Dražen Marovic
Encyclopedia
Dražen Marović is a Croatia
n (former Yugoslav) chess
player, trainer, journalist, writer and broadcaster.
Along with the academic achievements, came even greater advances in his chess playing skills and the improvements were reflected in his international tournament results; Zagreb 1964 (2nd= with Bruno Parma
after László Szabó
), Málaga 1968 (1st= with Borislav Ivkov
), Zagreb 1971 (1st), Zagreb 1972 (2nd= with Mato Damjanovic and Vlastimil Hort
after Leonid Stein
), Virovitica 1978 (1st) and Sainte-Maxime 1982 (1st).
Equally impressive was his fourth place finish in a strong field competing at Skopje 1970, where he outscored, among others, Yugoslavia's then number one Svetozar Gligorić
and Yuri Balashov
. With these international successes came the award of International Master and International Grandmaster
titles in 1965 and 1975 respectively.
Marovic first represented Yugoslavia in team competition at the European Team Championship
of 1961 at Oberhausen
, an effort that contributed to a silver team medal. Further selection for the Hamburg
1965 event brought about the same outcome, while he also notched up an impressive 70% individual score. In between times he was a member of Yugoslavia's team at the World Student Team Championships of 1962, 1963 and 1964, his participation helping to secure team silver medals on two more occasions.
He became inactive as a chess player in the early 1990s, choosing to devote much more of his time to training, journalism and authoring chess books. He has coached individuals and national teams, including his own nation, Croatia. Among his students who made notable achievements have been Bojan Kurajica
, the World Junior Champion
in 1965 and Mohammed Al-Modiahki, the first Grandmaster from an Arab country.
He has provided expert commentary on televised chess events and was for a time the editor of a prominent chess magazine in his home country, Sahovski Glasnik. Book writing may however be the area in which Marovic has really excelled. During the 1970s, 80s and 90s he followed the boom in opening
theory, authoring popular texts on mainstream openings, such as the King's Indian Defence
and Queen's Gambit
. He also penned some repertoire books, including Opening Repertoire for Black (co-authored with Bruno Parma
) and An Active Repertoire For Black (Batsford, 1991). Since 2000, he has been writing for Gambit Publications
and his work has changed direction, delving more deeply into his experiences as a player and trainer, by focusing on elements of strategy and dynamics in chess. His books have been well received by the public and reviewers alike.
Outside of chess, Marovic has listed football, cinema and reading among his favourite interests and hobbies.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n (former Yugoslav) chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player, trainer, journalist, writer and broadcaster.
Biography
Despite learning the game at the relatively late age of sixteen, he made remarkable progress to finish second in the Yugoslav Junior Championship, just two years later. In pursuit of a profession, he obtained a degree in Literature which, when coupled with his gift for languages, provided him with a lifetime vocation, teaching Italian, Spanish and English.Along with the academic achievements, came even greater advances in his chess playing skills and the improvements were reflected in his international tournament results; Zagreb 1964 (2nd= with Bruno Parma
Bruno Parma
Bruno Parma is a Slovene chess player and Grandmaster.Parma was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia . He first played in the World Junior Chess Championship in 1959, sharing second place...
after László Szabó
László Szabó (chess player)
László Szabó was a prominent Hungarian Grandmaster of chess.Born in Budapest, he burst onto the international chess scene in 1935, at the unusually young age of 18...
), Málaga 1968 (1st= with Borislav Ivkov
Borislav Ivkov
Borislav Ivkov is a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was the first ever World Junior Champion in 1951. He won the Yugoslav Championship in 1958 , 1963 and 1972. He was a World championship candidate in 1965, and played in four more Interzonal tournaments, in 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979...
), Zagreb 1971 (1st), Zagreb 1972 (2nd= with Mato Damjanovic and 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,...
after Leonid Stein
Leonid Stein
Leonid Zakharovich Stein was a Soviet chess Grandmaster from Ukraine. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s , and was among the world's top ten players during that era.- Early life :...
), Virovitica 1978 (1st) and Sainte-Maxime 1982 (1st).
Equally impressive was his fourth place finish in a strong field competing at Skopje 1970, where he outscored, among others, Yugoslavia's then number one 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 Yuri Balashov
Yuri Balashov
-Chess career:He was awarded the grandmaster title in 1973. Balashov was Moscow Champion in 1970 and 2nd to Anatoly Karpov in the 1976 USSR Chess Championship. In 1977 he won Lithuanian Chess Championship. He finished 1st= at Lone Pine 1977 and 1st= at Wijk aan Zee 1982.Balashov represented the...
. With these international successes came the award of International Master and International Grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
titles in 1965 and 1975 respectively.
Marovic first represented Yugoslavia in team competition at the European Team Championship
European Team Championship
The European Team Championship is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9...
of 1961 at Oberhausen
Oberhausen
Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
, an effort that contributed to a silver team medal. Further selection for the Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
1965 event brought about the same outcome, while he also notched up an impressive 70% individual score. In between times he was a member of Yugoslavia's team at the World Student Team Championships of 1962, 1963 and 1964, his participation helping to secure team silver medals on two more occasions.
He became inactive as a chess player in the early 1990s, choosing to devote much more of his time to training, journalism and authoring chess books. He has coached individuals and national teams, including his own nation, Croatia. Among his students who made notable achievements have been Bojan Kurajica
Bojan Kurajica
Bojan Kurajica is a Croatian-Bosnian chess grandmaster .Kurajica grew up in Split. He earned the International Master title in 1965 by winning the World Junior Championship...
, the World Junior Champion
World Junior Chess Championship
The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
in 1965 and Mohammed Al-Modiahki, the first Grandmaster from an Arab country.
He has provided expert commentary on televised chess events and was for a time the editor of a prominent chess magazine in his home country, Sahovski Glasnik. Book writing may however be the area in which Marovic has really excelled. During the 1970s, 80s and 90s he followed the boom in opening
Chess 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...
theory, authoring popular texts on mainstream openings, such as the King's Indian Defence
King's Indian Defence
The King's Indian Defence is a common chess opening. It arises after the moves:Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6.The Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead, and is considered a separate opening...
and Queen's Gambit
Queen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves:The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analysed by masters such as Gioachino Greco in the seventeenth century...
. He also penned some repertoire books, including Opening Repertoire for Black (co-authored with Bruno Parma
Bruno Parma
Bruno Parma is a Slovene chess player and Grandmaster.Parma was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia . He first played in the World Junior Chess Championship in 1959, sharing second place...
) and An Active Repertoire For Black (Batsford, 1991). Since 2000, he has been writing for Gambit Publications
Gambit Publications
Gambit Publications is a major publisher of chess books. The company's headquarters is in London. It has published more than 150 chess books.The company was founded by three chess players...
and his work has changed direction, delving more deeply into his experiences as a player and trainer, by focusing on elements of strategy and dynamics in chess. His books have been well received by the public and reviewers alike.
Outside of chess, Marovic has listed football, cinema and reading among his favourite interests and hobbies.
Recent bibliography
- Understanding Pawn Play in Chess (Gambit, 2000)
- Dynamic Pawn Play in Chess (Gambit, 2001)
- Secrets of Positional Chess (Gambit, 2003)
- Secrets of Chess Transformations (Gambit, 2004)