Vinkovci 1970
In the middle of the best year of his life, Bent Larsen came to the Slavonian town of Vinkovci and won it outright, edging a chasing pack of Svetozar Gligorić, Vlastimil Hort and David Bronstein by half a point.
◈The Vinkovci Autumn
The Vinkovci Autumn International brought sixteen masters to the eastern-Croatian town of Vinkovci for a single round-robin of fifteen rounds in October 1970. It was a strong international field led by Denmark's Bent Larsen and stocked with Soviet and Yugoslav talent.
Alongside Larsen came David Bronstein, Tigran Petrosian, Mark Taimanov and László Szabó, the Czechoslovak Vlastimil Hort, and a Yugoslav contingent including Svetozar Gligorić, Dragoljub Velimirović, Dragoljub Minić, Rudolf Marić and Bruno Parma, with Argentina's Miguel Quinteros completing the invitation list.
◈Larsen by half a point
Larsen scored 10½ out of 15, losing only once, to finish half a point clear of the field. Gligorić, Hort and Bronstein all tied for second on 10, with Velimirović just behind on 9½. Petrosian, unusually, had to settle for a share of eighth place.
The win was of a piece with everything Larsen touched in 1970. That same year he won the Lugano tournament, took board one for the Rest of the World against the USSR and beat World Champion Boris Spassky 2½–1½, finished second at the Palma de Mallorca Interzonal, and won the US Open. Vinkovci was one more jewel in the year that confirmed him as the leading player of the West.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larsen, Bent | 10½/15 | +7 -1 =7 | games → |
| =2 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 10/15 | +6 -1 =8 | games → |
| =2 | Hort, Vlastimil | 10/15 | +6 -1 =8 | games → |
| 4 | Bronstein, David Ionovich | 10/15 | +5 -0 =10 | games → |
| 5 | Velimirovic, Dragoljub | 9½/15 | +6 -2 =7 | games → |
| 6 | Taimanov, Mark E | 9/15 | +6 -3 =6 | games → |
| 7 | Szabo, Laszlo | 9/15 | +5 -2 =8 | games → |
| =8 | Minic, Dragoljub | 9/15 | +4 -1 =10 | games → |
| =8 | Petrosian, Tigran V | 9/15 | +4 -1 =10 | games → |
| 10 | Maric, Rudolf | 8½/15 | +5 -3 =7 | games → |
| 11 | Quinteros, Miguel Angel | 7/15 | +4 -5 =6 | games → |
| 12 | Parma, Bruno | 6½/15 | +1 -3 =11 | games → |
| 13 | Bertok, Mario | 5/15 | +2 -7 =6 | games → |
| 14 | Ozanic, Marijan | 3/15 | +2 -11 =2 | games → |
| 15 | Ledic, Tomislav | 3/15 | +0 -9 =6 | games → |
| 16 | Tomic, Dragoslav | 1/15 | +0 -13 =2 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larsen, Bent | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Hort, Vlastimil | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Bronstein, David Ionovich | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Velimirovic, Dragoljub | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Taimanov, Mark E | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Szabo, Laszlo | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Minic, Dragoljub | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Petrosian, Tigran V | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Maric, Rudolf | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Quinteros, Miguel Angel | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 12 | Parma, Bruno | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 13 | Bertok, Mario | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 14 | Ozanic, Marijan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 15 | Ledic, Tomislav | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 16 | Tomic, Dragoslav | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.