Genfærd 452 Posted February 12, 2021 20 minutes ago, gcreptile said: A Guardian article notified me that Yuri Averbakh celebrated his 99th birthday last week, and could become the first centenarian grandmaster: https://ruchess.ru/en/news/all/yuri_averbakh_celebrates_his_99th_birthday/ https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/feb/12/magnus-carlsen-survives-disgusting-blunders-against-daniil-dubov That's crazy. Watch him drop just a few months before he turns 100. Lol. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alt obits guy 3,386 Posted February 15, 2021 Harold J. Winston, the former head of US Chess, has died. https://new.uschess.org/news/former-us-chess-president-harold-j-winston-has-died 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arghton 6,918 Posted May 31, 2021 French WIM Andreea Bollengier dead at 46: http://www.echecs.asso.fr/Actu.aspx?Ref=13387 Also, currently the only living International Honorary Master for chess composition is Hannu Harkola (b. 1944) and the only living Honorary Grandmaster is Jonathan Penrose (1933-2021). Yuri Averbakh (b. 1922) is both the earliest grandmaster (1952) and the oldest. Other 1950s grandmasters include Aleksandar Matanovic (b. 1930), Borislav Ivkov (1933-2022), Oscar Panno (b. 1935), Boris Spassky (b. 1937) all in 1955 and Friðrik Ólafsson (b. 1935) in 1958. Matanovic still looks great (video from his 90th birthday celebrations), couldn't find new pictures of Ivkov but apparently he still writes books and articles and Panno is still in good health, too. Couldn't find new pictures of Olafsson, but he released a book a while ago. However Spassky, probably the most notable out of the people I've listed suffered strokes in 2006 and 2010, reported to be gravely ill in 2010 after his second stroke. Doesn't look great but I wouldn't be suprised if he'd still be alive in 10 years. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomTomTelekom 3,731 Posted July 1, 2021 Russian chess grandmaster Yury Dokhoian, who is best known for his career as a trainer and coach, died at 56 years: https://www.newsru.co.il/sport/01jul2021/yury917.html (only this russian source at the moment) He earned second place at the 1986 Soviet Chess Championship and has served for many years as the coach for the Russian Women's Chess Team. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arghton 6,918 Posted August 18, 2021 https://ruchess.ru/news/all/ushel_iz_zhizni_evgeniy_ellinovich_sveshnikov_1950_2021/ Grandmaster Evgeny Sveshnikov dead aged 71. He was one of the most controversial grandmasters and also quite an activist. Talked and wrote about suicides of Baltic and Russian chess players. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcreptile 11,117 Posted August 19, 2021 18 hours ago, arghton said: https://ruchess.ru/news/all/ushel_iz_zhizni_evgeniy_ellinovich_sveshnikov_1950_2021/ Grandmaster Evgeny Sveshnikov dead aged 71. He was one of the most controversial grandmasters and also quite an activist. Talked and wrote about suicides of Baltic and Russian chess players. Ah, that Sveshnikov... "inventor" of the Sveshnikov variant of the Sicilian Opening. I know, that sounds extremely obscure, but is actually somewhat notable, as one of the most recent great discoveries in chess theory. And by recent, I mean the 80s. It broke through into the mainstream in the 90s. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arghton 6,918 Posted November 8, 2021 http://www.chess-news.ru/node/28458 Liudmila Belavenets, fourth women's world champion 1984-1992 and FIDE WIM dead at 81 from covid. The second and the third one are still alive, these are the Soviet Union's Lora Yakovleva 1972-1977 (1932-) and Israel's Ljuba Kristol 1978-1984 and 1992-1997 (1944-) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ulitzer95 12,927 Posted December 2, 2021 On 31/05/2021 at 13:17, arghton said: French WIM Andreea Bollengier dead at 46: http://www.echecs.asso.fr/Actu.aspx?Ref=13387 Also, currently the only living International Honorary Master for chess composition is Hannu Harkola (b. 1944) and the only living Honorary Grandmaster is Jonathan Penrose (b. 1933). *snip* Guardian breaking the news of the death of Jonathan Penrose OBE (wiki) via a full obit. Died on 30th November, aged 88. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DevonDeathTrip 2,366 Posted December 3, 2021 Wow, just watched Magnus Carlsen's epic victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi in the World Championship, after their previous five games were drawn. Possibly not for everyone, but that was a classic. All eight hours of it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim Up North 3,772 Posted December 3, 2021 3 hours ago, DevonDeathTrip said: Wow, just watched Magnus Carlsen's epic victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi in the World Championship, after their previous five games were drawn. Possibly not for everyone, but that was a classic. All eight hours of it I didn’t see it but I did used to love watching chess on TV when they used to have the GMs commentating on it - made it seem so exciting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcreptile 11,117 Posted December 4, 2021 3 hours ago, DevonDeathTrip said: Wow, just watched Magnus Carlsen's epic victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi in the World Championship, after their previous five games were drawn. Possibly not for everyone, but that was a classic. All eight hours of it I watched the final two hours or so. I think the future will complain about those missed chances around the 40th move by both of them. And many veteran players will complain that Carlsen basically hoped for a tiny mistake from his opponent after 100 moves. But still, one for the record books. