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TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
Manila Interzonal Tournament

Henrique Mecking13/19(+8 -1 =10)[games]
Lev Polugaevsky12.5/19(+7 -1 =11)[games]
Vlastimil Hort12.5/19(+9 -3 =7)[games]
Vitaly Tseshkovsky12/19(+8 -3 =8)[games]
Zoltan Ribli11.5/19(+7 -3 =9)[games]
Ljubomir Ljubojevic11.5/19(+8 -4 =7)[games]
Lubomir Kavalek10.5/19(+6 -4 =9)[games]
Oscar Panno10.5/19(+7 -5 =7)[games]
Yuri Balashov10.5/19(+5 -3 =11)[games]
Boris Spassky10/19(+4 -3 =12)[games]
Florin Gheorghiu10/19(+4 -3 =12)[games]
Wolfgang Uhlmann10/19(+6 -5 =8)[games]
Sergio Mariotti10/19(+6 -5 =8)[games]
Miguel Quinteros9/19(+7 -8 =4)[games]
Walter Browne8.5/19(+4 -6 =9)[games]
Eugenio Torre7/19(+4 -9 =6)[games]
Peter Biyiasas6/19(+3 -10 =6)[games]
Ludek Pachman5/19(+0 -9 =10)[games]
Lian Ann Tan5/19(+2 -11 =6)[games]
Khosro Harandi5/19(+3 -12 =4)[games]
*

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
Manila Interzonal (1976)

As part of the cycle ending up with the Karpov - Korchnoi World Championship Match (1978), the three best players from this event would advance to the 1977 Candidates matches. Qualified from the zonal tournaments were: Pachman (1) from Barcelona (1975), Ribli from Reykjavik (1975), Browne from the US Championship (1975), Biyiasas from Calgary (1975), Gheorghiu from Vraca (1975), Panno and Quinteros from Fortaleza (1975), Tan and Torre from the Asian Pacific Championship (1975), Harandi from Tehran (1975), Balashov and Tseshkovsky from Vilnius (1975), Mariotti from Caorle (1975), and Uhlmann (1) from Arandjelovac (1976). (2) Spassky, Mecking and Polugaevsky, qualified from the 1974 Candidates matches, whereas Ljubojevic, Kavalek (as the reserve for Gennadi Kuzmin) and Hort were selected by a FIDE committee. (2) Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian (who would play at the Biel Interzonal (1976)) and Spassky had an extra advantage: if they could not reach top three, and if ex-World Champion Robert James Fischer did not play in the Candidates, they could decide between them who would take his place. (3) If Petrosian advanced from Biel (which he did, after the Varese Interzonal Playoff (1976)), Spassky would take Fischer's place.

Leningrad and Petropolis in 1973 was the first time that FIDE split the Interzonal stage into two parts, inviting comparisons over the relative strength of the two events. While the participants had been divided equally according to Elo, it was argued that this took no account of youth and the hidden strength of players who were rapidly improving, as against those who were in decline. Back then, the division of contestants had brought about a formal complaint from Bent Larsen, who objected to being allotted to the ‘stronger’ Leningrad Interzonal (1973). He may well have been correct, as both Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi from that event, ended up contesting the 1974 Candidates final. In 1976 it was Mecking who was alleging an imbalance in strength, presumably on grounds of youth, as he felt that the Phillipines event was stronger than the Biel Interzonal (1976). (4)

Press conference 13 June (video): http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/P... (5)

Mecking and Hort emerged as leaders after a few rounds, and kept their position until the end. (6) There was a high number of games being won and lost on time and nearly always on move 40. This caused onlookers to speculate whether the unusual clock design was misleading the players into thinking they had more time left than was actually the case. (4) Tseshkovsky had been the winner at Dubna (1976), ahead of Anthony Miles, and his confident display put him among the world’s elite grandmasters. In Round 10 he turned down a draw offer from Mecking, but forgot about his clock. (4) After 12 rounds Mecking had collected 9.5 points, Hort 8.5, Polugaevsky 8, Kavalek, Ljubojevic, Ribli and Tseshkovsky 7. (6) The most controversial moment came in Round 16. The players had been warned of an early starting time, but Quinteros arrived late and was defaulted, giving Ribli his simplest point. The Argentinian appealed to a jury of five, whose "neutrality" may have been impaired by issues of self-interest. With one abstention, they failed to reach a verdict on whether a replay might be possible. The matter was sent via the arbiter to FIDE president Max Euwe, who decided that the default law should be upheld, since the players had received adequate notice and a reminder. (4) Mecking lost to Spassky in Round 17, but was still in the lead. In the final round, Tseshkovsky could not overcome Pachman and therefore failed to match the scores of Hort and Polugaevsky.

