| The Eighth International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition | |
| Venue: | National Philharmonic, Warsaw |
| Holder Label: | Winner |
| Holder: |  Garrick Ohlsson |
| Previous: | 7th |
| Main: | Chopin Competition |
| Next: | 9th |
The VIII International Chopin Piano Competition (Polish: VIII Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 6 to 25 October 1970 in Warsaw. The competition was won by Garrick Ohlsson of the United States, becoming the first and so far only American winner.
This was the first competition that was held in October; previous competitions had been held in February.
The competition consisted of two elimination stages and a final with twelve pianists.
The following prizes were awarded:[1]
| Prize | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Garrick Ohlsson | United States | |
| 2nd | Mitsuko Uchida |  Japan | |
| 3rd | Piotr Paleczny |  Poland | |
| 4th | Eugen Indjic | United States | |
| 5th | |||
| 6th | Janusz Olejniczak | Poland | |
| Emanuel Ax | United States | ||
| Japan | |||
| Ivan Klánský | |||
| Alain Neveux |  France | ||
| Poland | |||
| Irina Smolina | |||
Two special prizes were awarded:
| Special prize | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Performance of Mazurkas | Garrick Ohlsson | United States | ||
| Best Performance of a Polonaise | Piotr Paleczny | Poland | ||
The jury consisted of:[1]
Raif J. Abillama
Guido Agosti (vice-chairman)
Jan Ekier Monique Haas
Jan Hoffman Witold Małcużyński
Stepanka Pelischek Éliane Richepin
Kazimierz Sikorski (chairman) Regina Smendzianka (secretary) Bolesław WoytowiczLeon Fleisher (USA) resigned just before the competition due to an illness.