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arghton 6,918 Posted December 19, 2021 https://sahmatlista.wordpress.com/2021/12/19/in-memoriam-gm-bosko-abramovic-1951-2021/ Yugoslavian, later Serbian chess grandmaster (1984) and national team selector Boško Abramović reportedly dead at 70. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,278 Posted January 31, 2022 Nigel Short reporting that French Grandmaster Gilles Miralles has died aged 55: 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alt obits guy 3,386 Posted February 4, 2022 Arthur Feuerstein, a noted American chess player and winner of the first U.S. Armed Forces Chess Championship, has died. He was 86. https://new.uschess.org/news/arthur-feuerstein-dies-age-86 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arghton 6,918 Posted February 6, 2022 Abram Khasin, WWII vet and FIDE correspondence grandmaster dead at 98: https://ruchess.ru/news/all/ushel_iz_zhizni_zasluzhennyy_trener_sssr_abram_iosifovich_khasin_1923_2022/ Both of his legs were amputated during the Battle of Stalingrad in December 1942. He suffered pneumonia, frostbite and multiple infections but survived. He started playing chess professionally after the war and coached multiple GMs, coaches, journalists and commentators. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ulitzer95 12,927 Posted February 6, 2022 How many chess players aged 95+ are still with us? There are several with Wiki profiles but I think they may just be missing death dates. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ulitzer95 12,927 Posted February 8, 2022 So Yuri Averbakh turns 100... Are the following players still alive? Anton Kinzel (b. 1921 or 1922) wiki Austrian Yakov Neishtaft (b. 1923) wiki Soviet-born Israeli Kaj Blom (b. 1925) wiki Danish 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arghton 6,918 Posted February 8, 2022 28 minutes ago, Ulitzer95 said: So Yuri Averbakh turns 100... Are the following players still alive? Anton Kinzel (b. 1921 or 1922) wiki Austrian Yakov Neishtaft (b. 1923) wiki Soviet-born Israeli Kaj Blom (b. 1925) wiki Danish Yakov Neishtaft/Neishtadt/Isaevich - According to Israeli GM Emil Sutovsky's posts on facebook (mentions him in may 2016, june 2021), still alive. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,278 Posted February 14, 2022 On 31/05/2021 at 13:17, arghton said: Also, currently the only living International Honorary Master for chess composition is Hannu Harkola (b. 1944) and the only living Honorary Grandmaster is Jonathan Penrose (1933-2021). Yuri Averbakh (b. 1922) is both the earliest grandmaster (1952) and the oldest. Other 1950s grandmasters include Aleksandar Matanovic (b. 1930), Borislav Ivkov (b. 1933), Oscar Panno (b. 1935), Boris Spassky (b. 1937) all in 1955 and Friðrik Ólafsson (b. 1935) in 1958. Matanovic still looks great (video from his 90th birthday celebrations), couldn't find new pictures of Ivkov but apparently he still writes books and articles and Panno is still in good health, too. Couldn't find new pictures of Olafsson, but he released a book a while ago. However Spassky, probably the most notable out of the people I've listed suffered strokes in 2006 and 2010, reported to be gravely ill in 2010 after his second stroke. Doesn't look great but I wouldn't be suprised if he'd still be alive in 10 years. Poor old Borislav Ivkov's king has toppled over: https://sport-blic-rs.translate.goog/ostali-sportovi/tuga-srbija-ostala-bez-velemajstora-pred-kojim-su-padali-svi-svetski-velikani/zd8jh0n?