1975 in chess
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FIDE top 10 by Elo rating - January 1975- Bobby FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
2780 - Anatoly KarpovAnatoly KarpovAnatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
2705 - Viktor KorchnoiViktor KorchnoiViktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
2665 - Tigran PetrosianTigran PetrosianTigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
2645 - Lev PolugaevskyLev PolugaevskyLev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title...
2645 - Mikhail TalMikhail TalMikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
2645 - Lajos PortischLajos PortischLajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...
2635 - Bent LarsenBent LarsenJørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
2625 - Boris SpasskyBoris SpasskyBoris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
2625 - Robert HubnerRobert HübnerRobert Hübner is a respected German chess Grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist . At eighteen, he was joint winner of the West German Chess Championship...
2615
Chess news in brief
- In what is an unsatisfactory chapter in the history of the World Chess ChampionshipWorld Chess ChampionshipThe World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
, Bobby FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
and FIDE fail to agree terms for a defence of his world title. The American has many requests, including some radical changes to the format of a match between himself and challenger Anatoly KarpovAnatoly KarpovAnatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
. Most of his demands are met, but there are two outstanding issues which continue to cause an impasse at the FIDE special conference in The Netherlands. Fischer's unresolved demands are firstly, that the match be of unlimited duration and secondly, that the challenger should need to win by two clear games (a minimum of 10-8). After being informed by telephone that FIDE will not accede to his final two demands, Fischer steadfastly holds to the threatened resignation of his title, despite much cajoling by U.S. delegation representative Ed EdmondsonEd Edmondson (chess official)Edmund Edmondson was President of the United States Chess Federation from 1963 to 1966 and Executive Director of the USCF from 1966 to 1975. He served as an officer, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, with the United States Air Force.Edmondson played a key role in Bobby Fischer's path to the...
and by Florencio CampomanesFlorencio CampomanesFlorencio Campomanes was a Filipino political scientist, chess player, and chess organizer.- Education :...
, the potential match organiser. The title is therefore handed to Karpov by default, and he becomes the first world champion to gain the title this way. Karpov's successes, the USSR's great showing at last year's OlympiadChess OlympiadThe Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
and their subsequent recapture of the World JuniorWorld Junior Chess ChampionshipThe World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
(Chekhov) and World CorrespondenceCorrespondence chessCorrespondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon...
(Estrin) titles, indicate that the hitherto Soviet domination of world chess is not yet over. - Nona GaprindashviliNona GaprindashviliNona Gaprindashvili is a Georgian chess player, the sixth women's world chess champion , and first female Grandmaster. Born in Zugdidi, Georgia , she was the strongest female player of her generation....
successfully defends her Women's World ChampionshipWomen's World Chess ChampionshipThe Women's World Chess Championship is played to determine the women's world champion in chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE....
for the fourth time, by the comfortable margin of 8½-3½, against fellow Georgian, Nana AlexandriaNana AlexandriaNana Alexandria is a Georgian chess Woman Grandmaster and International Arbiter . She was the challenger in two matches for the Women's World Chess Championship....
in PitsundaPitsundaPitsunda is a resort town in Gagra district of Abkhazia.The town was founded by the Greeks in the 5th century BC as a trade colony Pityus or Pitiunt. Excavations guided by Andria Apakidze unearthed remains of three 4th-century churches and a bath with superb mosaic floors...
/TbilisiTbilisiTbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
. Gaprindashvili has been the champion since 1962, when she defeated Elisabeth BykovaElisabeth BykovaElisaveta Ivanovna Bykova was a Soviet chess player and the third and fifth Women's World Chess Champion, from 1953 until 1956, and again from 1958 to 1962.In 1938 she won the women's Moscow championship and after the second world war she was a...
