Bror Axel Folke Per Rogard (6 July 1899 – 11 June 1973) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

lawyer,

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

official, player and arbiter. He was born in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, with the surname Rosengren, and qualified as a lawyer with that name. After a family member was charged with burglary, he changed his name to Rogard and severed all connections with his family. Rogard was vice-president of the

World Chess Federation The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

(

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

), from 1947 to 1949, then succeeded

Alexander Rueb Alexander Rueb (27 December 1882 – 2 February 1959) was a Dutch lawyer, diplomat, and chess official. He was born in The Hague. One of the founders of international chess governing body, FIDE, Rueb was elected its first president in 1924. He was ...

as president, a post he held until succeeded by

Max Euwe Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. He served as ...

in 1970. He was also chairman of the

Swedish Chess Federation The Swedish Chess Federation ( sv, Sveriges Schackförbund, SSF) is the national organization for chess in Sweden. It was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Uppsala. The organization has a 9-member board of directors led by a chairman; Håkan ...

from 1947 to 1964. Rogard was granted the

International Arbiter {{No footnotes, date=April 2022 In chess tournaments, an arbiter is an official who oversees matches and ensures that the rules of chess are followed. International Arbiter ''International Arbiter'' is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed ...

title by FIDE in 1951. He could speak five languages. During his senior leadership terms with FIDE, and with the Swedish federation, he was able to arrange for many high-profile chess events to be hosted in Sweden. Four

Interzonal Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by the World Chess Federation FIDE from the 1950s to the 1990s. They were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle and were held after the Zonal tournaments, and before the ...

tournaments—Saltsjobaden 1948 (won by GM

David Bronstein David Ionovich Bronstein (russian: Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн; February 19, 1924 – December 5, 2006) was a Soviet and Ukrainian chess player. Awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, he narr ...

), Stockholm 1952 (won by GM

Alexander Kotov Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov (Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Ко́тов; – 8 January 1981) was a Soviet chess grandmaster and author. He was a Soviet chess champion, a two-time world title Candidate, and a prolific write ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

1955 (won by GM

Paul Keres Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...

), and Stockholm 1962 (won by GM and future World Champion

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11� ...

) -- were all held in Sweden. The 1956 Student Chess Olympiad was held in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

and won by the USSR. The 1969

World Junior Chess Championship The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament (players must have been under 20 years old on 1 January in the year of competition) organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). The idea was the brainchild of William Ritso ...

was held in Stockholm and won by future World Champion

Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov ( rus, links=no, Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈkarpəf; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Ches ...

. The 1968 Candidates' match between Grandmasters

Boris Spassky Boris Vasilievich Spassky ( rus, Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский, Borís Vasíl'yevich Spásskiy; born January 30, 1937) is a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 ...

and

Bent Larsen Jørgen Bent Larsen (4 March 1935 – 9 September 2010) was a Danish chess grandmaster and author. Known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play, he was the second strongest non-Soviet player, behind Bobby Fischer, for much of the 196 ...

was held in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

, and won by Spassky. Gothenburg also hosted the FIDE Congress of 1955. Major achievements for FIDE were many: * Formalization of International Grandmaster and

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

titles, in 1950; * Assuming control of the World Championship process, setting up Zones covering the chess world, together with Interzonal and Candidates tournaments on a regular three-year cycle, starting in 1948 with the World Championship Tournament to determine a new champion after holder

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...

died in 1946; * Re-establishing the

Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...

s, on a two-year cycle, starting in 1950, after an 11-year gap from the previous event in 1939; * Establishment of the new

, for players 20 years and younger, in 1951, on a two-year cycle, which was changed to an annual event in the early 1970s; * Introduction of an International Rating System, in 1970. Another enormous success toward the finish of Rogard's presidency was the first

Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

match, staged on ten boards in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, April 1970. During Rogard's time of involvement with Swedish chess, Stockholm hosted the 1937

, won by the United States. Rogard played chess at third category level. He was married four times: first to Greta Santessen (1898-1999) from 1921 to 1934, they had a daughter Monica (born 1923); then to Gueye Rolf (1902-1973) until 1944; then to

Viveca Lindfors Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors (December 29, 1920 – October 25, 1995) was a Swedish stage, film, and television actress. She won an Emmy Award and a Silver Bear for Best Actress. Biography Lindfors was born in Uppsala, Sweden, the da ...

(1920-1995) from 1944 to 1948, they had a daughter

Lena Tabori Lena Tabori is the founder of Welcome Enterprises, Inc., co-founder of Stewart, Tabori & Chang (STC), and co-founder (with Mike Shatzkin) of www.climatechangeresources.org, a website to combat climate change. She began her publishing career in 19 ...

(born 1944); last married to Ella Johansson (1920-2006) from 1965.

References

External links

* 1899 births 1973 deaths 20th-century chess players Swedish chess players Sportspeople from Stockholm Chess officials Chess arbiters Presidents of FIDE 20th-century Swedish lawyers {{sweden-chess-bio-stub