Juan Manuel Bellón López (born 8 May 1950) is a Spanish and Swedish (since 2017)

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 ...

player who holds the

FIDE title 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 ...

of Grandmaster (1978). He is a five-time Spanish Chess Champion (1969, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1982),

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 ...

individual silver medal winner (

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

), and

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 ...

(1989) individual bronze medal winner.

Biography

From the late 1960s to the mid-1990s, Bellón López was one of the top Spanish chess players. In 1969, 1971, 1974, 1977 and 1982 he won

Spanish Chess Championship The Spanish Chess Championship is contested annually under the auspices of the Federación Española de Ajedrez (FEDA), the governing body of chess in Spain, to determine the nation's chess champion. The first official championship was in 1928. Wi ...

five times. Juan Manuel Bellón López has participated in international chess tournaments many times, achieving successes including first place or shared first place 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 ...

'' Rilton Cup'' (1986/87),

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

(1988),

Terrassa Terrassa (, es, Tarrasa) is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona, ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ' ...

(1990),

Castell-Platja d'Aro Castell d'Aro, Platja d'Aro i S'Agaró is a municipality in the middle of the Costa Brava in Catalonia, Spain. It is formed from two parts: Castell d'Aro is an ancient village built around a medieval castle and a fortified church, 3 km (2 mil ...

(1994), Santa Clara (1999),

Varadero Varadero (), also referred to as ''Playa Azul'' (Blue Beach), is a resort town in the province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero Beach was rated one of the world's best beaches in ...

(2000). Bellón López played for Spain in the

s: * In 1970, at second reserve board in the

19th Chess Olympiad The 19th Chess Olympiad (german: Die 19. Schacholympiade), comprising an open team tournament as well as the annual FIDE congress, took place between September 5–27, 1970, in Siegen, West Germany. The Soviet team with six Grandmasters, led by ...

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly sho ...

(+4, =1, -4), * In 1972, at first reserve board in the

20th Chess Olympiad The 20th Chess Olympiad ( mk, 20. Шаховска олимпијада, ''20. Šahovska olimpijada''), organized by Fédération Internationale des Échecs, FIDE and comprising an open team tournament, as well as several other events designed t ...

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

(+7, =3, -3), * In 1974, at fourth board in the

21st Chess Olympiad The 21st Chess Olympiad (french: La 21e Olympiade d'échecs), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. team tournament, as well as severa ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

(+7, =8, -3), * In 1976, at second board in the

22nd Chess Olympiad The 22nd Chess Olympiad ( he, אולימפיאדת השחמט ה-22, ''Olimpiada ha-shachmat ha-22''), organized by Fédération Internationale des Échecs, FIDE, took place between October 26 and November 10, 1976, in Haifa, Israel. For the firs ...

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

(+6, =1, -4), * In 1978, at fourth board in the

23rd Chess Olympiad The 23rd Chess Olympiad ( es, La 23a Olimpíada de ajedrez), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as well a ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

(+8, =4, -1) and won individual silver medal, * In 1980, at second board in the

24th Chess Olympiad The 24th Chess Olympiad ( mt, L-24 Olimpijadi taċ-Ċess), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as well as ...

La Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was ...

(+6, =3, -4), * In 1982, at second board in the

25th Chess Olympiad The 25th Chess Olympiad (german: Die 25. Schacholympiade), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as well as ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

(+3, =3, -4), * In 1984, at second board in the

26th Chess Olympiad The 26th Chess Olympiad ( el, Η 26η Σκακιστική Ολυμπιάδα, ''I 26i Skakistikí Olympiáda''), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male an ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

(+1, =4, -5), * In 1986, at third board in the

27th Chess Olympiad The 27th Chess Olympiad ( ar, أولمبياد الشطرنج ال27, ''uwlimbiad al-shatranj al-27''), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

(+2, =2, -2), * In 1988, at fourth board in the

28th Chess Olympiad The 28th Chess Olympiad ( el, Η 28η Σκακιστική Ολυμπιάδα, ''I 28i Skakistikí Olympiáda''), organized by Fédération Internationale des Échecs, FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division ...

(+2, =1, -4), * In 1992, at third board in the

30th Chess Olympiad The 30th Chess Olympiad ( tl, Ika-30 Olimpiyadang pang-ahedres), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as wel ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

(+4, =3, -4). Bellón López played for Spain in the

s: * In 1970, at fifth board in the 4th European Team Chess Championship in

Kapfenberg Kapfenberg , with around 22,609 inhabitants, is the third largest city in Styria, Austria, near Bruck an der Mur. The town's landmark is Burg Oberkapfenberg. Its main employer is the steel manufacturer Böhler. The town has a swimming complex, ...

(+0, =1, -5), * In 1989, at second board in the 9th European Team Chess Championship in

(+4, =3, -1) and won individual bronze medal. Also Bellón López three times participated in Clare Benedict Chess Cup (1970, 1974–1977) and in team competition won gold (1970) medal. In 1974, he was awarded the FIDE

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 ...

(IM) title and received the FIDE Grandmaster (GM) title four years later. Bellón López is also a FIDE Developmental Instructor (2014).

Personal life

His wife is Swedish chess FIDE Grandmaster

Pia Cramling Pia Ann Rosa-Della Cramling (born 23 April 1963) is a Sweden, Swedish chess player. In 1992, she became the fifth woman to earn the FIDE title of Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster (GM). Since the early 1980s, she has been one of the strongest fem ...

, and their daughter Anna Cramling Bellón (born 2002) also plays chess and has a chess YouTube channel.

References

External links

* * * 1950 births Living people Sportspeople from Valencia Spanish chess players Swedish chess players Spanish emigrants to Sweden Chess grandmasters Chess Olympiad competitors {{Spain-chess-bio-stub