Rubinstein Memorial 1981
Eight years after his first Polanica-Zdrój triumph, Włodzimierz Schmidt — the first Polish player to earn the grandmaster title by fulfilling the norms — won the nineteenth Rubinstein Memorial on home soil. Five wins and eight draws gave him 9 from 13, half a point clear of the Soviet attacker Viktor Kupreichik, and his victories included head-to-head wins over both of his nearest pursuers.
◈A home champion at the height of his powers
Schmidt had made history in 1976 as the first Polish grandmaster to acquire the title not on an honorary basis but by fulfilling the norms, and for years he was the country's strongest player. 1981 was one of his best seasons: he took his fourth Polish Championship that year, and at Polanica-Zdrój he added a second Rubinstein Memorial title to the one he had won in 1973.
His campaign was emphatic where it mattered. Unbeaten across the thirteen rounds, he defeated both of the Soviet players chasing him — Viktor Kupreichik, who finished second on 8½, and Valery Chekhov, the 1975 World Junior Champion, third on 8.
◈The nineteenth memorial
The nineteenth edition brought fourteen players to the spa town for 91 games, with grandmasters and international masters from Poland, the Soviet Union, Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Hungary's Iván Faragó and Bulgaria's Ventzislav Inkiov shared the places behind the medalists on 7, while the East German veteran Wolfgang Uhlmann — a Candidate a decade earlier — finished in the middle of the field on 6½.
For the home crowd the result carried particular weight: in a series long dominated by visiting Soviet and East European grandmasters, the memorial honoring Poland's greatest player had been won by Poland's leading grandmaster.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schmidt, Wlodzimierz | 9/13 | +5 -0 =8 | games → |
| 2 | Kupreichik, Viktor D | 8½/13 | +6 -2 =5 | games → |
| 3 | Chekhov, Valery A | 8/13 | +5 -2 =6 | games → |
| 4 | Farago, Ivan | 7/13 | +4 -3 =6 | games → |
| 5 | Inkiov, Ventzislav | 7/13 | +3 -2 =8 | games → |
| 6 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | 6½/13 | +4 -4 =5 | games → |
| 7 | Spiridonov, Nikola | 6½/13 | +2 -2 =9 | games → |
| 8 | Adamski, Jan | 6½/13 | +1 -1 =11 | games → |
| 9 | Szymczak, Zbigniew | 6/13 | +4 -5 =4 | games → |
| 10 | Bohm, Hans | 6/13 | +3 -4 =6 | games → |
| =11 | Akesson, Ralf | 5½/13 | +3 -5 =5 | games → |
| =11 | Jasnikowski, Zbigniew | 5½/13 | +3 -5 =5 | games → |
| =11 | Schinzel, Wladyslaw | 5½/13 | +3 -5 =5 | games → |
| 14 | Skrobek, Ryszard | 3½/13 | +1 -7 =5 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schmidt, Wlodzimierz | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Kupreichik, Viktor D | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | Chekhov, Valery A | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 4 | Farago, Ivan | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 5 | Inkiov, Ventzislav | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 6 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 7 | Spiridonov, Nikola | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | Adamski, Jan | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | |
| 9 | Szymczak, Zbigniew | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Bohm, Hans | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 11 | Akesson, Ralf | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | |
| 12 | Jasnikowski, Zbigniew | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 13 | Schinzel, Wladyslaw | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 14 | Skrobek, Ryszard | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.