Tilburg 1977
The Dutch insurer Interpolis launched what would become one of Europe's great annual super-tournaments with a Category XIV all-grandmaster round-robin. Reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov won the inaugural edition a full point clear of England's Tony Miles, opening a run that would make Tilburg almost his private domain.
◈A new tournament on the calendar
Interpolis, a Tilburg-based insurance company, put its name to a twelve-player single round-robin that immediately ranked among the strongest events of the year — an all-grandmaster field of Category XIV. Alongside World Champion Anatoly Karpov came former champion Vasily Smyslov and a cast that spanned the chess world: Tony Miles, Vlastimil Hort, Jan Timman, Lubomir Kavalek, Robert Hübner, Svetozar Gligorić, Ulf Andersson, Yuri Balashov, Gennadi Sosonko and Friðrik Ólafsson.
The event set the template for the Interpolis series, which would continue in Tilburg through 1994 and draw the world's elite year after year.
◈Karpov clear at the top
Karpov, World Champion since 1975, was the class of the field. He finished the eleven rounds on 8/11 — a full point ahead of the fast-rising Tony Miles, who took clear second on 7. Behind them a four-way tie on 6 filled the next places, with Hort, Timman, Kavalek and Hübner separated only on tie-break.
It was the first of Karpov's many Tilburg triumphs; he would return to win again in 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1983, making the tournament one of the signature venues of his championship reign.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karpov, Anatoly | 8/11 | +5 -0 =6 | games → |
| 2 | Miles, Anthony John | 7/11 | +5 -2 =4 | games → |
| 3 | Huebner, Robert | 6/11 | +3 -2 =6 | games → |
| 4 | Timman, Jan H | 6/11 | +2 -1 =8 | games → |
| =5 | Hort, Vlastimil | 6/11 | +1 -0 =10 | games → |
| =5 | Kavalek, Lubomir | 6/11 | +1 -0 =10 | games → |
| 7 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 5½/11 | +2 -2 =7 | games → |
| 8 | Balashov, Yuri S | 5/11 | +2 -3 =6 | games → |
| 9 | Andersson, Ulf | 5/11 | +1 -2 =8 | games → |
| 10 | Smyslov, Vassily V | 4½/11 | +0 -2 =9 | games → |
| 11 | Sosonko, Gennadi | 4/11 | +0 -3 =8 | games → |
| 12 | Olafsson, Fridrik | 3/11 | +0 -5 =6 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karpov, Anatoly | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 2 | Miles, Anthony John | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Huebner, Robert | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Timman, Jan H | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Hort, Vlastimil | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 6 | Kavalek, Lubomir | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Gligoric, Svetozar | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 8 | Balashov, Yuri S | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 9 | Andersson, Ulf | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Smyslov, Vassily V | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 11 | Sosonko, Gennadi | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Olafsson, Fridrik | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.