Gösta Stoltz (May 9, 1904 – July 25, 1963) was a Swedish

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

grandmaster. Stoltz won the Swedish championships at Halmstad 1951, Hålland 1952, and Örebro 1953. He was awarded the

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 ...

title in 1950, and the Grandmaster title in 1954.

Biography

Stoltz played a few matches with strong chess masters. In 1926, he lost to

Mikhail Botvinnik Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (; ; – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster who held five world titles in three different reigns. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer sci ...

(+0 –1 =1) at a team match Stockholm – Leningrad in Stockholm. In 1927, he drew with

Allan Nilsson Allan Nilsson (18 May 1899 – 4 September 1949) was a Swedish chess master. Nilsson was born in Gothenburg. He was Swedish champion in 1924–1929, and played four matches for the title, all in Gothenburg. He drew a match with Gustaf Nyholm (2 ...

(+2 –2 =1) in Göteborg (

Swedish Chess Championship The first Swedish Champion was Gustaf Nyholm, who won two matches against winners of national tournaments: Berndtsson in Göteborg and Löwenborg in Stockholm in 1917. Until 1931 Swedish Chess Championships were decided by match play. In the 1930s, ...

). In 1930, he won against

Isaac Kashdan Isaac Kashdan (November 19, 1905, in New York City – February 20, 1985, in Los Angeles) was an American chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was twice U.S. Open champion (1938, 1947). He played five times for the United States in chess Oly ...

(+3 –2 =1) in Stockholm. In 1930, he lost to

Rudolf Spielmann Rudolf Spielmann (5 May 1883 – 20 August 1942) was a Jewish-Austrian chess master of the romantic school, and chess writer. Career Spielmann was born in 1883, second child of Moritz and Cecilia Spielmann, and had a younger brother Edgar, an ...

(+2–3=1) in Stockholm. In 1931, he won against

Salo Flohr Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr (November 21, 1908 – July 18, 1983) was a Czechoslovak and Soviet chess player and writer. He was among the first recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Flohr dominated many tournam ...

(+4 –3 =1) in Göteborg. In 1931, he lost to Flohr (+1 –4 =3) in Prague. In 1931, he drew with

Gideon Ståhlberg Anders Gideon Tom Ståhlberg (26 January 1908 – 26 May 1967) was a Swedish chess player. He was among the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. He won the Swedish Chess Championship of 1927, became No ...

(+2 –2 =2) in Göteborg. In 1934, he lost to

Aron Nimzowitsch Aron Nimzowitsch (; , ''Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich''; 7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935) was a Latvian-born Danish chess player and writer. In the late 1920s, Nimzowitsch was one of the best chess players in the world. He was the foremost f ...

(+1 –2 =3) in Stockholm. In September 1935, he played at a match Sweden vs Germany (Scheveningen system), and took 2nd individual result, behind Ståhlberg, in Zoppot (Sopot). Stoltz played for Sweden in nine

Chess Olympiads 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 ...

(1927–1937, 1952,1954) and in

3rd unofficial Chess Olympiad The 3rd unofficial Chess Olympiad was held by German Chess Federation (''Grossdeutscher Schachbund'') as a counterpart of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin with reference to 1924 and 1928 events. Many Jewish chess players took part in the event. Si ...

at Munich 1936: * at fourth board (+5 -5 =5) in the 1st Olympiad at London 1927; * at first board (+6 -5 =5) in the 2nd Olympiad at The Hague 1928; * at third board (+7 -4 =6) in the 3rd Olympiad at Hamburg 1930; * won individual gold medal at second board (+10 -1 =7) in the 4th Olympiad at Prague 1931; * won team bronze medal playing at second board (+5 -3 =6) at the 5th Olympiad at Folkestone 1933. * won team silver medal and individual bronze medal playing at second board (+8 -3 =8) in the 6th Olympiad at Warsaw 1935; * at third board (+8 -4 =7) at Munich 1936; * at third board (+2 -7 =3) in the 7th Olympiad at Stockholm 1937; * at second board (+3 -3 =4) at the 10th Olympiad at Helsinki 1952; * at third board (+0 -0 =2) at the 11th Olympiad at Amsterdam 1954. At the beginning of his international career, Stoltz tied for 11-13th in Berlin (BSG) in 1928. The event was won by

Efim Bogoljubow Efim Bogoljubow, also known as Efim Dimitrijewitsch Bogoljubow (April 14, 1889 – June 18, 1952), was a Russian-born German Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Early career Bogoljubow learned how to play chess at 15 years old, and dev ...

. In 1930, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Bogoljubow, behind Kashdan, in Stockholm. In 1931, he tied for 4-7th in Bled (

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine. He disliked when Russians sometimes pronounced the of as , , which he regarded as a Yiddish distortion of his name, and insisted that the correct Russian pronunciation was . (March 24, 1946) was a Russian ...

won). In 1931/32, he tied for 5-8th in Hastings (Flohr won). In 1932, he won in Swinemünde. In 1933, he took 2nd, behind Nimzowitsch, in Copenhagen. In 1934, he took 3rd in Stockholm (

Erik Lundin Erik Ruben Lundin (2 July 1904 – 5 December 1988) was a Swedish chess master. In 1928, he won in Oslo, took 5th in Helsingborg, tied for 2nd-3rd in Stockholm (''Quadrangular'', Richard Réti won). In 1929, he took 2nd in Gothenburg (Nordic Ch ...

