Leningrad Interzonal (1973) |
In the preceding FIDE cycles there had been only one Interzonal, such as the Palma de Mallorca Interzonal (1970). The year of 1973 marked the debut of two Interzonals to allow the aspirants for the world title to advance. As was the case with the Petropolis Interzonal (1973), the Leningrad Interzonal was held as an 18-player round robin with the top three players qualifying for the Candidates matches. Korchnoi (+11 =5 -1) and Karpov (+10 =7 -0) tied for first place with 13.5/17. Third was Byrne with 12.5, and just missing out with 11 was Smejkal, whose chances of qualification ended with his loss to Karpov from a favourable position in the penultimate round. Leningrad, Soviet Union (Russia), 2-27 June 1973 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pts
=1 Korchnoi * ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 0 1 1 1 13½
=1 Karpov ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 13½
3 Byrne 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 12½
4 Smejkal ½ 0 ½ * 0 0 ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11
=5 Huebner 0 ½ ½ 1 * 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 1 10
=5 Larsen 0 ½ 0 1 1 * 1 0 0 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 10
7 Kuzmin ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 9½
=8 Tal 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0 * 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 0 1 0 1 8½
=8 Gligoric ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 1 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 8½
=8 Taimanov 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 8½
=11 Quinteros 0 0 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ * 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 7½
=11 Radulov 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 * 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 7½
=13 Uhlmann ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 7
=13 Torre 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 1 7
15 Rukavina 1 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 1 ½ 6½
16 Tukmakov 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 1 * ½ 1 6
17 Estevez Morales 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ * 1 4½
18 Cuellar Gacharna 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 * 1½ Arbiter: Alexander Kotov, assisted by Walter Kühnle-Woods and others. (1)Korchnoi, Karpov and Byrne were joined by Henrique Mecking, Lajos Portisch and Lev Polugaevsky from the Petropolis Interzonal for play against Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian (who qualified as losing finalist in 1971) and Boris Spassky (who qualified as ex-World Champion in 1972) in the next year's Candidates matches: Spassky - Byrne Candidates Quarterfinal (1974)
Petrosian - Portisch Candidates Quarterfinal (1974)
Karpov - Polugaevsky Candidates Quarterfinal (1974)
Korchnoi - Mecking Candidates Quarterfinal (1974) (1) World Championship Interzonals. Leningrad-Petropolis 1973 by Robert Wade, Leslie Stephen Fraser Blackstock and Alexander Kotov (Batsford, London 1974). Original collection: Game Collection: Interzonals 1973: Leningrad, by User: capybara.
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page 1 of 7; games 1-25 of 153 |
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Game |
| Result | Moves |
Year | Event/Locale | Opening |
1. G Estevez Morales vs Karpov |
  | 0-1 | 55 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | D58 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) Syst |
2. Tukmakov vs Korchnoi |
  | 0-1 | 38 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | E04 Catalan, Open, 5.Nf3 |
3. I Radulov vs Quinteros |
 | 1-0 | 48 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | B43 Sicilian, Kan, 5.Nc3 |
4. Huebner vs Taimanov |
| ½-½ | 21 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | A00 Uncommon Opening |
5. Smejkal vs Tal |
| ½-½ | 32 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | E62 King's Indian, Fianchetto |
6. M Cuellar Gacharna vs Uhlmann |
  | 0-1 | 26 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | A22 English |
7. Gligoric vs R Byrne |
| ½-½ | 20 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | E61 King's Indian |
8. J Rukavina vs Larsen |
 | 0-1 | 28 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | A10 English |
9. E Torre vs G Kuzmin |
 | ½-½ | 57 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | B08 Pirc, Classical |
10. Karpov vs Huebner |
  | ½-½ | 41 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | B42 Sicilian, Kan |
11. Korchnoi vs M Cuellar Gacharna |
  | 1-0 | 33 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | D58 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) Syst |
12. Quinteros vs Smejkal |
  | 1-0 | 40 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | A04 Reti Opening |
13. Taimanov vs Tukmakov |
| ½-½ | 25 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | A34 English, Symmetrical |
14. Tal vs E Torre |
  | 0-1 | 67 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | A15 English |
15. Uhlmann vs Gligoric |
