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Zdenko Kožul (born 21 May 1966) is a
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
n
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 holds the title of Grandmaster and was the 2006 European champion.


Chess career

Born in the north-western Bosnian town of
Bihać Bihać ( cyrl, Бихаћ) is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovi ...
(then
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Y ...
), Kožul was awarded the title of Grandmaster by
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 ...
in 1989. In 1989 and 1990, Kozul won consecutive Yugoslavian championships. Also in 1990, Kozul won the bronze medal playing for the Yugoslav team at 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 ...
in
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the P ...
. After the break-up of Yugoslavia, Kozul played for
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...
, and he was a part of the Bosnian team in the Olympiad 1992. In 1993, Kozul, an ethnic
Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...
, settled in
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
, thereafter representing that country. In 1995, he won an open tournament in
Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...
. In 1999, he came first at the 4th
Nova Gorica A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
Open. In 2003, he won the 11th
Vasja Pirc Vasja Pirc () (December 19, 1907 – June 2, 1980) was a Slovenian chess player. He is best known in competitive chess circles as a strong exponent of the hypermodern defense now generally known as the Pirc Defense. Pirc was champion of Yug ...
Memorial at
Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, the seat of the Drava stati ...
. In 2004, Kožul reached the final sixteen at the FIDE World Chess Championship, 2004 in
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...
, before being eliminated by the
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...
n grandmaster and future world champion
Veselin Topalov Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; bg, Весели́н Александров Топа́лов; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Champion. Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by wi ...
. In 2006 he won the
European Individual Chess Championship The European Individual Chess Championship is a chess tournament organised by the European Chess Union. It was established in 2000 and has since then taken place on a yearly basis. Apart from determining the European champions (open and women's), ...
in
Kuşadası Kuşadası () is a large resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast, and the center of the seaside district of the same name within Aydın Province. Kuşadası is south of İzmir, and about from Aydın. The municipality's primary industry is tourism ...
. This achievement qualified him to the FIDE World Cup 2007. Kožul won the
Croatian Chess Championship The Croatian Chess Championship is the annual individual national chess championship of Croatia. Winners References * '' The Week in Chess'' by Mark Crowther1995Nikita Vitiugov, Etienne Bacrot and Maxim Matlakov in the Grenke Chess Open in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the German States of Germany, state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital o ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
.


Notable games


Alexey Shirov vs Zdenko Kozul, Cup European Club (final) 1996, Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer, Neo-Modern Variation (B67), 0-1Joel Benjamin vs Zdenko Kozul, WchT 4th 1997, Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer, Neo-Modern Variation (B67), 0-1Zdenko Kozul vs Sergei Rublevsky, FIDE World Championship Knockout Tournament 2004, Slav Defense: Quiet Variation (D11), 1-0


Books

*


References


External links

*
Zdenko Kožul
games at 365Chess.com
Zdenko Kožul
at
Chessmetrics Chessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. It is intended as an improvement over the Elo rating system. Implementation Chessmetrics is a weighted average of past performance. The score considers a player's win perce ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozul, Zdenko 1966 births Living people Chess grandmasters Croatian chess players Croatian chess writers European Chess Champions Yugoslav chess players Bosnia and Herzegovina chess players Chess Olympiad competitors People from Bihać Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina