Svetozar Gligoric
Encyclopedia
Svetozar Gligorić (born February 2, 1923) is a Serbia
n chess
grandmaster
. He won the championship of Yugoslavia
a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia
. in 1958
he was declared for the best athlete of Yugoslavia.
During the 1950s and 1960s, he was one of the top ten players in the world, also among the world's most popular, owing to his globe-trotting tournament schedule and a particularly engaging personality that is reflected in the title of his autobiography
, I Play Against Pieces (i.e., with no hostility to the opponent, or playing differently for "psychological" reasons against different players; playing the board not the man).
to a poor family. According to his recollections, his first exposure to chess was as a small child watching patrons play in a neighborhood bar. He began to play at the age of eleven, when taught by a boarder taken in by his mother (his father had died by this time). Lacking a chess set, he made one for himself by carving pieces from corks from wine bottles — a story paralleling the formative years of his great contemporary, the Estonia
n grandmaster Paul Keres
.
Gligorić was a good student during his youth, with both academic and athletic successes that famously led to him being invited to represent his school at a birthday celebration for Prince Peter, later to become King Peter II of Yugoslavia
. He later recounted (to International Master David Levy, who chronicled his chess career in The Chess of Gligoric), his distress at attending this gala event wearing poor clothing resulting from his family's impoverished condition. His first tournament success came in 1938 when he won the championship of the Belgrade Chess Club; however, World War II interrupted his chess progress for a time. During the war, Gligorić was a member of a partisan
unit. A chance encounter with a chess-playing partisan officer led to his removal from combat.
Following the World War II, Gligorić worked several years as a journalist
and organizer of chess tournaments. He continued to progress as a chessplayer and was awarded the chess International Master (IM) title in 1950 and the Grandmaster
(GM) title in 1951, eventually making the transition to full-time chess professional, continuing active tournament play well into his sixties.
. He was Yugoslav champion in 1947 (joint), 1948 (joint), 1949, 1950, 1956, 1957, 1958 (joint), 1959, 1960, 1962, 1965 and 1971.
He represented his country (Yugoslavia
) with great success in fifteen Chess Olympiad
s from 1950 to 1982 (thirteen times on first board), playing 223 games (+88 =109 −26). In the first post-war Olympiad, on home soil at Dubrovnik 1950
, Gligoric played on first board and led Yugoslavia to a historic result, the team gold medal. The Yugoslav team was usually second or third in the world during the 1950s.
His list of first-place finishes in international chess competitions is one of the longest and includes such events as Mar del Plata 1950, Stockholm
1954, Belgrade
1964, Manila
1968, Lone Pine
1972 and 1979, etc. He was a regular competitor in the series of great tournaments held at Hastings
, with wins (or ties for first) in 1951–2, 1956–7, 1959–60, 1960–61, and 1962–3.
His record in world-championship qualifying events was mixed. He was a regular competitor in Zonal and Interzonal
competitions with several successes, e.g. zonal wins in 1951, 1960 (joint), 1963, 1966, and 1969 (joint) and finishes at the Interzonals of 1952, 1958, and 1967 high enough to qualify him for the final Candidates events the following year. However, he was not as successful in any of the Candidates events, with mediocre results in the 1953 and 1959 Candidates Tournament
s and a match loss to Mikhail Tal
in the 1968 Candidates match series.
+2 −2 =5, Vasily Smyslov
+5 −7 =21, Tigran Petrosian
+7 −10 =10, Mikhail Tal
+2 −11 =19, Boris Spassky
−5 =15, Bobby Fischer
+4 −6 =6, Anatoly Karpov
−4 =6 and Garry Kasparov
−3.
theorist and commentator that Gligorić will be best remembered. He made enormous contributions to the theory and practice of the King's Indian Defense
, Ruy Lopez
and Nimzo-Indian Defense
, among others, and particularly with the King's Indian, translated his theoretical contributions into several spectacular victories with both colours (including the sample game below). Theoretically significant variations in the King's Indian and Ruy Lopez are named for him. His battles with Bobby Fischer
in the King's Indian and Sicilian Defense
(particularly the Najdorf Variation, a long-time Fischer specialty) often worked out in his favor.
