Zoltán Ribli is a Hungarian 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...

 grandmaster and International Arbiter

International Arbiter

In chess, International Arbiter is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed capable of acting as arbiter in important chess matches . The title was established in 1951....

 (1995). He was twice a 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....

 Candidate

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...

 and three times Hungarian Champion

Hungarian Chess Championship

The inaugural Hungarian Chess Championship was held in the city of Győr in 1906. Initially, there was no governing body responsible for its organisation, until the formation of the Hungarian Chess Federation. The HCF first appeared in 1911, but failed to establish itself properly until 1923...

.

A career in chess

As a youngster, he was twice the European Junior Champion

European Junior Chess Championship

The 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 1968/69 (shared) and 1970/71. In domestic competition, he has been three times the national champion of Hungary, sharing the honours in 1973 and 1977, while winning outright in 1974.

His International Master and Grandmaster titles were awarded in 1970 and 1973, respectively.

At the peak of his career, Ribli was twice a Candidate for the World Championship, in 1984

World Chess Championship 1984

The World Chess Championship 1984 was a match between challenger Garry Kasparov and defending champion Anatoly Karpov for the World Chess Championship title...

 and 1986

World Chess Championship 1986

The 1986 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in London and Leningrad from July 28 to October 8, 1986. Kasparov won. Anatoly Karpov was already assured of this rematch during his previous year's match which was won by Garry Kasparov.-Results:The match was...

. At London in 1984, he participated in the high profile match between USSR and the Rest of the World

Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World

There have been two chess matches featuring USSR vs. Rest of the World and 1 match Russia vs. Rest of the World. The first two matches were between a team from the USSR and a team of players from the "rest of the world"...

, defeating his Soviet counterpart, Rafael Vaganian

Rafael Vaganian

Rafael Artemovich Vaganian, also transliterated Vahanyan is an Armenian chess grandmaster known for his sharp tactical style of play...

 by a narrow margin.

He became a fearsome competitor on the international tournament circuit of the 1970s and 1980s, chalking up victories at Kecskemét

Kecskemét

Kecskemét is a city in the central part of Hungary. It is the 8th largest city of the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun.Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's third-largest city, Szeged, 86 kilometres from both of them and almost equal distance from the two...

 1972 (with Suetin

Alexey Suetin

Alexey Stepanovich Suetin was a Russian International Grandmaster of chess and author.-Biography:A resident of Moscow and a mechanical engineer by profession, he became an International Master in 1961 and a Grandmaster in 1965. His philosophy was always that "mastery is not enough; you must dare,...

), Budapest

Budapest

Budapest 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...

 1975 (with 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...

), Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 1980, Baden Baden 1981 (with Miles), Portorož

Portorož

- External links :**...

/Ljubljana

Ljubljana

Ljubljana 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...

 1985 (Vidmar Memorial

Vidmar Memorial

The 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 Miles and Portisch

Lajos Portisch

Lajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...

), Dortmund

Dortmund

Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....

 1986, Reggio Emilia

Reggio Emilia chess tournament

The Reggio Emilia chess tournament is a chess tournament played in Reggio Emilia, Italy. In Italian the tournament is called Torneo di Capodanno , as it starts just after Christmas and ends on the day of Epiphany...

 1987, and Wijk aan Zee

Corus chess tournament

The Tata Steel Chess Tournament formerly called the Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands...

 1989 (with Anand

Viswanathan Anand

V. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....

, Sax

Gyula Sax

Gyula Sax is a Hungarian chess player and International Arbiter , born in Budapest.He was awarded the IM title in 1972 and the GM title in 1974. He was the Hungarian Chess Champion in 1976 and 1977 . In 1971-72, he was the European Junior Champion, and he placed first at Rovinj-Zagreb 1975,...

 and Nikolić

Predrag Nikolic

Predrag Nikolić is a Bosnian chess grandmaster.He first competed for the Yugoslav Championship in 1979, taking a share of second place. The following year and again in 1984, he went one step further and became the Yugoslav national champion...

). Runner-up results include Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam 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...

 1978 (behind Timman

Jan Timman

Jan Timman is a Dutch chess Grandmaster who was one of the world's leading players from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. At the peak of his career he was considered to be the best non-Soviet player and was known as "The Best of the West"...

), Bled

Bled

Bled is a municipality in northwestern Slovenia in the region of Upper Carniola. The area, within the Julian Alps, is a popular tourist destination.-History:...

/Portorož

Portorož

- External links :**...

 1979 (with Larsen

Bent Larsen

Jørgen 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...

, behind Timman), Wijk aan Zee

Wijk aan Zee

Wijk 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...

 1983 (behind Andersson

Ulf Andersson

Ulf Andersson is a leading Swedish chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1970 and the Grandmaster title in 1972 .-Career:...

), Bugojno

Bugojno

Bugojno is a town and municipality of the same name in central Bosnia and Herzegovina on the river Vrbas. It is located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity. The town is to the northwest from Sarajevo, with an estimated population of 50,000 .To the west...

 1984 (behind Timman) and Tilburg

Tilburg

Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....

 1984 (with Beliavsky

Alexander Beliavsky

-External links:...

, Hübner

Robert Hübner

Robert Hübner is a respected German chess Grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist . At eighteen, he was joint winner of the West German Chess Championship...

 and Tukmakov

Vladimir Tukmakov

Vladimir Borisovich Tukmakov is a Jewish-Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He gained the Grandmaster title in 1972.His career first blossomed when he helped and then led the USSR to consecutive wins of the World Student Team Championship from 1966 to 1972, bagging nine gold medals along the way.In the...

, behind Miles).

Whilst not so active in tournament play during the 1990s and 2000s, he nevertheless maintained a competitive rating (his July 2006 Elo rating was 2589) and has shown that he can still win grandmaster events, such as the Hotel Opatija

Opatija

Opatija is a town in western Croatia, just southwest of Rijeka on the Adriatic coast. , the town proper had a population of 7,850, with the municipality having a total 12,719 inhabitants.-Geography:...

 tournament in Kastav

Kastav

Kastav is a historical town located about 10 km northwest of Rijeka and about 5 km northeast of Opatija in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in Croatia.-Demographics:The total population of Kastav is 10,472 ....

, Croatia

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 ...

 in 2002.

An almost ever-present member of the Hungarian 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...

 team between 1970 and 1994, he was playing second board when Hungary won the team gold medal in 1978. He also won team silver medals in 1970, 1972 and 1980.

As a writer on the topic of chess, his analysis and tournament reports have been published in magazine articles around the world. Additionally, he co-authored two books with Gabor Kallai

Gabor Kallai

Gábor Kállai is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster. His Elo rating in October 2008 was 2462, but has been as high as 2555 ....

: Winning with the Queen's Indian (Batsford

Batsford

Batsford is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 99. The village is about 1½ miles north-west of Moreton-in-Marsh...

, 1987) and Winning with the English (Batsford, 1993).

Zoltán Ribli is married to Woman International Master Maria Grosch.

External links