Manila, Philippines, 13 June - 10 July 1976

Elo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 GM Mecking 2620 * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 13 =2 GM Polugaevsky 2635 ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 12½ =2 GM Hort 2600 ½ 1 * 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 12½ 4 GM Tseshkovsky 2550 0 ½ 1 * ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 12 =5 GM Ribli 2575 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 11½ =5 GM Ljubojevic 2620 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 * 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 11½ =7 GM Kavalek 2540 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 1 10½ =7 GM Panno 2520 0 ½ 1 0 0 1 ½ * 1 1 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 10½ =7 GM Balashov 2545 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 * 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 10½ =10 GM Spassky 2630 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 0 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 10 =10 GM Gheorghiu 2540 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 10 =10 GM Uhlmann 2555 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 * 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 1 10 =10 GM Mariotti 2470 ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 10 14 GM Quinteros 2540 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 0 * 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 15 GM Browne 2585 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * 1 1 ½ 0 1 8½ 16 GM Torre 2505 ½ 0 0 0 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 * 0 1 1 0 7 17 IM Biyiasas 2460 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 0 0 1 * 1 ½ 0 6 =18 GM Pachman 2520 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 * ½ ½ 5 =18 IM Tan 2365 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ * ½ 5 =18 IM Harandi 2380 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 1 1 ½ ½ * 5

Chief arbiter: IA Florencio Campomanes. (4)

Mecking, Polugaevsky and Hort advanced. They were joined by Bent Larsen, Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian and Lajos Portisch from the Biel Interzonal for play against Spassky (since Fischer did not want to play) and Viktor Korchnoi (the loser of the Karpov - Korchnoi Candidates Final (1974)) in the next year's Candidates matches:

Korchnoi - Petrosian Candidates Quarterfinal (1977)
Portisch - Larsen Candidates Quarterfinal (1977)
Polugaevsky - Mecking Candidates Quarterfinal (1977)
Spassky - Hort Candidates Quarterfinal (1977)

For Mecking and Polugaevsky, it was the second time they had qualified for the Candidates. For Hort, it was his first trip to the elimination stage. There were similarities between this interzonal and the Petropolis Interzonal (1973). Mecking was the winner on both occasions, and the Yugoslav Ljubojevic failed to impress each time. The heat and humidity had caused offence at both venues too, especially to the European contingent, who claimed that their form had been adversely affected. (4) The Sicilian Defence featured in 63 games out of 190, and at first this appeared a disproportionately high number. (7) Kevin J O'Connell later conceded that it no more than reflected its surging popularity on the world stage.

At the end of the tournament, the World Champion Anatoly Karpov arrived in Manila to play a double round robin against Torre, Ljubojevic and Browne, see Manila (1976).

1) By replacing Jesus Diez del Corral (who had other commitments). Several masters were not allowed by their federations to play in Barcelona (1975) because of the Franco regime. FIDE therefore added a 4-player playoff in Arandjelovac (1976), from which Uhlmann qualified.
2) Zonals 1975-1978 (C10), by Mark Weeks at https://web.archive.org/web/2016060....
3) Harry Golombek in The Times, 31 July 1976, p. 10.
4) Bernard Cafferty in CHESS, July 1976, pp. 308-309.
5) We see Spassky and wife, Kavalek (blue shirt), Jan Timman (Kavalek's second), Ljubojevic (with microphone), Mecking (at 0:09), Polugaevsky (at 0:16), Torre, Campomanes, and others.
6) Sakkvilágbajnokság 1976: Manila, Biel, Varese, by Janos Flesch (Sport, Budapest 1979. 391 pp.).
7) Kevin J O'Connell in British Chess Magazine, September 1976, pp. 381-394.

