Victor Ciocâltea (January 16, 1932 – September 10, 1983) was a Romanian
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 dist ...
player. He was awarded the
International Master title in 1957 and the
International Grandmaster title in 1978. Among his notable games is the one at the
15th Chess Olympiad
The 15th Chess Olympiad ( bg, 15-ата Шахматна олимпиада, ''15-ata Shahmatna olimpiada''), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and fe ...
, held in
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
in 1962, where he defeated
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 1 ...
.
Biography
Ciocâltea was
Romanian Champion in 1952, 1959, 1961, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, and 1979. He played for Romania in eleven
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 an ...
s from 1956 to 1982.
He was a participant of four zonal
FIDE tournaments (1954–1982). In 1954, he took 14th in
Mariánské Lázně
Mariánské Lázně (; german: Marienbad) is a spa town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Most of the town's buildings come from its Golden Era in the second half of the 19th centu ...
–
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
(
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 in ...
won). In 1967, he took 15th in
Halle (
Lajos Portisch won). In 1972, he tied for 5–7th in
Vrnjačka Banja
Vrnjačka Banja ( sr-cyr, Врњачка Бања) is a town and municipality located in the Raška District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 10,065 inhabitants, while the population of the municipality is 27,527 inhabitants.
Vrnja ...
. In 1982, he tied for 19–20th in
Băile Herculane
Băile Herculane ( la, Aqua Herculis; german: Herkulesbad; hu, Herkulesfürdő; cz, Herkulovy Lázně, tr, Lazarethane) is a spa town in Romanian Banat, in Caraș-Severin County, situated in the valley of the Cerna River, between the Mehedin ...
(
Zoltán Ribli
Zoltán Ribli (born September 6, 1951 in Mohács) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and International Arbiter (1995). He was twice a World Championship Candidate and three times Hungarian Champion.
A career in chess
As a youngster, he was twi ...
won).
In 1953, he tied for 11–12th in Bucharest (
Alexander Tolush
Alexander Kazimirovich Tolush (1 May 1910 – 3 March 1969) was a Soviet chess grandmaster. He was one of Boris Spassky's mentors. Tolush was born and died in Saint Petersburg (in 1969 called Leningrad). He earned the title of International Mast ...
won). In 1954, he took 16th in Bucharest (
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. H ...
won). In 1956, he took 3rd, behind
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 centenari ...
and
Ratmir Kholmov
Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov ( Russian: Ратмир Дмитриевич Холмов) (13 May 1925 in Shenkursk – 18 February 2006 in Moscow) was a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his ...
, in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
. In 1956, he took 14th in Moscow (
Alekhine Memorial;
Mikhail Botvinnik won). In 1962, he took 9th in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. (
Capablanca Memorial;
Miguel Najdorf
Miguel Najdorf (born Mojsze Mendel Najdorf) (15 April 1910 – 4 July 1997) was a Polish–Argentinian chess grandmaster. Originally from Poland, he was in Argentina when World War II began in 1939, and he stayed and settled there. He was ...
won). In 1962, he tied for 1st–2nd in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
. In 1962, he tied for 3rd–4th in
Belgrade (
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 consider ...
won).
In 1965, Ciocâltea took 16th in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. (Capablanca Memorial;
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 t ...
won). In 1966, he took 2nd in
Zinnowitz
Zinnowitz is a semi-urban Spa (resort) municipality in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the northern German island of Usedom on the Baltic Sea. The municipality has rail connections to Wolgast and Ahlbeck.
Climate
Zinnowitz has an oceanic climate t ...
. In 1966/67, he tied for 1st–2nd with
Dragoljub Čirić
Dragoljub Miladin Čirić (12 November 1935 – 17 August 2014) was a Serbian-Yugoslavian chess grandmaster.
Background
Čirić was born in Novi Sad in 1935. He gained the International Master title in 1961 and became a Grandmaster in 1965.
N ...
in
Reggio Emilia. In 1968, he took 6th in
Netanya (Bobby Fischer won). In 1968/69, he tied for 1st–4th in Reggio Emilia. In 1970, he took 13th in
Caracas (
Lubomir Kavalek
Lubomir (Lubosh) Kavalek ( cz, Lubomír Kaválek, August 9, 1943 – January 18, 2021) was a Czech-American chess player. He was awarded both the International Master and International Grandmaster titles by FIDE in 1965.Hooper & Whyld 1992, p. 19 ...
won). In 1971, he tied for 3rd–4th in
Málaga (
Arturo Pomar
Arturo Pomar Salamanca (1 September 1931 – 26 May 2016) was a Spanish chess player. He was the first Spanish player to be awarded the title of grandmaster (GM), and was a seven-time national champion.. ajedrez.pastranec.netLeontxo Garcỉ''Muere ...
won).
In 1973, he won in
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
. In 1974, he tied for 1st with
László Szabó in
Dortmund. In 1975, he won in Bucharest. In 1979, he won in
Satu Mare. In 1980, he won in
Călimăneşti. In 1981, he won in
Val Thorens
Val Thorens (), is a ski town located in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, French Alps at an altitude of . It is located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in the Savoie department. The resort forms part of the Les Trois Vallées ski ar ...
. In 1981, he tied for 2nd–4th in
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 ...
. In 1983, he tied for 6–8th in Netanya (
Miguel Quinteros
Miguel Ángel Quinteros (born December 28, 1947 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in 1973.
Chess career
He won the Argentine Chess Championship in 1966 at the age of 18, the younges ...
won). Ciocâltea died at the chess table, while playing a chess game at a Spanish tournament in September 1983.
Victor Ciocâltea Memorial
Starting in 1984, the
RATB Sports Association organizes the annual Victor Ciocâltea Memorial, the strongest chess competition in Romania.
Notable games
Victor Ciocaltea vs Robert James Fischer, Varna 1962, 15th Olympiad, Sicilian, Fianchetto, B50, 1–0Victor Ciocâltea vs László Szabó, Hamburg 1965, EU-ch T, Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer Defense, C94, 1–0Victor Ciocaltea vs Nona Gaprindashvili, Beverwijk 1969, Modern Defense, Standard Defense, B06, 1–0Miguel Quinteros vs Victor Ciocaltea, Málaga 1971, King's Indian, Fianchetto, E62, 0–1
External links
*
*
Victor Ciocâltea Memorial, 24th Edition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciocaltea, Victor
1932 births
1983 deaths
Chess players from Bucharest
Chess grandmasters
20th-century chess players