Borislav Ivkov
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Bora Ivkov | |
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International Arbiter | |
Peak rating | 2560 (January 1971) |
Borislav Ivkov (12 November 1933 – 14 February 2022) was a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was a World championship candidate in 1965, and played in four more Interzonal tournaments, in 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979.
Ivkov was a three-time Yugoslav Champion (1958 joint, 1963 joint, 1972) and was the first World Junior Champion in 1951.
He represented Yugoslavia 12 times in Olympiad competition, from 1956 to 1980, and six times in European Team Championships.
Ivkov won numerous top-class events during his career; notable tournament triumphs include Mar del Plata 1955, Buenos Aires 1955,
National Master, World Junior Champion
Ivkov earned his National Master title in 1949 at age 16, by placing shared 4th–7th in the Yugoslav Championship at Zagreb, with 11/19; the winner was Svetozar Gligorić. Ivkov earned his first international event opportunity at Bled 1950, sharing 5th–6th places with 7½/14; the winner was Miguel Najdorf. In this tournament, which featured some of the world's best players, Ivkov defeated well-known stars such as Hermann Pilnik, Milan Vidmar Sr., and Vasja Pirc. After this impressive debut, he was selected to represent Yugoslavia in team matches against the United States and the Netherlands in 1950 and against West Germany in 1951.
Ivkov won the inaugural World Junior Chess Championship in 1951 at Birmingham; this tournament was established for players under age 20. He continued his progress with two solid showings in Yugoslav Championships: at Sarajevo 1951 he tied 10th–12th places with 9½/19 (winner Braslav Rabar), and at Belgrade 1952 he tied 7th–9th places with 10/19 (winner Petar Trifunović). At Opatija 1953, Ivkov scored 10/17 for a shared 4th–6th place; the winner was Aleksandar Matanović. Ivkov was still eligible by age in 1953 to try to repeat his World Junior success; at Copenhagen he won his preliminary group with 7/9, but scored only 3½/7 in the finals to place tied 3rd–4th, as Oscar Panno and Klaus Darga tied at the top.
Rapid rise
Ivkov shared 4th–5th places at
Ivkov broke through into the group of the world's elite players with two brilliant results in strong tournaments in Argentina. He won at Mar del Plata 1955 with 11½/15, ahead of Najdorf, Gligoric, Szabo, Luděk Pachman, Panno and Pilnik. Then he won again at Buenos Aires 1955 with 13/17, ahead of Gligoric, Pilnik, László Szabó, Bisguier, Luděk Pachman, Rosseto, Panno and Donner. In the Yugoslav Championship at Novi Sad 1955, Ivkov had his best national result to date with a shared 3rd–4th place on 10½/17; the winner was Karaklajic. Then at Zagreb 1955, he tied 2nd–3rd places with Matanovic on 12½/19; the winner was Vasily Smyslov. Ivkov earned his Grandmaster title in 1955.
At Hastings 1955–56, Ivkov finished 3rd with 6½/9 behind winners Viktor Korchnoi and Friðrik Ólafsson. He represented Yugoslavia in the World Students' Olympiad at Uppsala 1956; on board two he scored 5/9 (+2 =6 −1), and Yugoslavia won the team bronze medals.
National team stalwart
Ivkov earned the first of his 12 selections to the Yugoslav Olympiad team in 1956, and was a member of the national team continuously through 1980. This was during a period when Yugoslavia was usually among the top three chess countries. He won a total of ten team medals and five board medals during his career.[1]
- Moscow 1956: board 3, 12/16 (+9 =6 −1), board silver, team bronze;
- Munich 1958: board 3, 9½/15 (+7 =5 −3), team silver;
- Leipzig 1960: board 3, 12/16 (+9 =6 −1), board bronze, team bronze;
- Varna 1962: board 4, 13½/16 (+11 =5 −0), board gold, team silver;
- Tel Aviv 1964: board 2, 11½/16 (+8 =7 −1), team silver;
- Havana 1966: board 2, 10/15 (+8 =4 −3);
- Lugano 1968: board 2, 9/14 (+5 =8 −1), team silver;
- Siegen 1970: board 2, 10/13 (+7 =6 −0), board gold, team silver;
- Skopje 1972: board 2, 12/18 (+6 =12 −0), team bronze;
- Nice 1974: board 3, 12/17 (+8 =8 −1), board silver, team silver;
- Buenos Aires 1978: board 4, 3/7 (+1 =4 −2);
- Valletta 1980: board 2, 5½/8 (+3 =5 −0), team bronze.