, the previous holder. - Anatoly Karpov wins in MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, his first tournament outing since becoming world champion. He wins again in LjubljanaLjubljanaLjubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, at the 3rd Vidmar MemorialVidmar MemorialThe Milan Vidmar Memorial is a chess tournament commemoratingMilan Vidmar , a leading Slovenian grandmaster.The first Vidmar Memorial was held in 2–20 June 1969 in Ljubljana. In subsequent years the tournament has been held in several different Slovenian cities.-Winners:...
with 11/15, ahead of Svetozar GligorićSvetozar GligoricSvetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
(10/15), Zoltán RibliZoltan RibliZoltán Ribli is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and International Arbiter . He was twice a World Championship Candidate and three times Hungarian Champion.-A career in chess:...
, Semyon FurmanSemyon FurmanSemyon Abramovich Furman was a Soviet chess International Grandmaster and trainer. He is best known for developing Anatoly Karpov into a World Chess Champion, but was a formidable player himself, as well as a successful coach for several other world-class players...
and Vlastimil HortVlastimil HortVlastimil Hort is a chess Grandmaster of Czech nationality. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the world's strongest players and reached the Candidates stage of competition for the world chess championship, but was never able to compete for the actual title.Hort was born in Kladno,...
(all 9½/15). - Lajos PortischLajos PortischLajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...
wins at Wijk aan ZeeWijk aan ZeeWijk aan Zee is a small town on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk in the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel chess tournament formerly Corus chess tournament and before that called Hoogovens tournament takes place there every year.Due...
with 10½/15, ahead of Vlastimil Hort (10/15) and Jan SmejkalJan SmejkalJan Smejkal is a Czech chess player and, since 1972, an International Grandmaster. In the 1970s, he was among the world chess elite...
(9½/15). - In his hometown of TallinnTallinnTallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, Paul KeresPaul KeresPaul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
wins with 10½/15, ahead of Fridrik Olafsson and Boris SpasskyBoris SpasskyBoris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
(both 9½/15). He also wins in VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, where he delivers simultaneous exhibitions before flying home. In view of his heart attack two years previously and medical advice that he should give up international tournaments, it is believed that his exertions may have been excessive. A further two heart attacks end his life in a HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
hospital, just a short time after playing some of the best chess of his career. - Ljubomir LjubojevicLjubomir LjubojevicLjubomir Ljubojević is a Grandmaster of chess. He was born on November 2, 1950, in Titovo Užice, Yugoslavia . Ljubojević was awarded the International Master title in 1970 and the GM title in 1971. He was Yugoslav champion in 1977 and 1982. He won the 1974 Canadian Open Chess Championship...
has a very successful year, winning three important tournaments. In ManilaManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, he scores 7/10 to head a strong field, including Lev PolugaevskyLev PolugaevskyLev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title...
, Henrique MeckingHenrique MeckingHenrique Mecking was a leading Brazilian chess Grandmaster in the 1970s. He was a very strong player at an early age , drawing comparisons to Bobby Fischer, although he did not achieve the International Grandmaster title until 1971...
, Bent LarsenBent LarsenJørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
and Helmut PflegerHelmut PflegerHelmut Pfleger is a German chess Grandmaster and author. He was one of the most promising chess players in the sixties and seventies. By profession, he is a doctor of medicine.- Chess career :...
(2nd-5th, 6/10). There are further victories at Las Palmas' Ruy LopezRuy LopezThe Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
Memorial and at the 15th IBM tournament in AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. - The re-emergence of Tigran PetrosianTigran PetrosianTigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
as the dominant force at the 43rd USSR Chess ChampionshipUSSR Chess ChampionshipThis is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship. It was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners...
surprises many, following his disappointing showing at the AlekhineAlexander AlekhineAlexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
Memorial (sixth place). He scores 10/15, to head up a group of GMs on 9½/15 (Rafael VaganianRafael VaganianRafael Artemovich Vaganian, also transliterated Vahanyan is an Armenian chess grandmaster known for his sharp tactical style of play...