  | ½-½ | 61 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | E73 King's Indian |
16. R Byrne vs J Rukavina |
  | 1-0 | 33 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | C95 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer |
17. G Kuzmin vs G Estevez Morales |
  | 1-0 | 51 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | E59 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line |
18. Larsen vs I Radulov |
  | 1-0 | 26 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | A15 English |
19. Tukmakov vs Karpov |
  | 0-1 | 33 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | C95 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer |
20. Korchnoi vs Taimanov |
  | 1-0 | 52 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | A22 English |
21. E Torre vs Quinteros |
 | ½-½ | 24 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation |
22. G Estevez Morales vs Tal |
  | 1-0 | 37 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | B84 Sicilian, Scheveningen |
23. M Cuellar Gacharna vs Gligoric |
  | 0-1 | 70 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | E68 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Classical Variation, 8.e4 |
24. Huebner vs G Kuzmin |
| ½-½ | 24 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed |
25. I Radulov vs R Byrne |
  | 0-1 | 29 | 1973 | Leningrad Interzonal | C07 French, Tarrasch |
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page 1 of 7; games 1-25 of 153 |
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< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 4 OF 4 ·
Later Kibitzing> |
Apr-08-15 | | SimonWebbsTiger: @<Conrad>
on the basis of Elo in 1974, e.g.:
Karpov 2705
Korchnoi 2665
Spassky 2650
You'll remember Karpov and Korchnoi met in the Candidates final which later became the de facto world chp. match because Fischer didn't turn up in '75. |
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Feb-25-17 | | ughaibu: It amazes me that Euwe, as FIDE president, didn't understand that nobody's (and no federation's) request to play in a particular interzonal could be granted. Take the top two rated players and toss a coin to decide which plays where. Take the next two top rated and toss a coin, etc. How could Euwe still be so unprofessional? And why has this been the story with FIDE presidents even up till today? |
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Nov-29-18
 | | perfidious: <ozmikey: This is just a hunch, but I'm guessing that at least one of the players whose "personal wishes" were taken into account was Henrique Mecking..> Could well be.
<...(Mecking) was a big hero in Brazil and would have had the benefit of massive home support in Petropolis;> Very definitely.
<....I very much doubt whether he would have qualified from the Leningrad tournament.> That event was tremendously strong, and it is an open question whether he would have made it. |
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Nov-30-18 | | Howard: The Leningrad interzonal was definitely tougher than its Brazilian counterpart. Karpov, incidentally, lived in Leningrad at the time. Both Karpov and Mecking were considered to be relatively unseasoned at the time...but they both qualified for the Candidates ! |
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Mar-08-19 | | RookFile: Strange tournament for Tal. In the first half he was awful, putting up a huge negative score. In the second half, he was the Tal of old and brought his overall result to 50 percent. |
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Jan-27-21
 | | Eggman: This site makes it easier to discern certain never-before-noticed facts about these events, f'rinstance: Smejkal started off the tournament with 1/4 (two draws, two losses), before reeling off 7 wins in a row! Going into his classic penultimate round encounter with Karpov, Smejkal had scored 8.5 from his previous 10 games. He didn't manage to qualify for the candidates (finishing 4th - a top-3 placement was needed), but what a tournament! Leningrad Interzonal (1973)/Jan Smejkal |
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Jan-27-21
 | | perfidious: <Tabanus....Don't know why I like (Larsen) and Korchnoi too, the irascibles.> I also admired their fighting spirit, but don't know as I'd wish to spend time with them away from the board, though an old friend met Larsen on one of his visits to Canada, in 1970, and found him a perfectly congenial fellow. |
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Jan-27-21
 | | Fusilli: <an old friend met Larsen on one of his visits to Canada, in 1970, and found him a perfectly congenial fellow.> My thoughts exactly... I was not aware of Larsen being considered irascible. In Buenos Aires he was very much liked and was always friendly. But maybe the fact that he did great playing there had something to do with it. See Buenos Aires (Clarin) (1979) and Buenos Aires (Clarin) (1980). |
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Apr-07-25
