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TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
Lugano Tournament

Bent Larsen9.5/14(+7 -2 =5)[games]
Fridrik Olafsson8.5/14(+5 -2 =7)[games]
Svetozar Gligoric7.5/14(+2 -1 =11)[games]
Wolfgang Unzicker7.5/14(+3 -2 =9)[games]
Robert Byrne7/14(+2 -2 =10)[games]
Laszlo Szabo6/14(+0 -2 =12)[games]
Lubomir Kavalek5.5/14(+0 -3 =11)[games]
Jan Hein Donner4.5/14(+0 -5 =9)[games]

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
Lugano (1970)

Eight of the world's top non-Soviet players assembled in Lugano, Switzerland, for a peaceful double-round tournament from March 1-20, 1970. Using the estimated ratings from Chessmetrics, it was a Category XVI event with an average rating of 2632. Enjoying the scenery were: Robert Eugene Byrne, Jan Hein Donner, Svetozar Gligoric, Lubomir Kavalek, Bent Larsen, Fridrik Olafsson, Laszlo Szabo, Wolfgang Unzicker.

Larsen may have been concentrating more on the board than the scenery, as he won his first five games to take a two-point lead. This looked to be insurmountable, as this was one of those events when having no weak players leads to conservative play. 67% of the games were drawn, and three players were unable to win a single game. Of the 19 decisive games, nearly half involved Larsen.

He was able to make it interesting with a couple of losses in the second half, which allowed Olafsson to get within a half-point with three rounds to go. However, Olafsson took a quick draw with White in their twelfth round game, which essentially decided matters. In the last three rounds the only decisive game was Larsen's win over Byrne, consigning the American to fifth place.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 Larsen *** 1 ½ 1 0 1 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 9½ 2 Olafsson 0 ½ *** 1 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 8½ 3 Unzicker 0 1 0 1 *** ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 7½ 4 Gligoric 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ *** ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 7½ 5 Byrne ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ *** ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 7 6 Szabo 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ *** ½ ½ ½ ½ 6 7 Kavalek 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ *** ½ ½ 5½ 8 Donner ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ *** 4½

For Larsen, another in his great run of tournament wins around this time. Olafsson held onto an easy second, followed by Gligoric and Unzicker. The German deserves a special mention; after losing his first two games, his ascent to =3rd included wins over Larsen and Olafsson.

Original collection: Game Collection: Lugano 1970, by User: Phony Benoni.

 page 1 of 1; 7 games  PGN Download 
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Unzicker vs B Larsen  0-1401970LuganoA43 Old Benoni
2. Kavalek vs B Larsen 0-1601970LuganoB81 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Keres Attack
3. J H Donner vs Unzicker  0-1631970LuganoE59 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line
4. Gligoric vs B Larsen 0-1301970LuganoE43 Nimzo-Indian, Fischer Variation
5. B Larsen vs Unzicker 0-1451970LuganoC28 Vienna Game
6. J H Donner vs R Byrne  0-1401970LuganoA10 English
7. B Larsen vs Gligoric 0-1451970LuganoE97 King's Indian
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

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