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European Team Chess Championship
The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') 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. This more or less accords with the wider definition of Europe used in other events such as the Eurovision Song Contest and includes Israel, Russia and the former Soviet States. The competition is run under the auspices of the European Chess Union (ECU). Championship history The idea was conceived in the early 1950s, when chess organisers became aware of the need for another international team event. Consequently, a men-only Championship was devised and held every four years, with the intention of filling in the gaps between Olympiads. More recently, the Championship has grown in importance and popularity and is regarded as a prestigious tournament in its own right, providing for male and female participants. The first Championship Final was held in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing primarily European countries. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed on live television and radio, transmitted to national broadcasters via the EBU's Eurovision and Euroradio networks, with competing countries then casting votes for the other countries' songs to determine a winner. Based on the Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951, Eurovision has been held annually since 1956 (apart from ), making it the longest-running annual international televised music competition and one of the world's longest-running television programmes. Active members of the EBU, as well as invited associate members, are eligible to compete, and 52 countries have participated at least once. Each participating broadcaster se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov ( rus, Васи́лий Васи́льевич Смысло́в, Vasíliy Vasíl'yevich Smyslóv; 24 March 1921 – 27 March 2010) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, who was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions (1948, 1950, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1965, 1983, and 1985). Smyslov twice tied for first place at the USSR Chess Championships (1949, 1955), and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won is an all-time record. In five European Team Championships, Smyslov won ten gold medals. Smyslov remained active and successful in competitive chess well after the age of sixty. Despite failing eyesight, he remained active in the occasional composition of chess problems and studies until shortly before his death in 2010. Besides chess, he was an accomplished baritone singer. Early years Smyslov born in Russian family, first became interested in chess at the age of six. His father, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nikola Karaklajić
Nikola Karaklajić (Cyrillic: Никола Караклајић, Belgrade, 24 February 1926 – 16 December 2008) was a Serbian-Yugoslavian chess master. He was the first notable exponent and probably inventor of the Belgrade Gambit.David Hooper, Kenneth Whyld -The Oxford companion to chess -1996 Page 34 "Belgrade Gambit, 861 in the scotch four knights game, played by the Yugoslav master Nikola Karaklajic (1926- ) in 1945 and probably introduced by him." He won the Yugoslav Chess Championship in 1955, competed in the 12th Chess Olympiad, Belgian Chess Championship, European Team Chess Championship and played notable games with Hans Berliner, Borislav Ivkov and others as part of the peer group of strong Yugoslav players contemporary with Borislav Milić. Aside from chess, Karaklajić was also known as a radio personality on Radio Belgrade (1957-1982) and for his interest in rock music featuring in the documentary ''Rockovnik''. He was first editor in chief of ''Džuboks'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrija Fuderer
Andrija Fuderer (13 May 1931, Subotica, the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Yugoslavia – 2 October 2011, Palamós, Catalonia) was a Croatian–Belgian chess master. At the beginning of his career, he won the Yugoslav Junior Chess Championship in 1947. He was the Croatian champion in 1951 and 1958, and was a common participant in the Yugoslav Chess Championship tying for 2nd in 1951 (Braslav Rabar won), took 2nd, behind Petar Trifunović, in 1952, and won (jointly) in 1953. In other tournaments, he took 4th at Bled 1950 (Miguel Najdorf won), shared 2nd, behind Albéric O'Kelly de Galway, at Dortmund 1951, took 5th at Beverwijk 1952 (Max Euwe won). He won at Saarbrücken 1953, took 2nd at Opatija (Abbazia) 1953 (Aleksandar Matanović won), took 4th at Munich 1954 (zonal, Wolfgang Unzicker won), tied for 3rd-5th at Hastings 1954/55 (Paul Keres and Vasily Smyslov won). His most notable tournament was the 1955 Interzonal, which he qualified for by his 1954 zonal result. At ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petar Trifunović
Petar Trifunović (31 August 1910 – 8 December 1980) was a Yugoslav chess player, who has been awarded the international grandmaster title, and five times Yugoslav champion. Chess career Yugoslavia was for many years the world's second strongest chess nation. Trifunovic came third in the first Yugoslav championship (1935), second in the next championship, and won in 1945, 1946, 1947 (shared with Svetozar Gligorić), 1952, and 1961. The young Trifunovic was also an excellent scholar, obtaining a law degree in 1933, followed by a doctorate. He had a reputation as an attacking player in the 1930s, when he was known as 'Typhoonovic'. Later, he concentrated more on positional play and defensive technique, his style becoming less adventurous but difficult to refute. As a result, he drew many games. For example, his drawn match with Miguel Najdorf at Opatija 1949 included ten drawn games (+1 −1 =10), and at Leipzig in 1965 he drew all 15 of his games. His international tournamen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borislav Ivkov
