 Svetozar Gligoric |
Svetozar "Gliga" Gligoric (pronounced Glee-GO-rich) was born on February 2, 1923 in
Belgrade, kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Serbia as of 1992), an only child,
to Dragoje and Rakic Gligoric, a poor family.
In 1932, his father died after an appendix operation. He died from one of the post- operative infections. (source: Levy, The Chess of Gligoric, 1972, p. 13) In 1934, he began to play chess at age 11. His first exposure to chess was as a small child watching patrons play in a neighborhood bar. Later, a boarder taken in by his mother taught him the game. Later, the boarder moved away. Gligoric could not afford a chess set, so he made one himself by carving chess pieces from corks from empty wine bottles using a razor blade. He later improved his play by reading a chess column in the local newspaper. In 1935, he broke his left hand playing soccer. During this period of enforced inactivity, he played chess every day with the son of the owner of the local bar. (source: Wade, p. 14) In 1935, he played in his first chess tournament. He took 2nd place in his junior high school chess championship. In 1936, he played in the Belgrade Chess Club annual youth championship, bud did poorly. In 1936, he started cutting out chess columns from Belgrade newspapers and studied the games from them. In 1937, he won the Under-14 chess championship of Belgrade. He had won the earlier qualifying event that was played at blitz speed. In 1938, at the age of 15, he won the Belgrade under-18 junior championship. He then won the Belgrade Chess Club championship, despite the club prohibiting schoolboy members. Gligoric’s photographs soon appeared in the Belgrade newspapers for the first time/ In August 1939, at the age of 16, he became a national master by tying for 1st place in the 16th Yugoslav Amateur Chess Championship, held in Zagreb. Gligoric won on tiebreaks. There were 44 participants in the event. In November 1940, his mother died from leukemia, making Gligoric an orphan. He was taken into the home of professor Dr. Niko Miljanic, the president of the Belgrade chess club and a surgeon. On April 6, 1941, military operations in Yugoslavia began. In 1941, Gligoric and Dr. Miljanic and his family fled to the southern province of Montenegro when the Germans invaded Yugoslavia. Montenegro was occupied by the Italians and Gligoric had to hide from then as young men were compelled to join the Fascist Party or go to prison camp. (source: Levy, p. 15) During the war, Gligoric was a member of a Tito’s partisan unit for four years. He survived a German sniper attack while setting up his machine gun in the mountains of Yugoslavia. His companion was shot in the head and died. (source: Tartajubow blogspot, May 8, 2018) In 1944, he was a captain in the Yugoslav partisan unit who fought against the Nazis and won two military awards for bravery. A chance encounter with a chess-playing partisan officer, Veljko Micunovic, led to his removal from combat. The officer recognized Gligoric as a chess player from one of his newspaper photographs. Gligoric was taken to a town that had been liberated and was in charge of a squad of policemen. Micunovic later became ambassador to both the US and the USSR. (source: Levy, p. 16) After World War II, he organized chess tournaments as worked as a journalist for a daily newspaper. He also wrote for "NIN" (a Belgrade weekly newspaper) for 25 years. He later was employed by Radio Belgrade. In 1945, he took 2nd in the Belgrade Championship, winning 8, drawing 5, and losing 2. First place went to Petar Trifunovic (1910-1980). Gligoric was also the organizer of this tournament. Gligoric was then appointed to the honorary post of head of the chess section of the state physical education organization. (source: Levy, p. 17) In 1945, he took 2nd in the first Yugoslav championship, played in Novi Sad. He won 14, drew 4, and lost 5. The event was won by Petar Trifunovic. In 1945, he won the Bulgarian Championship, held in Sofia, but was excluded from claiming the championship because he was not a Bulgarian national. The men’s Bulgarian champion was Alexander Tsvetkov. In 1945-46, he took 1st place in the "Liberation Tournament," held in Ljubljana. He won 6, drew 3, and lost no games. He placed ahead of Pirc, Pachman, and Vidmar. In early 1946, Gligoric organized the semi-finals of the 2nd