chess Life columnist, and his Reggio Emilia win was one of the better tournament results of his playing career.
For Damjanović, second place extended a run of consistency at the Capodanno: seventh in 1968/69, an unbeaten shared third in 1970/71, and now an unbeaten runner-up finish.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soltis, Andrew E | 8½/11 | +6 -0 =5 | games |
| 2 | Damjanovic, Mato | 7½/11 | +4 -0 =7 | games |
| 3 | Lombard, Andre | 7/11 | +4 -1 =6 | games |
| 4 | Kovacs, Laszlo M | 6½/11 | +5 -3 =3 | games |
| =5 | Masic, Ljubomir | 6/11 | +3 -2 =6 | games |
| =5 | Garcia Martinez, Silvino | 6/11 | +2 -1 =8 | games |
| =7 | Richter, Yosef | 5/11 | +2 -3 =6 | games |
| =7 | Klein, Manfred | 5/11 | +1 -2 =8 | games |
| =9 | Travnicek, Peter | 4/11 | +0 -3 =8 | games |
| =9 | Trincardi, Tullio | 4/11 | +0 -3 =8 | games |
| 11 | Cappello, Renato | 3½/11 | +0 -4 =7 | games |
| 12 | Skalkotas, Nikolaos | 3/11 | +1 -6 =4 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soltis, Andrew E | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Damjanovic, Mato | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Lombard, Andre | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Kovacs, Laszlo M | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Masic, Ljubomir | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Garcia Martinez, Silvino | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Richter, Yosef | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 8 | Klein, Manfred | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 9 | Travnicek, Peter | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Trincardi, Tullio | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 11 | Cappello, Renato | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Skalkotas, Nikolaos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.