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arghton 6,918 Posted February 14, 2022 There are not a lot of octogenarian or nonagenarian Grandmasters currently because of the "title inflation": only 229 of the 1953 people given the Grandmaster title were born before 1950. Anyways, here are the living ones born before 1940: Yuri L. Averbakh (1922-2022, mentioned here multiple times) 100, peak FIDE rating 2550. Soviet Union, later Russia. Aleksandar Matanović (1930-2023, mentioned before) 91, peak FIDE rating 2525. Yugoslavia, later Serbia. Nikolai V. Krogius (1930-2022) 91, peak FIDE rating 2575. Soviet Union, later Russia. Also an international arbiter and coached Spassky. Juraj Nikolac (1932-) 89, peak FIDE rating 2500. Yugoslavia, later Croatia. Yair Kraidman (1932-) 89, peak FIDE rating known 2455(?). Israel. Most recent appearance possibly ca. 2020. Nikola Padevsky (1933-2023) 88, peak FIDE rating known 2460(?). Bulgaria. Klaus Darga (1934-) 87, peak FIDE rating 2540. West Germany, later Germany. Worked as a computer programmer for IBM after retiring. Friðrik Ólafsson (1935-, mentioned before) 87, peak FIDE rating 2600 and the oldest person who could be called a "Super Grandmaster." Iceland. Also the earliest living President of FIDE, served 1978 to 1982. Oscar Panno (1935-, mentioned before) 86, peak FIDE rating 2580. Argentina. Still very active as of 2022. Burkhard Malich (1936-) 85, peak FIDE rating 2535. East Germany, later Germany. As far as I know it's been a while since his last public appearance Boris V. Spassky (1937-, mentioned here multiple times) 85, peak FIDE rating 2690. Soviet Union, later France and now Germany. Oldest living World Champion and most notable person on this list. Has survived multiple strokes. Lajos Portisch (1937-) 84, peak FIDE rating 2655. Hungary, called the "Hungarian Botvinnik" and one of the strongest non-Soviet players of the 60s and 70s. Still looked great in March 2022. Enver Bukić (1937-2017) No English wiki page, apparently died off-radar in 2017. Highest FIDE rating known 2495. Yugoslavia, later Slovenia. Dražen Marović (1938-) 84, highest FIDE rating known 2485. Yugoslavia, later Croatia. Igor A. Zaitsev (1938-) 83, peak FIDE rating 2520. Soviet Union, later Russia. One of Karpov's trainers. Ivan Radulov (1939-) 83, peak FIDE rating 2530. Bulgaria. Hans-Joachim Hecht (1939-) 83, peak FIDE rating 2515. West Germany, later Germany. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,278 Posted May 7, 2022 On 08/02/2022 at 14:09, Ulitzer95 said: So Yuri Averbakh turns 100... Are the following players still alive? Anton Kinzel (b. 1921 or 1922) wiki Austrian Yakov Neishtaft (b. 1923) wiki Soviet-born Israeli Kaj Blom (b. 1925) wiki Danish So Yuri Averbakh turns dead: 4 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,278 Posted May 9, 2022 Yuri Averbakh gets an unusual DDP QO from the Financial Times @gcreptile: https://www.ft.com/content/14cce122-4b53-42ac-bea6-f45e4f1a165d 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,278 Posted June 5, 2022 Russian chess master and trainer Alexander Nikitin reported dead: https://ruchess.ru/en/news/all/alexander_nikitin_1935_2022_passed_away/ Trained notable names such as Garry Kasparov and was second to Boris Spassky in the revenge match against Bobby Fischer. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drol 12,210 Posted July 17, 2022 On 14/02/2022 at 22:50, arghton said: There are not a lot of octogenarian or nonagenarian Grandmasters currently because of the "title inflation": only 229 of the 1953 people given the Grandmaster title were born before 1950. Anyways, here are the living ones born before 1940: Yuri L. Averbakh (1922-2022, mentioned here multiple times) 100, peak FIDE rating 2550. Soviet Union, later Russia. Aleksandar Matanović (1930-, mentioned before) 91, peak FIDE rating 2525. Yugoslavia, later Serbia. Nikolai V. Krogius (1930-) 91, peak FIDE rating 2575. Soviet Union, later Russia. Also an international arbiter and coached Spassky. Juraj Nikolac (1932-) 89, peak FIDE rating 2500. Yugoslavia, later Croatia. Yair Kraidman (1932-) 89, peak FIDE rating known 2455(?). Israel. Nikola Padevsky (1933-) 88, peak FIDE rating known 2460(?). Bulgaria. Klaus Darga (1934-) 87, peak FIDE rating 2540. West Germany, later Germany. Worked as a computer programmer for IBM after retiring. Friðrik Ólafsson (1935-, mentioned before) 87, peak FIDE rating 2600 and the oldest person who could be called a "Super Grandmaster." Iceland. Also the earliest living President of FIDE, served 1978 to 1982. Oscar Panno (1935-, mentioned before) 86, peak FIDE rating 2580. Argentina. Burkhard Malich (1936-) 85, peak FIDE rating 2535. East Germany, later Germany. Boris V. Spassky (1937-, mentioned here multiple times) 85, peak FIDE rating 2690. Soviet Union, later France and now Germany. Oldest living World Champion and most notable person on this list. Lajos Portisch (1937-) 84, peak FIDE rating 2655. Hungary, called the "Hungarian Botvinnik" and one of the strongest non-Soviet players of the 60s and 70s. Enver Bukić (1937-2017) No English wiki page, apparently died in 2017. Highest FIDE rating known 2495. Yugoslavia, later Slovenia. Dražen Marović (1938-) 84, highest FIDE rating known 2485. Yugoslavia, later Croatia. Igor A. Zaitsev (1938-) 83, peak FIDE rating 2520. Soviet Union, later Russia. One of Karpov's trainers. Ivan Radulov (1939-) 83, peak FIDE rating 2530. Bulgaria. Hans-Joachim Hecht (1939-) 83, peak FIDE rating 2515. West Germany, later Germany. Nikolai Krogius dead at 91. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drol 12,210 Posted October 31, 2022 Anatoly Karpov in coma in ICU after getting his skull crushed outside the State Duma. 3 2 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
