The fifth Milan Vidmar Memorial moved between the alpine lake at Bled and the Adriatic resort of Portorož in June 1979, with a sixteen-player field drawn from three continents. Jan Timman, the top seed at 2625, went through all fifteen rounds without losing a game and finished on 11/15 — a clear point ahead of Bent Larsen, winner of the previous edition, and Zoltán Ribli.
A memorial on two waters
The memorial series honoring Milan Vidmar (1885–1962) — Slovenia's grandmaster, electrical engineer, and chief arbiter of the 1948 World Championship — had run since 1969, and for its fifth edition it paired two of the country's most famous settings: Bled and Portorož. From 2 to 21 June 1979 sixteen players contested the single round-robin.
The field stretched across three generations and three continents: Larsen, Ribli, Tseshkovsky, Tony Miles, Miguel Quinteros, and Gennady Kuzmin from the international circuit; a deep Yugoslav contingent of Borislav Ivkov, Svetozar Gligorić, Bruno Parma, Slavoljub Marjanović, Dragutin Šahović, and the Slovenians Iztok Jelen and Janez Barle; and Qi Jingxuan of China.
Timman a point clear
Timman won seven games, drew eight, and lost none. Larsen actually won the most games of anyone — eight — but three defeats left him level with the steadier Ribli on 10, a point behind. Tseshkovsky took fourth on 9½, ahead of Marjanović on 9, with Miles and Quinteros sharing the next places on 8½.
For the Dutchman, Bled/Portorož 1979 extended the run that was carrying him toward the world's top handful of players: he had won the IBM tournament in Amsterdam and Nikšić in 1978, and by January 1982 he would stand second on the world rating list, earning the label 'Best in the West'.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timman, Jan H | 11/15 | +7 -0 =8 | games |
| =2 | Larsen, Bent | 10/15 | +8 -3 =4 | games |
| =2 | Ribli, Zoltan | 10/15 | +6 -1 =8 | games |
| 4 | Tseshkovsky, Vitaly | 9½/15 | +6 -2 =7 | games |
| 5 | Marjanovic, Slavoljub | 9/15 | +6 -3 =6 | games |
| =6 | Quinteros, Miguel Angel | 8½/15 | +7 -5 =3 | games |
| =6 | Miles, Anthony John | 8½/15 | +6 -4 =5 | games |
| =8 | Kuzmin, Gennadi P | 8/15 | +6 -5 =4 | games |
| =8 | Ivkov, Borislav | 8/15 | +5 -4 =6 | games |
| 10 | Parma, Bruno | 7½/15 | +2 -2 =11 | games |
| 11 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 7/15 | +3 -4 =8 | games |
| 12 | Jelen, Iztok | 6½/15 | +2 -4 =9 | games |
| =13 | Barle, Janez | 4½/15 | +4 -10 =1 | games |
| =13 | Marangunic, Srdjan | 4½/15 | +1 -7 =7 | games |
| 15 | Sahovic, Dragutin | 4/15 | +1 -8 =6 | games |
| 16 | Qi, Jingxuan | 3½/15 | +3 -11 =1 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timman, Jan H | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 2 | Larsen, Bent | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 3 | Ribli, Zoltan | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Tseshkovsky, Vitaly | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Marjanovic, Slavoljub | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Quinteros, Miguel Angel | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Miles, Anthony John | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Kuzmin, Gennadi P | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 9 | Ivkov, Borislav | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Parma, Bruno | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 11 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 12 | Jelen, Iztok | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 13 | Barle, Janez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 14 | Marangunic, Srdjan | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 15 | Sahovic, Dragutin | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | |
| 16 | Qi, Jingxuan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.