The 35th Hoogovens tournament belonged to Mikhail Tal. The former World Champion arrived in the North Sea village in the middle of the greatest unbeaten run of his career and won the grandmaster group clear of the field on 10½/15, a point ahead of the young Soviet Yuri Balashov.
The steel town's tournament
The Hoogovens tournament was staged and paid for by Koninklijke Hoogovens, the Dutch steel and metallurgy concern whose works sit beside the North Sea. Founded in 1938, the event moved from the town of Beverwijk to neighbouring Wijk aan Zee in 1968, and it is the direct ancestor of today's Tata Steel Chess Tournament, which still numbers its editions continuously from those Hoogovens beginnings.
The 1973 edition — the 35th — followed the classic pattern of the era: a sixteen-player grandmaster group playing a single round-robin over fifteen rounds, 120 games in all, mixing visiting Soviet and international grandmasters with the strongest Dutch masters.
The Magician's unbeaten run
Tal came to Wijk aan Zee in extraordinary form. Between July 1972 and April 1973 the Magician from Riga played 86 consecutive games without a loss — winning 47 and drawing 39 — and Wijk aan Zee fell squarely inside that streak. He finished clear first on 10½/15, a full point ahead of the runner-up, and commentators of the day felt he might be playing the best chess of his life.
That same winter Tal also won at Tallinn and Hastings and shared first at Dubna, a run of victories that confirmed the 1973 season as one of the peaks of his career.
“Between July 1972 and April 1973 he plays 86 games without defeat, winning 47 and drawing 39.”
The chasing pack
Behind Tal, the Soviet Yuri Balashov took clear second on 10 and Evgeni Vasiukov third on 9. The Czechoslovak grandmaster Vlastimil Hort and Yugoslavia's Albin Planinc shared fourth on 8½, and the international field ran on through Zoltán Ribli, Ljubomir Ljubojević, Ulf Andersson, László Szabó and Miguel Najdorf. The Dutch contingent — Jan Hein Donner, Hans Ree, Bert Enklaar, Kick Langeweg, Coen Zuidema and Rob Hartoch — filled out the sixteen.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tal, Mikhail | 10½/15 | +6 -0 =9 | games |
| 2 | Balashov, Yuri S | 10/15 | +6 -1 =8 | games |
| 3 | Vasiukov, Evgeni | 9/15 | +5 -2 =8 | games |
| =4 | Planinc, Albin | 8½/15 | +7 -5 =3 | games |
| =4 | Hort, Vlastimil | 8½/15 | +4 -2 =9 | games |
| =6 | Ribli, Zoltan | 8/15 | +5 -4 =6 | games |
| =6 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 8/15 | +4 -3 =8 | games |
| =6 | Andersson, Ulf | 8/15 | +3 -2 =10 | games |
| =6 | Enklaar, Bert F | 8/15 | +3 -2 =10 | games |
| =10 | Szabo, Laszlo | 7½/15 | +3 -3 =9 | games |
| =10 | Najdorf, Miguel | 7½/15 | +2 -2 =11 | games |
| 12 | Langeweg, Kick | 6½/15 | +3 -5 =7 | games |
| =13 | Donner, Jan Hein | 6/15 | +2 -5 =8 | games |
| =13 | Zuidema, Coen | 6/15 | +1 -4 =10 | games |
| 15 | Ree, Hans | 5/15 | +1 -6 =8 | games |
| 16 | Hartoch, Robert G | 3/15 | +0 -9 =6 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tal, Mikhail | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 2 | Balashov, Yuri S | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Vasiukov, Evgeni | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Planinc, Albin | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Hort, Vlastimil | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Ribli, Zoltan | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Andersson, Ulf | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 9 | Enklaar, Bert F | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Szabo, Laszlo | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 11 | Najdorf, Miguel | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Langeweg, Kick | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 13 | Donner, Jan Hein | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 14 | Zuidema, Coen | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 15 | Ree, Hans | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 16 | Hartoch, Robert G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.