Yugoslav Championship. The championship was won by Petar Trifunovic. In 1946, he took 4th-5th at the Prague International Tournament. He won 6, drew 5, and lost 2. In the spring of 1947, he won his the first major international chess event at Warsaw, ahead of two top USSR players, Vasily Smyslov and Isaac Boleslavsky. Gligoric scored 8 out of 9 (7 wins, 2 draws), two points ahead of 2nd place players. In June 1947, he got married to Danica, a sister of an old school friend. They were married for 47 years, until she died. In late 1947, he took 10th at the Chigorin Memorial Tournament in Moscow. In early 1948, he took 2nd at Budapest. In 1948, he took 11th-13th, at the Interzonal in Saltsjobaden, Sweden. That event was won by David Bronstein. In late 1948, he was joint champion of the 4th Yugoslavian championship, shared with Vasja Pirc (1907-1980) in Belgrade. Over 2,000 people watch the tournament in the playing hall. (source: Levy, p. 22) In early 1949, Gligoric beat Gideon Ståhlberg (1908-1967) in a match, scoring 6.5-5.5. In 1949, he took 4th-7th in Venice. In late 1949, he won the 5th Yugoslav chess championship. For the first time, he won the title outright. In 1950, he drew twice against Samuel Reshevsky in a USA vs. Yugoslavia radio match. In 1950, he took 1st at Mar del Plata. In 1950, he was awarded the International Master (IM) title by FIDE, following success at the Mar del Plata tournament in Argentina. In 1950, he was Yugoslav champion. In 1950, he played 1st board for Yugoslavia at the 9th chess Olympiad in Dubrovnik. Yugoslavia won the gold medal, but none of the Eastern Bloc countries, including the USSR, participated. In 1950, he took 4th-5th at Amsterdam. He was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1951 by FIDE and became a full time chess professional. He represented Yugoslavia in 15 chess Olympiads from 1950 to 1982. He played first board 13 times. He won more medals in chess Olympics than any other person. He won 12 medals (1 gold, 6 silver, and 5 bronze). Tied for second place with 10 medals are Tigran Petrosian and Boris Ivkov. He also won 5 European medals. He had lifelong interest was music. Gligoric was one of the few Yugoslavs able to travel freely in the early 1950s, and he and the International Master Nikola Karaklajic (1926- 2008), a disc jockey with Radio Belgrade, brought home records and popularized western culture and music. (source: Reed, "Svetozar Gligoric obituary," The Guardian, August 2012) In 1951, he won the Zonal in Bad Pyromont. In 1951, he won the Staunton Memorial Tournament in England. In 1951-52, he took 1st at Hastings without losing a game. In early 1952, he took 3rd at the first Capablanca Memorial Tournament in Havana. In 1952, Gligoric was allowed to play chess in the United States, and he stayed in the US for four months. In 1952, he took 1st at Hollywood. In 1952, Gligoric gave 16 simultaneous exhibitions in the US from the west coast to the east coast. (source: Levy, p. 58) In 1952, he played 1st board for Yugoslavia at the 10th chess Olympiad in Helsinki. Yugoslavia took the bronze medal. In 1952, he took 5th-8th at the Stockholm Interzonal, won by Alexander Kotov. In 1953, he took 1st at Mar del Plata. In 1953, he took 1st at Rio de Janeiro. In 1953, he took 1st at Montevideo. In his 3 tournaments in South America, he lost only one game out of 42 played. In 1953, he took 13th in the Candidates tournament in Zurich. In 1953-54, he took 1st at Gothenburg. In 1954, he took 1st at Stockholm. In 1954, at the 11th chess Olympiad, held in Amsterdam, Gligoric played Board 2, behind Pirc. In 1954, Gligoric finished the first-year course in English at the Philosophical University in Belgrade. He was the top student in a class of 300. (source: Wade, p. 67) In March 1955, he took 3rd at Mar del Plata. In 1955, he took 2nd at Buenos Aires. In 1956, he was Yugoslav champion. In 1956, he played board 1 for Yugoslavia at the chess Olympiad in Moscow. In 1956, he took 4th at the Alekhine Memorial Tournament in Moscow. In 1956-57, he took 1st at Hastings. In 1957, he won the 12th Yugoslavian championship. In 1957, he took 1st at Bognor Regis. In May 1957, he took 2nd-3rd at the Zonal in Dublin. In 1957, he took 1st-2nd at Dallas, tying with Reshevsky. Gligoric won enough money to buy his first car. (source: Levy, p. 84) In 1957, he was part of a 11-member Yugoslav chess