, Boris Gulko, Oleg RomanishinOleg RomanishinOleg Mikhailovich Romanishin is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster and former European junior champion.Many honours and awards were bestowed on him as a young man. After winning the European Junior Championship in 1973, he became an International Master the same year...
and Mikhail TalMikhail TalMikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
). The tournament is held in YerevanYerevanYerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
, Armenia's capital city and the magnanimous victor attributes his success to the support of local fans. - England's TeessideTeessideTeesside is the name given to the conurbation in the north east of England made up of the towns of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar, Billingham and surrounding settlements near the River Tees. It was also the name of a local government district between 1968 and 1974—the County Borough of...
(CHO'D Alexander Memorial) tournament is the strongest in the UK for decades. Efim GellerEfim GellerEfim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions...
is triumphant with 9½/14, ahead of Vasily SmyslovVasily SmyslovVasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
(8½/14). The players sharing third place are David BronsteinDavid BronsteinDavid Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
, Robert HubnerRobert HübnerRobert Hübner is a respected German chess Grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist . At eighteen, he was joint winner of the West German Chess Championship...
and Vlastimil Hort (all 8/14). - At Moscow's 3rd Alekhine Memorial, Efim Geller celebrates another good performance, his 10½/15 edging out Boris Spassky on 10/15. Ratmir KholmovRatmir KholmovRatmir Dmitrievich Kholmov was a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his career, and tied for the Soviet Championship title in 1963, but lost the playoff...
, Viktor KorchnoiViktor KorchnoiViktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
and Rafael Vaganian share third place on 9½/15. - Lone PineLone Pine, CaliforniaLone Pine is a census-designated place in Inyo County, California, United States. Lone Pine is located south-southeast of Independence, at an elevation of 3727 feet . The population was 2,035 at the 2010 census, up from 1,655 at the 2000 census. The town is located in the Owens Valley, near the...
sees Soviet grandmaster Vladimir LiberzonVladimir LiberzonVladimir Mikhailovich Liberzon was a Russian–born Israeli chess grandmaster.-Biography:Liberzon played in several Soviet championships, his best result being fourth at the 36th Championship, Alma-Ata 1968/69...
take the honours with 7½/10. Larry EvansLarry EvansFor the football player of the same name, see Larry Evans .Larry Melvyn Evans was an American chess grandmaster, author, and journalist. He won or shared the U.S. Chess Championship five times and the U.S. Open Chess Championship four times...
finishes second on 7/10, while Walter Browne heads up a number of players on 6½/10, including Argentinians Oscar PannoOscar PannoOscar R. Panno is an Argentine chess Grandmaster.Panno won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1953, and also won the championship of Argentina the same year....
and Miguel QuinterosMiguel QuinterosMiguel Quinteros is an Argentine chess grandmaster.He won the Argentine Chess Championship at the age of 18 and in 1969 took eighth place at the Mar del Plata Zonal tournament...
. - Zoltán Ribli shines at BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, sharing a tournament win with Lev Polugaevsky (both 10½/15), ahead of Jan Smejkal (9½/15). - At Orense, Bent Larsen triumphs with 11½/15 from Ulf AnderssonUlf AnderssonUlf Andersson is a leading Swedish chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1970 and the Grandmaster title in 1972 .-Career:...
and Ljubomir Ljubojevic (both 10½/15). - The tournament at Montilla-MorilesMontilla-MorilesMontilla-Moriles is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located in the southern part of the province of Córdoba...
results in a shared win for Lev Polugaevsky and Ivan RadulovIvan RadulovIvan Radulov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster.As a chess player, he was most prominent during the 1970s, winning the Bulgarian Championship in 1971, 1974, 1977 and 1980. He just missed out at the 1976 event, finishing 2nd...