Ivkov made his first appearance at the European team level in the inaugural event at Vienna 1957, and was chosen on five further occasions. He won four team medals and one board medal in Euroteams events. According to the site olimpbase.org, Ivkov's totals in Euroteams play are (+10 =29 −4), for 57 per cent.
- Vienna 1957: board 3, 3½/6 (+2 =3 −1), team silver;
- Hamburg 1965: board 1, 5/10 (+2 =6 −2), team silver;
- Kapfenberg 1970: board 2, 4/7 (+2 =4 −1);
- Bath 1973: board 2, 4½/7 (+2 =5 −0), board gold, team silver;
- Moscow 1977: board 6, 4/7 (+1 =6 −0), team bronze;
- Skara 1980: board 3, 3½/6 (+1 =5 −0).
Yugoslav Champion, international victories
Ivkov narrowly missed becoming Yugoslav champion at
Ivkov shared the victory at
Ivkov won his second Yugoslav title at Zenica 1963 with 15/21, shared with Mijo Udovčić. At Havana 1963, he scored very well with 15½/21, but this was only good enough for a shared 5th–6th place, as Korchnoi won. Ivkov shared 2nd–3rd places at Belgrade 1964 on 11½/17 behind Boris Spassky. At Beverwijk 1964, he was 4th with 10/15 behind Estonian winners Paul Keres and Iivo Nei. Then at Sarajevo 1964, he finished 3rd with 9½/15 as Lev Polugaevsky won.
World Championship Candidate
Ivkov qualified from the 1964
- 1967 Sousse: 11/21, tied 12th–13th;
- 1970 Palma de Mallorca: 10½/23, 14th;
- 1973 Petrópolis: 9/17, tied 9th–10th;
- 1979 Rio de Janeiro: 9½/17, tied 5th–6th.
Ivkov played board ten in the
Continued excellence
At Havana 1965, Ivkov shared 2nd–4th places with Geller and Fischer, and defeated Fischer for the second time in their game; the winner was Smyslov. In fact he was leading before he blew an easily won game against Gilberto Garcia, the latter of whom had lost most of his games at that point; this would have been his greatest victory.[2] Ivkov shared 2nd–3rd places in the Yugoslav Championship at Titograd 1965 with 11½/18 as Gligoric won. Then at Zagreb 1965, Ivkov scored perhaps his most impressive career victory, sharing the title with Wolfgang Uhlmann on 13½/19, ahead of World Champion Tigran Petrosian, Lajos Portisch, Larsen, and Bronstein. Ivkov won at Venice 1966 with 5/7. He ended 4th at Beverwijk 1966 on 10/15 as Polugaevsky won. Ivkov won at Eersel 1966 with 4/5. He had a disappointing result at the elite Piatigorsky Cup tournament at Santa Monica, California, finishing with a minus score, as Spassky won. But then he nearly won the 1966 Open Canadian Chess Championship at Kingston. He shared 3rd–4th at Sarajevo 1966 with 10/15, behind winners Mikhail Tal and Dragoljub Čirić. He was 4th at Palma de Mallorca 1966 with 9½/15 behind winner Tal.
In the Yugoslav Championship at
At
Ivkov won his third Yugoslav title at
Later years
Ivkov fell out of the top 40 after 1975, and appeared less frequently in major events. But he still had some notable results later in his career. He was 2nd at
Ivkov's last FIDE rated tournament was a "Snowdrops vs Old Hands" event held in late 2013.
Personal life and death
With his wife Olga María Kesic, Ivkov had a son and a grandson. With his second wife, Branka Vujnovic, he had two children.