 | | FSR: It wasn't as though Larsen never got a shot at getting to the world championship. He tied for first at the Amsterdam Interzonal (1964), but lost to Tal in the Candidates' semifinals. He won the Sousse Interzonal (1967), but lost to Spassky in the semifinals. He tied for second at the Palma de Mallorca Interzonal (1970), but was swept 6-0 by Fischer. He won the Biel Interzonal (1976), but lost by three points to Portisch in the quarterfinals. In short, he made it to the Candidates in four out of five cycles, but faltered in matches against the top players. He never made it to the Candidates' final, let alone a world championship. I don't think we can blame Euwe for Larsen not becoming world champion. |
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Apr-07-25
 | | FSR: I also met Larsen, and spoke to him for five minutes or so. A very nice man, even complimenting me on my play in F Rhine vs D Sprenkle, 1981, which he had voted the most theoretically important game in Chess Informant Volume 32. Not the least bit irascible. Our meeting took place during the closing ceremony of the New York International Open (1984), where he'd only scored 4/9, including a last-round loss to an IM, so could have been forgiven if he'd been in a bad mood. |
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Apr-07-25
 | | perfidious: <FSR>, how many of the spectators in that photo can you identify? |
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Apr-07-25 | | stone free or die: What photo? |
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Apr-08-25
 | | FSR: Yeah, what photo? |
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Apr-08-25
 | | perfidious: https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/C... |
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Apr-08-25 | | Olavi: <perfidious> On page 31? Lein is closest, Zapata behind him I think. There's Wilder on the right. Hjartarson at the top. The one next to Wilder looks familiar... And isn't it Cuchi in the middle. |
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Apr-08-25
 | | perfidious: <Olavi>, I believe that is Zapata; the player next to Wilder is Jim Rizzitano. It is indeed Jose Cuchi. Benko is at the extreme right. |
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Apr-08-25 | | stone free or die: Seems a bit of a shame not to have a player page for <Jose Cuchi>. I know he was firmly committed to his amateur status but can't we find at least one game of his? . |
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Apr-09-25 | | stone free or die: Does this page suggest Cuchi was a player on a NJ team? <1980
Heraldica Imports Roman Dzindzichashvili, Jose Cuchi, Jose Saenz, Ignatio Yepes> https://njscf.org/u-s-amateur-team-... |
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Apr-09-25 | | Olavi: <stone free or die> Cuchi is/was a jeweller, so. |
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Apr-09-25 | | stone free or die: Yes, <Olavi>, his company was <Heraldica>. His nephew took it over after his father retired in 2017: https://southernjewelrynews.com/fea... |
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Apr-09-25 | | stone free or die: (I've said it before about other chess figures - that <CG> should have a page for them if only for their significant contributions - but <CG> insists on only having player pages with games. We eventually did get a game or two for Hazeltine, so I'm hopeful for Jose.) |
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Apr-09-25
 | | perfidious: I played in/attended the NY Opens from 1984-89 and Cuchi was usually about. There were no airs about him; he seemed a nice man. |
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Apr-10-25 | | stone free or die: <perf> From what I've seen in my searches, there appears to be a uniquely universal agreement in that opinion. A class act. [Follow-ups maybe on the Bistro?] |
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Apr-10-25 | | Petrosianic: If Larsen had missed it by that much, he might have a gripe. But considering that he finished +3, and needed +8 just to tie for a qualifying spot, he really wasn't even close. Even if he had been close, it's hard to see how he had a right to play at Petropolis. But just for grins, let's suppose Larsen had qualified here, instead of Byrne. If the pairings had been the same, he'd have faced Spassky, Karpov and Korchnoi in the Candidates. Larsen never in his life won a semifinal match. What are the chances of him getting past all three of those players? Heck, FIDE might have been quicker to grant the Unlimited Match in that case. There'd be little danger of a Fischer-Larsen match dragging on interminably. |
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Apr-10-25 | | Olavi: <stone free or die> Lubomir Ftacnic interviews Cuchi about the New York Open in New in Chess 5/1987. About his person there's the mention about Heraldica and "Cuchi started playing in the tournaments of famous East Coast organizer Bill Goichberg. Luckily rather soon his ambitions as a player transformed into a strong feeling of challenge: I could have organizer this better!" Perhaps there are games to be found... |
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