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Lajos
Portisch,
Tigran Petrosian, and
Anatoly Kapov shared
first place in the 1972 Church's Fried Chicken First
International Chess Tournament. The event took
place at the Hotel Hilton Palacio del Rio in San
Antonio, Texas from November 19th - December 10th.
The tournament featured a talented field of 16 players
and included the likes of Svetozar Gligoric,
Bent Larsen, Paul Keres, and Henrique
Mecking.
After
the first 10 rounds of completed play, Keres (the oldest
player in the tournament) was in a tie for first place
with the young phenom Karpov at 8 points apiece.
They were a full point and a half ahead of their closest
competitors, as Portisch, Petrosian, and Larsen were
knotted up at 6 1/2 points each.
Keres
then took a loss in the 11th round to Portisch, while
Karpov played to a drawn game with Larry Evans.
Keres would go on to struggle in the remaining rounds
and settle for a fifth place finish. Going into
the final round, Petrosian had climbed his way back into
the tournament and was tied for first place with Karpov
at 10 points apiece. Portisch was right behind them,
trailing by only a half point.
Karpov and
Petrosian disappointingly settled for quick draws (both
with the White pieces) in each of their respective final
games; Karpov with a 9-move
draw against Mecking and Petrosian with a 10-move draw
against Duncan Suttles. Portisch spoiled
their little party by battling to a 35-move victory over
Larsen in one of the best games of the tournament and
earned a share of the first place prize.
On
a side note, World Champion Bobby Fischer attended the
tournament as an observer. He claimed that the
prize money was insufficient for his participation, but
stated that the tournament playing conditions and
facilities would have been to his
satisfaction.
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