Original collections: Game Collection: Interzonals 1976: Manila by User: capybara and Game Collection: Manila Interzonal 1976 by User: Tabanus. Except the first paragraph, most of the text in this report was written by User: Paint My Dragon. Round dates are from British Chess Magazine, September 1976, pp. 381-394.

 page 1 of 8; games 1-25 of 190  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Balashov vs P Biyiasas 1-0271976Manila InterzonalC75 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense
2. Ribli vs Browne  ½-½491976Manila InterzonalA22 English
3. E Torre vs Hort 0-1351976Manila InterzonalB67 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 8...Bd7
4. Ljubojevic vs Tseshkovsky  ½-½251976Manila InterzonalC87 Ruy Lopez
5. S Mariotti vs Mecking  ½-½181976Manila InterzonalA39 English, Symmetrical, Main line with d4
6. Pachman vs Polugaevsky ½-½341976Manila InterzonalA13 English
7. Panno vs Quinteros 0-1411976Manila InterzonalA04 Reti Opening
8. Spassky vs Uhlmann 1-0511976Manila InterzonalC16 French, Winawer
9. Kavalek vs L A Tan 1-0411976Manila InterzonalB42 Sicilian, Kan
10. K Harandi vs Gheorghiu  ½-½721976Manila InterzonalB42 Sicilian, Kan
11. Ljubojevic vs Balashov 1-0601976Manila InterzonalB44 Sicilian
12. Browne vs E Torre 1-0411976Manila InterzonalA79 Benoni, Classical, 11.f3
13. Hort vs S Mariotti  1-0411976Manila InterzonalD46 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
14. Mecking vs K Harandi 1-0331976Manila InterzonalC78 Ruy Lopez
15. L A Tan vs Pachman  ½-½321976Manila InterzonalC69 Ruy Lopez, Exchange, Gligoric Variation
16. Tseshkovsky vs Polugaevsky  ½-½211976Manila InterzonalB90 Sicilian, Najdorf
17. Quinteros vs Kavalek  ½-½251976Manila InterzonalC69 Ruy Lopez, Exchange, Gligoric Variation
18. P Biyiasas vs Spassky  ½-½291976Manila InterzonalD38 Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin Variation
19. Uhlmann vs Ribli 1-0401976Manila InterzonalA30 English, Symmetrical
20. Gheorghiu vs Panno 1-0421976Manila InterzonalC41 Philidor Defense
21. Balashov vs Tseshkovsky  ½-½151976Manila InterzonalB08 Pirc, Classical
22. E Torre vs Uhlmann 0-1351976Manila InterzonalC09 French, Tarrasch, Open Variation, Main line
23. K Harandi vs Hort 0-1361976Manila InterzonalB83 Sicilian
24. Spassky vs Ljubojevic  ½-½301976Manila InterzonalA60 Benoni Defense
25. S Mariotti vs Browne  ½-½411976Manila InterzonalB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
 page 1 of 8; games 1-25 of 190  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
Mar-27-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: This event, the second consecutive cycle in which Henrique Mecking emerged as an interzonal winner, marked the Brazilian grandmaster's zenith in world title qualifiers, as he would go down to defeat by -1 =11 in Polugaevsky - Mecking Candidates Quarterfinal (1977), then withdraw after two rounds from the Rio IZ 1979 due to the myasthenia gravis which forced the end of his career for many years.
Apr-27-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: Spassky ended up on "+1". He didn't try hard as he knew Fischer (defeated ex-champion) was not going to play and that he, Spassky, would thereby qualify for the Candidates' matches for some other god-forsaken reason.
Apr-27-15  Petrosianic: The Manila interzonal was played before the Biel one. Spassky couldn't be sure that he had Fischer's spot until after seeing the results of the next Interzonal. He might have had to play Petrosian, Portisch, or both to get that spot.
May-27-16  RookFile: I think Spassky was understandably a little burnt out.
Nov-30-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  Eggman: <<The Manila interzonal was played before the Biel one. Spassky couldn't be sure that he had Fischer's spot until after seeing the results of the next Interzonal. He might have had to play Petrosian, Portisch, or both to get that spot.>>

I don't understand the logic, here. My understanding is that Spassky was given Fischer's spot because he was the loser of the most recent world championship match (1972), or the most recently-dethroned champion among active players. It was some kind of rationale along these lines.

Jan-09-24  Caissanist: The rules were that any spot that unexpectedly opened up would go to a participant in the previous cycle's candidates matches; I believe priority went to the candidate eliminated later. So, Spassky would presumably have had to play a match against Petrosian had Petrosian not qualified normally, but not Portisch, since Spassky and Petrosian had been eliminated in the semifinals, Portisch in the quarterfinals.

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