Dragoljub Velimirovic
Encyclopedia
Dragoljub Velimirović (born 12 May 1942) is a Serbia
n and former Yugoslav
chess grandmaster, born in Valjevo
.
since 1960.
FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1972 and Grandmaster title in 1973. He has won the Yugoslav Chess Championship
three times, in Vrnjacka Banja
1970 (with Milan Vukić
), in Novi Sad
1975 (outright) and in Nikšić
/Belgrade 1997 (also outright).
Velimirović was selected for the Yugoslav national team many times, one of the earliest occasions being for the USSR vs Yugoslavia match at Ohrid
1972, during which he notably defeated Rafael Vaganian
in the first round. At the European Team Championship between 1970 and 1977 he excelled, winning a number of silver and bronze medals, both for individual and team performances. At the Chess Olympiad
in Nice 1974
, he took two silver medals (one team, one individual). A further silver medal followed from his participation at the World Team championship
in Lucerne
1989.
In World championship
cycles, he was the winner of Zonal tournaments in Praia da Rocha
1978 and Budva
1981. He participated at three Interzonal tournaments
in Rio de Janeiro
1979, Moscow 1982 and in Szirák 1987, but was never able to qualify for the Candidates
phase.
Velimirović is noted for his attacking style of play and possesses a great gift for visualizing sacrificial possibilities. Whilst spectacular chess has made him popular with onlookers, each game requires a great effort and this has handicapped his quest for international tournament success. His early tournament results included Skopje
1971 (2nd=, behind Lev Polugaevsky
, equal with Albin Planinc
), Vrnjacka Banja 1973 (1st), Novi Sad
1976 (2nd, behind Jan Smejkal
, ahead of Vlastimil Hort
and Svetozar Gligorić
) and Albufeira
1978 (1st, ahead of Ljubomir Ljubojevic
). He sustained the effort into the 1980s and early 90s, adding further victories at Titograd 1984, Vršac
1987 and Niksic 1994.
s there is a sharp and popular variation of the Sicilian Defence
called the Velimirović Attack, which is identified by the sequence of moves: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qe2 ... intending 9. 0-0-0. It is like the Yugoslav Attack
, but not quite as powerful or risky because black's bishop isn't on the long diagonal.
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n and former Yugoslav
Yugoslavs
Yugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
chess grandmaster, born in Valjevo
Valjevo
Valjevo is a city and municipality located in western Serbia. It is the center of the Kolubara District, which includes five other smaller municipalities with a total population of almost 180,000 people...
.
Biography
He was introduced to chess at the age of seven by his mother Jovanka Velimirović (1910–1972), who was one of Yugoslavia's leading women chess players before World War II. He has lived in BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
since 1960.
FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1972 and Grandmaster title in 1973. He has won the Yugoslav Chess Championship
Yugoslav Chess Championship
The Yugoslav Chess Championship is a tournament with great tradition, held to determine the national champion. It was a very strong event especially in the period 1945–1991, when it represented players from six federal republics, today independent countries....
three times, in Vrnjacka Banja
Vrnjacka Banja
Vrnjačka Banja is a town, municipality, and a resort, mineral spa located in Raška District of Serbia. It contains the world's only hot spring with a temperature measuring exactly that of the human body ....
1970 (with Milan Vukić
Milan Vukić
Milan Vukić is a Bosnian chess Grandmaster. He has been a champion of Bosnia & Herzegovina and of the former state of Yugoslavia, both during its constitution as a Socialist Federal Republic and as a Federal Republic .-Biography:Curiously, he only started to play chess as a young man, having...
), in Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
1975 (outright) and in Nikšić
Nikšić
Nikšić is a city in Montenegro . In 2003 the city had a total population about 75,000.Nikšić is located in Nikšić plain, at the foot of Mount Trebjesa. It is the center of the municipality , which is the largest in Montenegro by area...
/Belgrade 1997 (also outright).
Velimirović was selected for the Yugoslav national team many times, one of the earliest occasions being for the USSR vs Yugoslavia match at Ohrid
Ohrid
Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...
1972, during which he notably defeated Rafael Vaganian
Rafael Vaganian
Rafael Artemovich Vaganian, also transliterated Vahanyan is an Armenian chess grandmaster known for his sharp tactical style of play...
in the first round. At the European Team Championship between 1970 and 1977 he excelled, winning a number of silver and bronze medals, both for individual and team performances. At the Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The 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...
in Nice 1974
21st Chess Olympiad
The 21st Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between June 6 and June 30, 1974, in Nice, France.-References:* OlimpBase...
, he took two silver medals (one team, one individual). A further silver medal followed from his participation at the World Team championship
World Team Chess Championship
The World Team Chess Championship is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of 10 countries whose chess federations dominate their continent.-Men's team medals:-Women's team medals:-References:*...
in Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
1989.
In World championship
World Chess Championship
The 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....
cycles, he was the winner of Zonal tournaments in Praia da Rocha
Praia da Rocha
Praia da Rocha is the beach and built up area on the Atlantic Ocean which is the southern section of the municipality/concelho of Portimão, Algarve, southern Portugal....
1978 and Budva
Budva
Budva is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has around 15,000 inhabitants, and it is the centre of municipality...
1981. He participated at three Interzonal tournaments
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
1979, Moscow 1982 and in Szirák 1987, but was never able to qualify for the Candidates
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
phase.
Velimirović is noted for his attacking style of play and possesses a great gift for visualizing sacrificial possibilities. Whilst spectacular chess has made him popular with onlookers, each game requires a great effort and this has handicapped his quest for international tournament success. His early tournament results included Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
1971 (2nd=, behind Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title...
, equal with Albin Planinc
Albin Planinc
Albin Planinc, also spelled Planinec was a Slovenian chess Grandmaster.He was born in a working-class family in Briše near Zagorje in the Central Sava Valley, in German-occupied Slovenia....
), Vrnjacka Banja 1973 (1st), Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
1976 (2nd, behind Jan Smejkal
Jan Smejkal
Jan Smejkal is a Czech chess player and, since 1972, an International Grandmaster. In the 1970s, he was among the world chess elite...
, ahead of Vlastimil Hort
Vlastimil Hort
Vlastimil 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,...
and Svetozar Gligorić
Svetozar Gligoric
Svetozar 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...
) and Albufeira
Albufeira
Albufeira is a Portuguese municipality in the Faro District, Algarve region. Its name came from the Arabic: البحيرة . The city has a population of 13,646. The municipality has a population of 35,281 inhabitants and a total area of 140.6 km²...
1978 (1st, ahead of Ljubomir Ljubojevic
Ljubomir Ljubojevic
Ljubomir 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...
). He sustained the effort into the 1980s and early 90s, adding further victories at Titograd 1984, Vršac
Vršac
Vršac is a town and municipality located in Serbia. In 2002 the town's total population was 36,623, while Vršac municipality had 54,369 inhabitants. Vršac is located in the Banat region, in the Vojvodina province of Serbia. It is part of the South Banat District.-Name:The name Vršac is of Serbian...
1987 and Niksic 1994.
Theory
In the theory of chess openingChess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
s there is a sharp and popular variation of the Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
called the Velimirović Attack, which is identified by the sequence of moves: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qe2 ... intending 9. 0-0-0. It is like the Yugoslav Attack
Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav attack, 9.Bc4
In chess, B77 is the ECO code for the Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack, 9.Bc4 chess opening. Also known as the Rauzer System or the St George Attack, the Yugoslav Attack begins with the following moves:...
, but not quite as powerful or risky because black's bishop isn't on the long diagonal.