Ivkov died on 14 February 2022, at the age of 88.[3]
Legacy and playing style
Ivkov defeated five World Champions: Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, Bobby Fischer, and Anatoly Karpov. He also scored wins over most of the top players of his era, except Mikhail Botvinnik and Paul Keres. Head-to-head, he was dominated by such stars as Gligoric, Tal, and Larsen.
Ivkov's style is classical, and he opened regularly with both 1.e4 and 1.d4 during his peak years, making him problematic to prepare for. As Black, he replied to 1.e4 with the Sicilian Defence, the French Defence, and 1...e5, showing a wide repertoire which he handled well. While usually tending toward solid positional play, Ivkov could switch to fierce tactics when given the opportunity. During his peak years, he played in many high-class tournaments, and was almost always near the top of the table.
Notable games
- Borislav Ivkov vs Vasja Pirc, Bled 1950, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Saemisch Variation (E28), 1–0 Pirc was a five-time Yugoslav champion, so for the 17-year-old Ivkov, this win helped build his reputation.
- Borislav Ivkov vs Tigran Petrosian, Belgrade 1954, Sicilian Defence, Richter–Rauzer Variation (B63), 1–0 Petrosian had been a World Championship Candidate the year before.
- Borislav Ivkov vs Ludek Pachman, Buenos Aires 1955, Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Dragon Variation (B34), 1–0 On his first trip outside Europe, Ivkov has a strong Argentinian showing.
- Borislav Ivkov vs Mark Taimanov, Hastings 1955, Sicilian Defence, Classical Variation (B56), 1–0 Another Candidate has to concede defeat; Ivkov enjoyed excellent career success against Taimanov.
- Borislav Ivkov vs Lajos Portisch, Bled 1961, French Defence, Winawer Variation (C18), 1–0 These two players would meet many more times, with Portisch eventually establishing an edge.
- Borislav Ivkov vs Laszlo Szabo, Sarajevo 1963, Sicilian Defence, Taimanov Variation (B47), 1–0 Ivkov overcomes the nine-time Hungarian champion.
- Pal Benko vs Borislav Ivkov, Tel Aviv Olympiad 1964, Queen's Gambit Declined (D37), 0–1 Ivkov destroys Benko in a tactical slugfest miniature.
- Bobby Fischer vs Borislav Ivkov, Havana 1965, Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation (C96), 0–1 Fischer lost very rarely with White, so this is an impressive game.
- Borislav Ivkov vs Vasily Smyslov, Havana 1965, Queen's Gambit, Slav Defence, Exchange Variation (D13), 1–0 Ivkov takes off the former World Champion and winner of this tournament.
- Svetozar Gligoric vs Borislav Ivkov, Zagreb 1965, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Rubinstein Variation (E56), 0–1 It took Ivkov nearly 20 years to defeat Gligoric, the top Yugoslav post-war player.
- Borislav Ivkov vs David Bronstein, Zagreb 1965, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E62), 1–0 Defeating Bronstein in the King's Indian is always a notable feat.
- Borislav Ivkov vs Bent Larsen, Santa Monica 1966, Queen's Indian Defence (E16), 1–0 Larsen defeated Ivkov in their match, and had the career edge, but Ivkov gets a nice win here.
- Efim Geller vs Borislav Ivkov, Belgrade 1969, Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation (B84), 0–1 Geller was a powerful theoretician, but he meets his match on this day.
- Borislav Ivkov vs Anatoly Karpov, Caracas 1970, Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower Variation (D58), 1–0 Karpov miscalculates and gets annihilated by a beautiful attack.
- Vlastimil Hort vs Borislav Ivkov, Petropolis Interzonal 1973, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Classical Variation (E39), 0–1
References
- ^ Olympiads and other Team event information Olimpbase Accessed 19 December 2014
- ^ "Gilberto Garcia vs Borislav Ivkov (1965)".
- ^ Tuga, Srbija ostala bez VELEMAJSTORA pred kojim su padali svi svetski velikani: Preminuo slavni Bora Ivkov (in Serbian)
External links
- Borislav Ivkov player profile and games at Chessgames.com