Arinbjörn Guðmundsson (22 May 1932 – 2014) was an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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 ...

player. He is a

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 FIDE Onli ...

individual medalist (

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

Biography

Arinbjörn Guðmundsson learned to play chess late, at the age of seventeen. However, he achieved good results in chess tournaments and was one of Icelandic leading chess players from 1955 to 1970. In 1954, together with

Friðrik Ólafsson Friðrik Ólafsson (26 January 1935 – 4 April 2025) was an Icelandic chess grandmaster. He was president of FIDE from 1978 to 1982. He was a six-time Icelandic Chess Champion and a two-time Nordic Chess Champion. Chess career Friðrik was ...

and other Icelandic chess players, Arinbjörn Guðmundsson founded the first chess magazine in the country. He regularly participated in

Icelandic Chess Championship The Icelandic Chess Championship is usually held in Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland. It is organised by the Icelandic Chess Federation (ICF), the body responsible for holding national chess events and for representing Icelandic chess at the World ...

s and

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

International Chess tournaments (1955, 1957, 1960, 1964). Arinbjörn Guðmundsson played for Iceland in the

s: * In 1956, at second reserve board in the

12th Chess Olympiad The 12th Chess Olympiad (, ''12-ya Shakhmatnaya olimpiada''), organized by the 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 se ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

(+3, =1, -1), * In 1958, at first reserve board in the

13th Chess Olympiad The 13th Chess Olympiad (), organized by Fédération Internationale des Échecs, 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 ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(+1, =6, -4), * In 1960, at second board in the

14th Chess Olympiad The 14th Chess Olympiad (), 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 several other events designed to promote ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

(+7, =9, -0) and won individual silver medal, * In 1962, at second board in the

15th Chess Olympiad The 15th Chess Olympiad (, ''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 female players. team tournament, as well as several ...

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

(+3, =7, -1). In 1960, in

International Chess Tournament Arinbjörn Guðmundsson played a tactically challenging party against the next World Chess Champion

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Chess Champi ...

. In 1969, Fisher included this party in his book ''

My 60 Memorable Games ''My 60 Memorable Games'' is a chess book by Bobby Fischer, first published in 1969. It is a collection of his games dating from the 1957 New Jersey Open to the 1967 Sousse Interzonal. Unlike many players' anthologies, which are often titled ''M ...

''. In 1970 Arinbjörn Guðmundsson moved to Australia with his family. He settled in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, where he also spent the rest of his life. In 1971 Arinbjörn Guðmundsson participated in the

Australian Chess Championship The Australian Chess Championship is a tournament organised by the Australian Chess Federation and held every two years. The tournament is largely restricted to Australian chess players, although it is common to allow a small number of strong overs ...

. After that, he rarely played chess, except socially at the

Logan City The City of Logan is a local government area (LGA) located in the south of Greater Brisbane in South East Queensland (SEQ), Australia. Situated between the City of Brisbane to the north and the City of Gold Coast to the south, the City of Lo ...

Chess Club. Arinbjörn Guðmundsson died in the summer of 2014.

References

External links

*
Arinbjörn Guðmundsson
chess games at 365chess.com 1932 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Australian chess players Chess Olympiad competitors 20th-century Icelandic chess players {{Australia-chess-bio-stub