team that gave the first U.S. coast-to- coast tour of a great European chess team. In 1957-58, he took 2nd at Hastings. In 1958, he took 2nd at the Interzonal in Portoroz. Mikhail Tal won the event. In 1958, he played Board 1 for Yugoslavia at the Munich chess Olympiad. In 1958, he shared the Yugoslav championship with Borislav Ivkov. In 1958, as a chess player, he was declared Sportsman of the Year in Yugoslavia. In 1959, he was Yugoslav champion. In 1959, he took 2nd at Zurich. Tal won the event. In 1959, he took 5th-6th at the Candidates Tournament. In 1959-60, he took 1st at Hastings. In 1960, he was Yugoslav champion. In 1960, he took 1st-4th at the Zonal in Madrid. In 1960, he took 3rd at Santa Fe. In 1960, he took 1st-2nd at Asuncion. In 1960 he played 1st board for Yugoslavia at the chess Olympiad in Leipzig. He beat Bobby Fischer in this event and scored 12 out of 17 with no losses. (source: Levy, p. 108) In 1960-61, he took 1st at Hastings. In 1961, he took 1st at Leicester. In 1961, he took 1st-2nd at Torremolinos. In 1961, he took 1st-2nd at Sarajevo. In September 1961, he took 3rd-5th at Bled. Tal won the event. In 1961-62, he took 2nd at Hastings. In 1962, he was Yugoslav champion. In 1962, he took 6th-8th at the Interzonal in Stockholm. In 1962, he took 1st-2nd at Sarajevo. In 1962, he took 4th-5th at Havana. In 1962, he played Board 1 for Yugoslavia at the chess Olympiad in Varna. In 1962, he took 1st at Belgrade. In 1962-63, he took 1st-2nd at Hastings. In 1963, he took 2nd-5th at Sarajevo. In 1963, he took 6th at the First Piatagorsky Cup in Los Angeles. In 1963, he took 3rd-4th in the US Open in Chicago. In 1963, he took 1st in the Zonal in Enschede. In 1963, he took 3rd at Moscow. In 1963-64, he took 2nd at Hastings. In 1964, he took 2nd at Reykjavik. Tal won the event. In 1964, he took 10th at the Interzonal in Amsterdam. In 1964, he played Board 1 for Yugoslavia at the chess Olympiad in Tel Aviv. In 1964, he took 4th at Belgrade. In 1964-65, he took 2nd -3rd at Hastings. In 1965, he was Yugoslav champion. In 1965, he took 2nd-4th at Nethanya. In 1965, he took 1st-3rd at Copenhagen. In 1965-66, he took 4th-5th at Hastings. In the spring of 1966, he went to Israel for 2 months in order to train their national team. (source: Levy, p. 150) In 1966, he took 1st at Tel Aviv. In 1966, he took 1st at the Zonal in The Hague. 1n 1966, he played 1st board for Yugoslavia at the chess Olympiad in Havana. In 1967, he took 1st at Dundee. In 1967, he took 2nd-4th at the Interzonal in Sousse, Tunisia. In 1967, he took 5th at Palma de Mallorca. In 1968, he took 1st-2nd at Manila. After Manila, Gligoric gave simultaneous exhibitions in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Bangkok. In 1968, he played Board 1 for Yugoslavia at the Lugano chess Olympiad. In 1968, he took 5th at Palma de Mallorca. In 1969, he took 3rd-4th at Sarajevo. In 1969, he took 4th at Busum. In 1969, he took 2nd at Ljubljana. In 1969, he took 3rd at Havana. In 1969, he took 1st-3rd at the Zonal in Praia da Rocha. In 1969, he took 1st-4th at Belgrade. In 1969-70, he took 3rd at Hastings. In March-April 1970, he played on Board 5 in the USSR vs. Rest of the World in Belgrade. He lost one and drew 3 games against Efim Geller. In 1970, he took 3rd-4th at Lugano. In 1970, he took 2nd-5th at Rovinj-Zagreb. In 1970, he took 6th-8th at Skopje. In 1970, he took 5th-6th at Amsterdam. In 1970, he played 1st board for Yugoslavia at the chess Olympiad in Siegen. In 1970, he took 2nd-4th at Vinkovci. In 1970, he took 9th-10th at the Interzonal in Palma de Mallorca. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record 12 times, from 1947 to 1971. He won the annual Hastings tournament 5 times and took 2nd place 4 times. In 1971, Gligoric was ranked No. 15 in the world by FIDE. He remained in the top 100 until 1987. In 1971/72, Gligoric took 5th-6th at Hastings. Karpov and Korchnoi tied for 1st. In 1972, he was awarded the International Arbiter title. In March 1972, he took 1st place at Lone Pine. In 1972, he took 4th-5th at Teesside. Bent Larsen won the event. In 1972, he wrote a book on the Spassky — Fischer match, which was a great success. It was translated into several languages and soon became a best-seller, with the largest printing of any edition on chess. The English edition sold over 200,000 copies. (source: "Gligoric," xadrezmemoria