won). In 1935, he tied for 1st with Lindberg in Harnosand. In 1935, he took 4th in Örebro (Alekhine won). In 1935, he tied for 5-6th in Bad Nauheim (Bogoljubow won). In 1936, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Böök, behind

Vladimirs Petrovs Vladimirs Petrovs (; 27 September 1908 – 26 August 1943) was a Latvian Russian chess player. Biography He was born in Riga, in the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire (present-day Latvia). Though he learned the game of chess relative ...

in Helsinki (Helsingfors). In 1936, he took 3rd in Helsinki (Lundin won). In 1937, he tied for 3rd-4th in Stockholm (

Reuben Fine Reuben C. Fine (October 11, 1914 – March 26, 1993) was an American chess player, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology. He was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the mi ...

won). In 1938, he won in Stockholm (SWE-ch). In 1939, he took 5th in Stockholm (SWE-ch, Stahlberg won). During World War II, Stoltz played in Sweden and Germany. In 1940, he tied for 4-5th in the Stockholm championship, which was won by Nils Bergqvist). In September 1941, he won, ahead of Lundin and Alekhine, in the

Munich 1941 chess tournament The Second ''Europaturnier'' was held from 8 to 14 September 1941 in Munich. The event was organised by Ehrhardt Post, the Chief Executive of Nazi '' Grossdeutscher Schachbund''. The First ''Europaturnier'' had taken place in Stuttgart in May 1939. ...

(the 2nd ''Europaturnier''). In June 1942, he took 6th in the Salzburg 1942 chess tournament (Alekhine won). In September 1942, he tied for 9-10th in Munich (''München – Europameisterschaft'',

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

). The event was won by

.Gillam, Anthony J.:Munich 1942, European Chess Championship. The Chess Player, Nottingham. In 1943, he tied for 1st with Lundholm in Stockholm. In 1943/44, he took 4th in Stockholm (

Folke Ekström Nils Johan Folke Ekström (12 October 1906, in Lund – 25 January 2000, in Saltsjobaden) was a Swedish International Master (IM) of chess and of correspondence chess (IMC). He won the Swedish Championships in 1947 and 1948; Swedish Correspondenc ...

won). In 1944, he took 3rd, behind

Stig Lundholm Stig Gustav Lundholm (14 November 1917 – 19 May 2009) was a Swedish chess master. Lundholm was born in Luleå, Sweden. He won at Stockholm 1942, tied with Folke Ekström, ahead of both Gösta Stoltz and Erik Lundin, took second place behind ...

, and

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 ...

, in Lidköping, (SWE-ch). After the war, Stoltz played in a few international tournaments. In 1946, he took 2nd, behind

Albéric O'Kelly de Galway Albéric Joseph Rodolphe Marie Robert Ghislain O'Kelly de Galway (17 May 1911 – 3 October 1980) was a Belgium, Belgian chess Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster (1956), an International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster (1962), and the third ICCF ...

in Beverwijk. In 1946, he took 4th in Zaandam ( László Szabó won). In 1946, he tied for 8-9th in the

Groningen 1946 chess tournament Groningen 1946 was the first major international chess tournament to be held after World War II.The USA–USSR 1945 Radio Match preceded it, although only two nations participated and the players did not meet in one location. Held at Groningen (cit ...

(Botvinnik won). In 1946, he tied for 2nd-3rd in Prague (

Miguel Najdorf Miguel Najdorf ( ; born Mojsze Mendel Najdorf; 15 April 1910 – 4 July 1997) was a Polish-Argentine chess grandmaster. Originally from Poland, he was in Argentina when World War II began in 1939, and he stayed and settled there. He was a leadin ...

won). In 1947, he tied for 1st with

Eero Böök Eero Einar Böök (9 February 1910 – 7 January 1990) was a Finnish chess player and engineer. Chess career A five-time Finnish champion who represented his country six times in the Chess Olympiad, Böök was awarded the International Master ...

in Helsinki (zonal), and drew a play-off match (+1 –1 =6). In 1948, he took 18th in Saltsjöbaden (interzonal). The event was won by

David Bronstein David Ionovich Bronstein (; February 19, 1924 – December 5, 2006) was a Soviet chess player. Awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, he narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in World Chess Championship 195 ...

. In 1948, he won in Stockholm. In 1948, he tied for 4-5th in Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) – Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad). The event was won by

Jan Foltys Jan Foltys (13 October 1908 – 11 March 1952) was a Czech chess International Master. Biography Foltys was born on 13 October 1908 in Svinov. In 1933, he tied for 8-12th in Mnichovo Hradiště (13th Czech championships). In 1933, he tied for ...

. In 1950, he tied for 9-13th in Bled (Najdorf won). In 1951, he tied for 8-9th in Dortmund (O’Kelly won). In 1951, he tied for 3rd-4th in Mariánské Lázně – Prague (zonal won by

Luděk Pachman Luděk Pachman (German: Ludek Pachmann, May 11, 1924 – March 6, 2003) was a Czechoslovak-German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and political activist. In 1972, after being imprisoned and tortured almost to death by the Communist regime i ...

. In 1952, he took 16th in Stockholm (interzonal won by

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

). In 1962, he took 12th in Belgrade (

Hermann Pilnik Hermann Pilnik (8 January 1914, Stuttgart, Germany – 12 November 1981, Caracas, Venezuela) was a German Argentines, German-born Argentine chess Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster. Career In 1929, he won the championship of Stuttgart. Pilnik emi ...

won).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoltz, Gosta 1904 births 1963 deaths Chess Grandmasters Chess Olympiad competitors 20th-century Swedish chess players 20th-century Swedish sportsmen