As a commentator, Gligorić was able to take advantage of his fluency in a number of languages and his training as a journalist, to produce lucid, interesting game annotations. He was a regular columnist for Chess Review and Chess Life
magazines for many years, his "Game of the Month" column often amounting to a complete tutorial in the opening used in the feature game as well as a set of comprehensive game annotations. He wrote a number of chess books in several languages and has contributed regularly to the Chess Informant semi-annually (more recently, thrice-yearly) compilation of the world's most important chess games.
at the great "Tournament of Peace" held in Zagreb
in 1970. It displays Gligorić's virtuosity on the Black side of the King's Indian and his willingness to play for a sacrificial attack against one of history's greatest defenders. Zagreb 1970 was another Gligorić tournament success, as he tied for second (with Petrosian and others) behind Fischer, at the start of the latter's 1970–71 run of tournament and match victories.
Indeed, Gligorić was the first person to inflict a defeat on Petrosian after he won the world title from Mikhail Botvinnik
in 1963.
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 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
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....
. He won the championship of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia
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...
. in 1958
1958 in sports
1958 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* NFL Championship – December 28 the Baltimore Colts won 23-17 over the New York Giants in overtime. The game is later called the "Greatest game ever played"....
he was declared for the best athlete of Yugoslavia.
During the 1950s and 1960s, he was one of the top ten players in the world, also among the world's most popular, owing to his globe-trotting tournament schedule and a particularly engaging personality that is reflected in the title of his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, I Play Against Pieces (i.e., with no hostility to the opponent, or playing differently for "psychological" reasons against different players; playing the board not the man).
Life
Svetozar Gligorić was born 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...
to a poor family. According to his recollections, his first exposure to chess was as a small child watching patrons play in a neighborhood bar. He began to play at the age of eleven, when taught by a boarder taken in by his mother (his father had died by this time). Lacking a chess set, he made one for himself by carving pieces from corks from wine bottles — a story paralleling the formative years of his great contemporary, the Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n grandmaster Paul Keres
Paul Keres
Paul 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....
.
Gligorić was a good student during his youth, with both academic and athletic successes that famously led to him being invited to represent his school at a birthday celebration for Prince Peter, later to become King Peter II of Yugoslavia
Peter II of Yugoslavia
Peter II, also known as Peter II Karađorđević , was the third and last King of Yugoslavia...
. He later recounted (to International Master David Levy, who chronicled his chess career in The Chess of Gligoric), his distress at attending this gala event wearing poor clothing resulting from his family's impoverished condition. His first tournament success came in 1938 when he won the championship of the Belgrade Chess Club; however, World War II interrupted his chess progress for a time. During the war, Gligorić was a member of a partisan
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
unit. A chance encounter with a chess-playing partisan officer led to his removal from combat.
Following the World War II, Gligorić worked several years as a journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and organizer of chess tournaments. He continued to progress as a chessplayer and was awarded the chess International Master (IM) title in 1950 and the 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....
(GM) title in 1951, eventually making the transition to full-time chess professional, continuing active tournament play well into his sixties.
Chess career
Gligorić was one of the most successful tournament players of the middle of the century, with a number of tournament titles to his credit, but was less successful in competing for the World Chess ChampionshipWorld 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....
. He was Yugoslav champion in 1947 (joint), 1948 (joint), 1949, 1950, 1956, 1957, 1958 (joint), 1959, 1960, 1962, 1965 and 1971.
He represented his country (Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
) with great success in fifteen 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...
s from 1950 to 1982 (thirteen times on first board), playing 223 games (+88 =109 −26). In the first post-war Olympiad, on home soil at Dubrovnik 1950
9th Chess Olympiad
The 9th 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 August 20 and September 11, 1950, in Dubrovnik, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia .The final results were as follows:-Final :The...
, Gligoric played on first board and led Yugoslavia to a historic result, the team gold medal. The Yugoslav team was usually second or third in the world during the 1950s.
His list of first-place finishes in international chess competitions is one of the longest and includes such events as Mar del Plata 1950, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
1954, Belgrade
Belgrade
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...
1964, Manila
Manila
Manila 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,...
1968, Lone Pine
Lone Pine International
Lone Pine International was a series of chess tournaments held annually in March or April from 1971 through 1981 in Lone Pine, California. Sponsored by Louis D. Statham , millionaire engineer and inventor of medical instruments, the tournaments were formally titled the Louis D. Statham Masters...
