Vidmar Memorial 1977
The fourth memorial to Milan Vidmar — the Slovenian grandmaster who spent his life as a professor of electrical engineering — brought fourteen players to Ljubljana and the Adriatic resort of Portorož in June 1977. Bent Larsen, a few months after his Candidates exit against Portisch, finished first on 9½/13, half a point ahead of Vlastimil Hort and Vladimir Savon.
◈Remembering Vidmar
Milan Vidmar (1885–1962) was among the top dozen players in the world from 1910 to 1930 while remaining an amateur: a specialist in power transformers, professor and one-time chancellor of the University of Ljubljana, awarded the grandmaster title when FIDE introduced it in 1950, and chief arbiter of the 1948 World Championship match-tournament. The Slovene Chess Federation began the international memorial in his name in Ljubljana in June 1969, and it has been staged in Slovenian cities on a roughly biannual rhythm ever since.
The fourth edition, split between Ljubljana and Portorož from 2 to 22 June 1977, drew a field of fourteen: Larsen, Hort, and Savon led the visitors alongside Vitaly Tseshkovsky, Gennadi Sosonko, Gyula Sax, and Iceland's Guðmundur Sigurjónsson, while the Yugoslav ranks ran from Svetozar Gligorić and Bruno Parma to Bojan Kurajica, Albin Planinc, Enver Bukić, Janez Barle, and Iztok Jelen.
◈Larsen ahead of Hort and Savon
Larsen scored 9½ from thirteen with seven wins, five draws, and a single loss — enough to hold off Hort, who went through the tournament undefeated on 9, and Savon, who matched Hort's score with six wins. Tseshkovsky followed on 7½, with Sosonko and the home grandmasters Parma and Kurajica grouped on 7.
For Larsen the victory was a statement of resilience. That winter he had lost his Candidates quarterfinal rematch to Lajos Portisch in Rotterdam by 3½–6½; in Slovenia he was back to winning strong round-robins ahead of two of Europe's most solid grandmasters.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larsen, Bent | 9½/13 | +7 -1 =5 | games → |
| 2 | Savon, Vladimir A | 9/13 | +6 -1 =6 | games → |
| 3 | Hort, Vlastimil | 9/13 | +5 -0 =8 | games → |
| 4 | Tseshkovsky, Vitaly | 7½/13 | +4 -2 =7 | games → |
| 5 | Sosonko, Gennadi | 7/13 | +3 -2 =8 | games → |
| =6 | Kurajica, Bojan | 7/13 | +2 -1 =10 | games → |
| =6 | Parma, Bruno | 7/13 | +2 -1 =10 | games → |
| 8 | Planinc, Albin | 5½/13 | +3 -5 =5 | games → |
| 9 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 5½/13 | +2 -4 =7 | games → |
| 10 | Bukic, Enver | 5½/13 | +1 -3 =9 | games → |
| =11 | Barle, Janez | 5/13 | +3 -6 =4 | games → |
| =11 | Jelen, Iztok | 5/13 | +3 -6 =4 | games → |
| 13 | Sax, Gyula | 5/13 | +2 -5 =6 | games → |
| 14 | Sigurjonsson, Gudmundur | 3½/13 | +0 -6 =7 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larsen, Bent | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Savon, Vladimir A | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 3 | Hort, Vlastimil | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Tseshkovsky, Vitaly | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Sosonko, Gennadi | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 6 | Kurajica, Bojan | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 7 | Parma, Bruno | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 8 | Planinc, Albin | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 9 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Bukic, Enver | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 11 | Barle, Janez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 12 | Jelen, Iztok | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 13 | Sax, Gyula | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 14 | Sigurjonsson, Gudmundur | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.