Borislav Ivkov (12 November 1933 – 14 February 2022) was a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was a World championship candidate in 1965, and played in four more Interzonal tournaments, in 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979. Ivkov was a three-time Yugoslav Champion (1958 joint, 1963 joint, 1972) and was the first World Junior Champion in 1951. He represented Yugoslavia 12 times in Olympiad competition, from 1956 to 1980, and six times in European Team Championships. Ivkov won numerous top-class events during his career; notable tournament triumphs include Mar del Plata 1955, Buenos Aires 1955, Beverwijk 1961, Zagreb 1965, Sarajevo 1967, Amsterdam-IBM 1974, and Moscow 1999. For more than 15 years from the mid-1950s, he was the second-ranking Yugoslav player, after Svetozar Gligorić. He wrote an autobiography, ''My 60 Years in Chess''. National Master, World Junior Champion Ivkov earned his National Master title in 1949 at age 16, by placing shared 4th–7th in the Yugoslav Champio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aleksandar Matanović
Aleksandar Matanović (born May 23, 1930) is a Serbian chess grandmaster. Following the death of Yuri Averbakh at the age of 100 on May 7, 2022, Matanović became the oldest living grandmaster. Chess career Awarded the GM title in 1955, Matanović was junior champion of Yugoslavia in 1948 and Yugoslav national champion in 1962 (joint with Minić), 1969 and 1978 (he took second place in 1951, 1956, 1959 and 1967). His main tournament results include second place at the Vrnjacka Banja zonal tournament 1967, first place at Opatija 1953, second at Belgrade 1954, first at Hamburg 1955, first at Beverwijk 1957, tied for first at Buenos Aires 1961, first at Zevenaar 1961 and second at Jerusalem 1964. He has an Elo rating of 2490, and is one of just a few living players in the world with Morphy Number 3. Matanović is the author of leading chess encyclopedias and Editor-in-Chief of ''Chess Informant''. Other Matanović has also been a radio announcer and producer. Books * ''Encyc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Svetozar Gligorić
Svetozar Gligorić (Serbian Cyrillic: Светозар Глигорић, 2 February 1923 – 14 August 2012) was a Serbian and Yugoslav chess grandmaster and musician. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia. In 1958, he was declared the best athlete of Yugoslavia. In the 1950s and 1960s, Gligorić was one of the top players in the world. He was also among the world's most popular players, owing to his globe-trotting tournament schedule and a particularly engaging personality, reflected in the title of his autobiography, ''I Play Against Pieces'' (i.e., without hostility toward the opponent, and not differently against different players for "psychological" reasons; playing "the board and not the man"). Life Gligorić was born in Belgrade 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 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lev Aronin
Lev Solomonovich Aronin (russian: Лев Соломонович Аронин; 20 July 1920, Kuibyshev – 4 October 1982, Moscow) was a Soviet International Master of chess. He was a meteorologist by profession. Early years Lev Solomonovich Aronin played in eight USSR Chess Championships, which were the strongest tournaments in the world during his era, and placed as high as a tie for 2nd–4th places in 1950 at Moscow. He was the youngest of three brothers, with Gregory (1913–2007) being the eldest, and Efim (1915–1989) being the second. Gregory taught him chess at the age of 8, and he could recall that at the age of 14, Lev beat him and Efim simultaneously without looking at the boards while they were making the moves over the chessboards for Lev and themselves. Gregory later told: He was lying on the couch at another room and shouted the moves to us, for each board, and we were making them over the boards and shouting back our respective moves. It was amazing. Both gam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (russian: Ю́рий Льво́вич Аверба́х; 8 February 1922 – 7 May 2022) was a Russian chess grandmaster and author. He was chairman of the USSR Chess Federation from 1973 to 1978. He was the first centenarian FIDE Grandmaster. Despite his eyesight and hearing having worsened, by his 100th birthday he continued to devote time to chess-related activities. Early life Averbakh was born in Kaluga, Russia. His father was German Jewish, and his ancestors were named Auerbach, meaning "meadow brook". His mother was Russian. Both sets of grandparents disapproved of their marriage because his father was likely an atheist and his mother was Eastern Orthodox, as well as the fact that his maternal grandmother died very young, so his mother was expected to look after the family. Averbakh called himself a fatalist. Career Tournament successes His first major success was the first place in the Moscow Championship of 1949, ahead of players including Andor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Boleslavsky
Isaac Yefremovich Boleslavsky ( uk, Ісаак Єфремович Болеславський, russian: Исаак Ефремович Болеславский; 9 June 1919 – 15 February 1977) was a Soviet chess player and writer. Early career Born in Zolotonosha to Jewish parents, Boleslavsky taught himself chess at age nine. In 1933, he became schoolboy champion of Dnipropetrovsk. Three years later, he won third prize in the 1936 USSR All-Union Junior Championship, held in Leningrad. In 1938, at nineteen, Boleslavsky won the Ukrainian Championship; the following year, he won the Ukraine SSR championship, qualified to play in the USSR Chess Championship at the age of 20, and gained his national chess master title. He earned a degree in philology at Sverdlovsk University. In 1940, Boleslavsky played in the 12th USSR championship final in Moscow. He won eight of his last ten games and tied for fifth-sixth place with Mikhail Botvinnik, but lost their personal meeting. Therea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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