1972 and 1979, etc. He was a regular competitor in the series of great tournaments held at Hastings
Hastings International Chess Congress
The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
, with wins (or ties for first) in 1951–2, 1956–7, 1959–60, 1960–61, and 1962–3.
His record in world-championship qualifying events was mixed. He was a regular competitor in Zonal and Interzonal
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 :...
competitions with several successes, e.g. zonal wins in 1951, 1960 (joint), 1963, 1966, and 1969 (joint) and finishes at the Interzonals of 1952, 1958, and 1967 high enough to qualify him for the final Candidates events the following year. However, he was not as successful in any of the Candidates events, with mediocre results in the 1953 and 1959 Candidates Tournament
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...
s and a match loss to Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail 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....
in the 1968 Candidates match series.
Lifetime scores against world champions
Gligorić was dangerous to the world chess champions, though he had minus scores against most: Mikhail BotvinnikMikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
+2 −2 =5, Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily 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...
+5 −7 =21, Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran 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...
+7 −10 =10, Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail 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....
+2 −11 =19, Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
−5 =15, Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert 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...
+4 −6 =6, Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly 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...
−4 =6 and Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
−3.
Gligorić's chess legacy
Though he compiled a superb tournament record, it is perhaps as an openingsChess 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...
theorist and commentator that Gligorić will be best remembered. He made enormous contributions to the theory and practice of the King's Indian Defense
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...
, Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The 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...
and Nimzo-Indian Defense
Nimzo-Indian Defence
The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:This hypermodern opening was developed by Grandmaster Aron Nimzowitsch who introduced it to master-level chess in the early 20th century. Unlike most Indian openings the Nimzo-Indian does not involve an immediate fianchetto,...
, among others, and particularly with the King's Indian, translated his theoretical contributions into several spectacular victories with both colours (including the sample game below). Theoretically significant variations in the King's Indian and Ruy Lopez are named for him. His battles with Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert 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...
in the King's Indian and Sicilian Defense
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...
(particularly the Najdorf Variation, a long-time Fischer specialty) often worked out in his favor.
As a commentator, Gligorić was able to take advantage of his fluency in a number of languages and his training as a journalist, to produce lucid, interesting game annotations. He was a regular columnist for Chess Review and Chess Life
Chess Life
Chess Life is a monthly chess magazine published in the United States. The official publication of the United States Chess Federation , it reaches more than a quarter of a million readers every month. A subscription to Chess Life is one of the benefits of Full Adult, Youth, or Life membership in...
magazines for many years, his "Game of the Month" column often amounting to a complete tutorial in the opening used in the feature game as well as a set of comprehensive game annotations. He wrote a number of chess books in several languages and has contributed regularly to the Chess Informant semi-annually (more recently, thrice-yearly) compilation of the world's most important chess games.
Sample game
One of Gligorić's most famous games was this win against the former world champion Tigran PetrosianTigran Petrosian
Tigran 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...
at the great "Tournament of Peace" held in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
in 1970. It displays Gligorić's virtuosity on the Black side of the King's Indian and his willingness to play for a sacrificial attack against one of history's greatest defenders. Zagreb 1970 was another Gligorić tournament success, as he tied for second (with Petrosian and others) behind Fischer, at the start of the latter's 1970–71 run of tournament and match victories.
- Petrosian–Gligorić, Zagreb 1970:
- 1. c4 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 0-0 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. b4 Nh5 10. Nd2 Nf4 11. a4 f5 12. Bf3 g5 13. exf5 Nxf5 14. g3 Nd4 15. gxf4 Nxf3+ 16. Qxf3 g4 17. Qh1 exf4 18. Bb2 Bf5 19. Rfe1 f3 20. Nde4 Qh4 21. h3 Be5 22. Re3 gxh3 23. Qxf3 Bg4 24. Qh1 h2+ 25. Kg2 Qh5 26. Nd2 Bd4 27. Qe1 Rae8 28. Nce4 Bxb2 29. Rg3 Be5 30. R1a3 Kh8 31. Kh1 Rg8 32. Qf1 Bxg3 33. Rxg3 Rxe4 0–1
Indeed, Gligorić was the first person to inflict a defeat on Petrosian after he won the world title from Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
in 1963.