, with 6/9. There follows Helmut Pfleger and Lubomir Kavalek (both 5½/9). - Valery ChekhovValery ChekhovValery A Chekhov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Junior Chess Champion ....
takes the World Junior Chess ChampionshipWorld Junior Chess ChampionshipThe World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
in Tjentiste with 10/13, ahead of Larry Christiansen (9½/10) and Jonathan MestelJonathan MestelAndrew Jonathan Mestel is Professor of applied mathematics at Imperial College London who works on magnetohydrodynamics and biological fluid dynamics...
(9/10). England celebrates junior success at the European Junior Chess ChampionshipEuropean Junior Chess ChampionshipThe first chess youth championship in Europe was the yearly European Junior Championship for under age 20. It was played from 1971–2002. FIDE officially introduced the European Junior Championship in 1970 at their Annual Congress and so the 1971/72 edition was the first official European...
in Groningen, when John NunnJohn NunnJohn Denis Martin Nunn is one of England's strongest chess players and once belonged to the world's top ten. He is also a three times world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician....
runs out the winner with 6/9. David GoodmanDavid S. GoodmanDavid Simon Charles Goodman is an International Master of chess, and a chess writer. Awarded the IM title in 1983, he won the World Youth Chess Championship in 1975. He played #10 on the English national team in Moscow in 1977...
follows up with a second English victory at the World Cadet ChampionshipWorld Youth Chess ChampionshipThe World Youth Chess Championship is a chess competition for girls and boys under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.The first predecessor of the youth championship was the Cadet Championship. It started off unofficially in 1974 in France for players under 18. The 1975 and 1976 editions were also...
, in CreilCreilCreil is a large town in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.-History:Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site, as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belonging to a Gaulish fortress or protected camp.The city itself...
, France. Along with the successes of Tony MilesTony MilesAnthony John Miles was an English chess Grandmaster.- Early achievements in chess :Miles was born in Edgbaston, a suburb of Birmingham...
and Jonathan MestelJonathan MestelAndrew Jonathan Mestel is Professor of applied mathematics at Imperial College London who works on magnetohydrodynamics and biological fluid dynamics...
in 1974, there is belief that chess in the UK is reaching new levels of popularity. - FIDE President and former world champion, Dr. Max EuweMax EuweMachgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...
embarks on two world tours to help popularise chess in Asia and Africa. He finds there is an upsurge of interest in Asia, particularly in The Philippines, where there are 4 million known players. In contrast, African chess development is only in its infancy. - Murray ChandlerMurray ChandlerMurray Graham Chandler is a New Zealand chess grandmaster who has played internationally for that nation and for England, after gaining citizenship there in the early 1980s...
wins the New Zealand Chess ChampionshipNew Zealand Chess ChampionshipThe New Zealand Chess Championship was first conducted in 1879.Note: Up until 1934 foreign players were eligible for the title. The eligibility rules were changed in 1935 to preclude this; John Angus Erskine was born in Invercargill and was therefore eligible although he was domiciled in...
, aged just fifteen. - Yakov EstrinYakov EstrinYakov Borisovich Estrin was a Russian chess International Master, theoretician, and writer.After a brief foray into "over-the-board" play, he turned to correspondence chess in the early 1960s with immediate success Yakov Borisovich Estrin (April 21, 1923 – February 2, 1987) was a Russian chess...
, the Russian over-the-board IM, wins the 7th World Correspondence Chess ChampionshipCorrespondence chessCorrespondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon...
. - English players Tony Miles and Stewart ReubenStewart ReubenStewart Reuben is a British chess player, organiser and arbiter. He has officiated at and/or organised a number of high-level chess events held in Britain and elsewhere, including the world chess championship, and was chief organiser of British Chess Championship Congresses for a number of years...
agree a draw at the LutonLutonLuton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
Congress without playing a single move. The last round game is recorded as a draw, but later, after the score-sheets have been scrutinised, the organiser writes to both players requesting the return of the appropriate prize monies, as their actions are deemed an infraction of the rules (—a player may only offer a draw at the moment he has made a move and must then start the other player's clock). - Boris Spassky is married to Marina Stcherbatcheff on September 30. His new wife is a Secretary at the French Embassy in Moscow and the 2-minute ceremony is held urgently in Moscow, amidst fears that she may have to leave the country.
