Wijk aan Zee 1979 (Hoogovens)
The 41st Hoogovens tournament belonged to Lev Polugaevsky, one of the Soviet Union's leading grandmasters and an opening theoretician of the first rank, who finished on 7½/11 — a full point clear of a three-way tie for second between Ulf Andersson, Anthony Miles and Gennadi Sosonko. It was the only clear-first finish among the three editions bracketing it.
◈Twelve players, no runaway favourite
The 1979 Hoogovens top group again fielded twelve players across eleven rounds, 66 games in all. Jan Timman, Vlastimil Hort, Robert Hübner and Hans Ree lined up alongside the emigre Soviet grandmaster Gennadi Sosonko — by now an established figure on the Dutch chess scene — Roman Dzindzichashvili, Guillermo García González, former women's world champion Nona Gaprindashvili, and Juraj Nikolac.
Lev Polugaevsky, one of the Soviet Union's strongest grandmasters and a noted authority on opening theory, headed the field on paper, but the tournament had no shortage of players capable of catching him.
◈Polugaevsky pulls clear
Polugaevsky finished on 7½/11, a full point ahead of the chasing pack. Andersson, Miles and Sosonko shared second on 6½, with Timman and Hübner a half-point further back on 6. Unlike the shared titles that bookended it in 1977 and 1980, the 1979 Hoogovens produced a clear, undisputed winner.
For Polugaevsky, the win reaffirmed his standing among the elite of Soviet chess in a decade in which he had also come close to a world championship challenge through the Candidates cycle.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polugaevsky, Lev | 7½/11 | +4 -0 =7 | games → |
| =2 | Andersson, Ulf | 6½/11 | +2 -0 =9 | games → |
| =2 | Miles, Anthony John | 6½/11 | +2 -0 =9 | games → |
| =2 | Sosonko, Gennadi | 6½/11 | +2 -0 =9 | games → |
| 5 | Timman, Jan H | 6/11 | +3 -2 =6 | games → |
| =6 | Hort, Vlastimil | 6/11 | +2 -1 =8 | games → |
| =6 | Huebner, Robert | 6/11 | +2 -1 =8 | games → |
| 8 | Dzindzichashvili, Roman | 5/11 | +2 -3 =6 | games → |
| 9 | Ree, Hans | 5/11 | +1 -2 =8 | games → |
| 10 | Garcia Gonzales, Guillermo | 4/11 | +0 -3 =8 | games → |
| =11 | Gaprindashvili, Nona | 3½/11 | +2 -6 =3 | games → |
| =11 | Nikolac, Juraj | 3½/11 | +2 -6 =3 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polugaevsky, Lev | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Andersson, Ulf | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Miles, Anthony John | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Sosonko, Gennadi | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 5 | Timman, Jan H | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Hort, Vlastimil | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Huebner, Robert | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 8 | Dzindzichashvili, Roman | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | |
| 9 | Ree, Hans | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 10 | Garcia Gonzales, Guillermo | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 11 | Gaprindashvili, Nona | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 12 | Nikolac, Juraj | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.