blogspot, Aug 15, 2012) In November-December 1972, he took 4th place at San Antonio. In 1973, he took 2nd-4th at the Vidmar Memorial Tournament in Ljubljana. Lajos Portisch won the event. In 1973, he took 8th-10th place at the Leningrad Interzonal. In 1973, he took 4th at Manila. Bent Larsen won the event. In 1973-74, he took 5th at Hastings. In 1974, he took 1st place at Los Angeles. In 1975, he took 5th-7th at the Hoogovens Tournament. Portisch won the event. In 1975, he took 2nd-4th in the Yugoslav Championship, won by Velimirovic. In 1975, he took 3rd-8th at Lone Pine. Vladimir Liberzon won the event. In 1975, he took 2nd at the Vidmar Memorial. Anatoly Karpov won the event. In 1977, he took 7th at the Tilburg Interpolis. In 1978 he narrowly failed in a bid to become head of chess's world governing body, FIDE. In 1978, he took last place, scoring 5.5 out of 15 at Bugojno. Karpov and Spassky won the event. In 1978, he took 1st at Osijek. In 1979, he took 1st-4th at Lone Pine. In 1979, he took 4th at Novi Sad, won by Florin Gheorghiu. In 1980, he took 8th-12th at Lone Pine. Roman Dzindzichashvili won the event. In 1980, he took last place at Bugojno, scoring 3.5 out of 11. Karpov won the event. In 1981, he took 2nd-4th at Lone Pine. Viktor Korchnoi won the event. In 1982, he took 2nd in the Yugoslav Championship, won by Ljubomir Ljubojevic. In 1984, he was the chief arbiter of the Karpov-Kasparov World Championship match. He was also the chief arbiter in 12 FIDE Candidates matches. In 1986, he took 1st-3rd at the Chigorin Memorial in Sochi. In 1988, he took last place at Saint John, scoring 5 out of 9. In 1992, Gligoric played a training match with Booby Fischer. In 1994, Danica, his wife of 47 years, died at the age of 65. In 1994, he took 1st-3rd at the Donner Memorial. In 1999, he took last place at the Petrosian Memorial in Moscow. In 2001, he was proclaimed Yugoslav chess player of the 20th century. In 2002, he took 1st-2nd in the Botvinnik Memorial. In 2002, he wrote his autobiography, called I Play Against Pieces. He also worked as a music composer in the last decade of his life. In January 2003, Gligoric, age 79, was attacked in his sleep at 3 am by masked burglars in his Belgrade home, who tied him up and took money, jewelry, and chess trophies. He had a black eye and was beaten all over. His house was ransacked. In 2003, at age 80, he played his last tournament, the 2003 Rilton Cup. Gligoric wrote that he probably played more chess games in his career than any other grandmasters. In June 2003, Gligoric got all his valuable back in the form of money. Belgrade officials looked at the value of his trophies and other belongings and converted that to cash for Gligoric. On August 14, 2012, he died at the age of 89 in Belgrade, Serbia after suffering a stroke. He was buried in Novo Groblje cemetery in Belgrade. (source: McClain, "Svetozar Gligoric, Who Pioneered Chess Moves, Diea at 89," The New York Times, Aug 16, 2012) In 2019, FIDE established a fair play award named after Gligoric. The Fair Play Svetozar Gligoric Trophy is awarded annually by a three member commission in recognition of sportsmanship, integrity and the promotion ethical behavior within chess. He was a regular participant in the World Championship cycle between 1948 and 1973 and was a candidate for the World Championship three times (1953, 1959, and 1968. He played in 7 Interzonal tournaments. During his lifetime, he defeated Max Euwe twice, Botvinnik twice, Smyslov 6 times, Tal twice, Petrosian 8 times, and Fischer 4 times. Gligoric secured 64 victories at international chess events. (source: Gec, "Serb chess grandmaster Svetozar Gligoric dies," The Seattle Times, Aug 18, 2012) Gligoric played in over 70 international chess tournaments and won or shared 20 first- place prizes. Gligoric wrote over 20 chess books during his lifetime. Gligoric is buried at the Novrom Groblju (Alley of the Greats) cemetery in Belgrade. When he died, he was the world’s second oldest chess grandmaster. Gligoric - Toran, Havana 1952 1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.d4 Ndf6 6.Nc5 g6 7.Bc4 Nh6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Qf3 Nf5 10.c3 Bg7 (10...Bxc5) 11.Bg5 O-O 12.Ne4 h5 13.g4 c5 (13...hxg4 14.Nxg4) 14.gxf5 1-0
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 Bill Wall
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