- New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
hosts the United States' largest exhibition of chess manuscripts and miscellany ever seen.
Births
- Vladimir KramnikVladimir KramnikVladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
, Russian GM, former classical and undisputed world champion - June 25 - Veselin TopalovVeselin TopalovVeselin Aleksandrov Topalov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He currently has the sixth highest rating in the world, and was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010, losing the match 6½–5½....
, Bulgarian GM and the FIDE 2005 world champion - March 15 - Alexander OnischukAlexander OnischukAlexander Onischuk is an American chess grandmaster. Originally from Ukraine, he immigrated to the US in 2001 and currently lives in Northern Virginia. He was the 2006 U.S. Chess Champion...
, Ukrainian-American GM and former national champion - September 3 - Yury ShulmanYury ShulmanYuri Shulman is a Belarusian American chess grandmaster. He also goes by the alternate spelling of "Yury Shulman."-Chess career:Shulman started formal chess lessons with coach Tamara Golovey when he was six years old. He went on to study under International Master Albert Kapengut at age 12, and...
, Belarussian-American GM, winner of both national championships - April 29 - Roman SlobodjanRoman SlobodjanRoman Slobodjan is a German chess grandmaster. Slobodjan won the 1995 World Junior Chess Championship.In the July 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2534.-External links:...
, German GM and former world junior chess champion - January 1 - Nino KhurtsidzeNino KhurtsidzeNino Khurtsidze is a Woman Grandmaster of chess. She resides in Tbilisi, Georgia. In 2005 she was the number two rated woman chess player in Georgia with a FIDE rating of 2420. She won the World Junior Girls Chess Championship in 1993 and 1995.In 2004 she came second behind Evgeny Shaposhnikov in...
, Georgian WGM and two times the world junior girls' champion - September 28 - Tomasz MarkowskiTomasz Markowski (chess player)Tomasz Markowski is a Polish chess Grandmaster.-Chess career:He won the Polish Chess Championship in 1993, 1998, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He also represented Poland five-times in Chess Olympiads. In 2000 he won a bronze medal at the European Individual Chess Championship in Saint-Vincent, Italy...
, Polish GM, many times the national champion - July 30 - Alexandre LesiegeAlexandre LesiègeAlexandre Lesiège is a Canadian chess grandmaster, who has won three Canadian championships and represented Canada in World Championship qualifying events and Olympiads....
, Canadian GM and three times the national champion - August 18 - Wang Lei (chess player)Wang Lei (chess player)Wang Lei is a Chinese chess Woman Grandmaster. She was in the FIDE Top 50 Women rating list from 2000 to 2003. Her highest position was 5th in the world on October 2001. Her peak rating was 2512 in October 2001...
, Chinese WGM, four times the national women's champion - February 4 - Vladimir GeorgievVladimir Georgiev (chess player)Vladimir Georgiev is a Bulgarian chess Grandmaster. He became an International Master in 1995 and a Grandmaster in 2000.Vladimir Georgiev first caught the eye of the chess world in 1992, when he became silver on the European Champion....
, Bulgarian GM and distinguished coach - August 27 - Roy FyllingenRoy FyllingenRoy Harald Fyllingen is a Norwegian chess player who holds the title of International Master. He won the Norwegian Chess Championship in 1998. He represents the Bergen's Chess Club and plays the top board for the club in the current team chess championship.According to ChessBase Fyllingen usually...
, Norwegian IM and former national champion - January 31 - Piotr MurdziaPiotr MurdziaPiotr Murdzia is a chess International Master from Poland.He was awarded the IM title in 1994. He won tournaments in Świdnica and Legnica making two grandmaster's norms....
, Polish IM, multiple winner of the world chess solving championship - February 20 - Natalia KhoudgarianNatalia KhoudgarianNatalia Khoudgarian is an Armenian chess player, who is one of the top female chess players in Canada.She holds the FIDE Woman International Master title. She represented Canada at the Women's World Championship 2006 and twice at the Women's Olympiads .On the November 2011 FIDE list her Elo rating...
, Russian-Canadian WIM, Canadian Olympiad player - ?
Deaths
- Paul KeresPaul KeresPaul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
, Estonian GM, for many years a prominent world championship candidate - June 5 - Friedrich SamischFriedrich SämischFriedrich Sämisch was a German chess grandmaster .-Main results:* 2nd at Berlin 1920...
, German master, unofficial Austrian championand noted theorist - August 16 - Lajos SteinerLajos SteinerLajos Steiner was a Hungarian–born Australian chess master.Steiner was one of four children of Bernat Steiner, a mathematics teacher, and his wife Cecilia,, and a younger brother of Endre Steiner...
, Hungarian-Australian IM and former champion of both countries - April 22 - Nicolas RossolimoNicolas RossolimoNicolas Rossolimo was an American-French-Russian-Greek chess Grandmaster. He was many times champion of Paris, France, and after relocating to the United States won the 1955 U.S. Open Championship...
, Multi-national GM who won the French and Paris championships - July 24 - Karel OpocenskyKarel OpocenskýKarel Opočenský was a Czech chess master.-Biography:He was four-time Czech Champion . In 1919, he took 2nd, behind František Schubert, in Prague . In 1925, he tied for 3rd-4th in Paris . In 1927, he won in Česke Budějovice...
, Czech IM and International Arbiter, four times the national champion - November 16 - Hans JohnerHans JohnerHans Johner was a Swiss chess player.He was awarded the title of International Master in 1950, having been Swiss Champion on a number of occasions...
, Swiss IM who won the national championship many times in the 1930s - December 2 - Vladimir VukovicVladimir VukovicVladimir Vuković was a Croatian chess writer, theoretician, player, arbiter, and journalist.His tournament record includes the following achievements:* 3rd at Celje 1921, behind Stefan Erdélyi and Imre König...
, Croatian IM and International Arbiter, also writer and theoretician - November 18 - Georg KieningerGeorg KieningerGeorg Kieninger was a German chess player and International Master .An avid cigar smoker, Kieninger was nicknamed "Eisernen Schorsch" because of his fighting style. He won the German Chess Championship in 1937, 1940, and 1947...
, German IM, three times winner of the national championship - January 25 - Abraham BaratzAbraham BaratzAbraham Baratz was a Romanian–French chess master.In 1924, Baratz took 2nd, behind Eugene Znosko-Borovsky, in Paris. In 1925, he tied for 1st with Vitaly Halberstadt in the 1st Paris City Chess Championship. In 1925, he took 3rd in Paris . In January 1926, he won ahead of Dawid Janowski in Hyères...
, Romanian-French Master who won the Paris Championship - ? - Norman Tweed WhitakerNorman Tweed WhitakerNorman Tweed Whitaker was an International Master of chess. After more than ten years of campaigning, he was awarded the title by FIDE in 1965 , based on his earlier play . He was involved in a confidence trick involving the Lindbergh kidnapping and went to prison several times...
, American IM who twice shared the US Open title - May 20 - John MorrisonJohn Morrison (chess player)John Stuart Morrison was a Canadian chess Master, who was born and died in Toronto.He won the Canadian Chess Championship five times and shared first place in 1931...
, Canadian Master and many times winner of the national championship - March 1 - Karl FabelKarl FabelKarl Fabel is considered to have been one of the most ingenious chess composers. He was born in Hamburg, Germany. Fabel received a doctorate in chemistry and worked as a mathematician and civil judge....
, German player, distinguished composer of chess problems - March 3