The second Interpolis was played without a single Soviet grandmaster: Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi were away playing their World Championship match, and no Soviet replacements were agreed. Hungary's Lajos Portisch took clear first ahead of home favorite Jan Timman.
An Interpolis without the Soviets
For the 1978 edition the world's two most talked-about players were elsewhere: Karpov and Korchnoi were locked in their world-title match, and the Soviet federation's proposed substitutes were not accepted. What remained was still a Category XIV field, drawn from the West and the wider chess world — Portisch, Timman, Robert Hübner, Tony Miles, Walter Browne, Vlastimil Hort, former World Champion Boris Spassky (by then based in France), Bent Larsen, Ljubomir Ljubojević, Roman Dzindzichashvili, Gennadi Sosonko and Zoltán Ribli.
The tournament remained part of the growing Interpolis series that had begun the previous year and would run in Tilburg into the 1990s.
Portisch prevails
Lajos Portisch, one of the most consistent tournament professionals of his generation, made the most of the open field. He finished on 7/11 to take clear first, half a point ahead of Jan Timman on 6½, with Dzindzichashvili, Hübner and Miles sharing third on 6.
For Timman the runner-up finish confirmed his standing among the elite on home soil, while Portisch's victory added yet another strong round-robin to a career full of them.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portisch, Lajos | 7/11 | +4 -1 =6 | games |
| 2 | Timman, Jan H | 6½/11 | +2 -0 =9 | games |
| =3 | Miles, Anthony John | 6/11 | +4 -3 =4 | games |
| =3 | Huebner, Robert | 6/11 | +3 -2 =6 | games |
| =3 | Dzindzichashvili, Roman | 6/11 | +2 -1 =8 | games |
| =6 | Browne, Walter Shawn | 5½/11 | +3 -3 =5 | games |
| =6 | Hort, Vlastimil | 5½/11 | +2 -2 =7 | games |
| =6 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | 5½/11 | +2 -2 =7 | games |
| 9 | Larsen, Bent | 5/11 | +2 -3 =6 | games |
| =10 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 4½/11 | +2 -4 =5 | games |
| =10 | Sosonko, Gennadi | 4½/11 | +1 -3 =7 | games |
| 12 | Ribli, Zoltan | 4/11 | +1 -4 =6 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portisch, Lajos | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 2 | Timman, Jan H | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 3 | Miles, Anthony John | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Huebner, Robert | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 5 | Dzindzichashvili, Roman | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Browne, Walter Shawn | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | Hort, Vlastimil | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 9 | Larsen, Bent | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 11 | Sosonko, Gennadi | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Ribli, Zoltan | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.