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Borislav Ivkov
Ivkov 
Photography copyright © 2008, courtesy of chesspatzerblog.  

Number of games in database: 2,877
Years covered: 1947 to 2013
Last FIDE rating: 2402
Highest rating achieved in database: 2560
Overall record: +872 -335 =1634 (59.5%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 36 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 King's Indian (174) 
    E92 E60 E62 E91 E90
 Sicilian (142) 
    B92 B32 B36 B30 B45
 Ruy Lopez (137) 
    C84 C95 C78 C93 C96
 English (121) 
    A15 A13 A14 A12 A17
 Queen's Indian (110) 
    E19 E15 E17 E12 E16
 Ruy Lopez, Closed (73) 
    C84 C95 C93 C96 C90
With the Black pieces:
 Ruy Lopez (237) 
    C97 C92 C72 C84 C69
 Ruy Lopez, Closed (162) 
    C97 C92 C84 C91 C86
 French Defense (132) 
    C07 C16 C19 C02 C15
 Sicilian (129) 
    B92 B32 B30 B43 B22
 King's Indian (87) 
    E60 E62 E67 E75 E86
 Queen's Pawn Game (72) 
    A40 E00 A41 D02 E10
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Ivkov vs Portisch, 1961 1-0
   Ivkov vs D Ciric, 1963 1-0
   Najdorf vs Ivkov, 1955 1/2-1/2
   E Cobo Arteaga vs Ivkov, 1963 0-1
   Fischer vs Ivkov, 1959 0-1
   Radic vs Ivkov, 1948 0-1
   Ivkov vs J H Donner, 1965 1-0
   Ivkov vs I Kanko, 1963 1-0
   Szabo vs Ivkov, 1964 0-1
   Fischer vs Ivkov, 1965 0-1

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   World Junior Championship (1951)
   Mar del Plata (1955)
   Club Argentino (1955)
   Zagreb (1965)
   Santiago (1959)
   Havana (1965)
   Lima (1959)
   Yugoslav Championship (1963)
   Belgrade (1969)
   Zagreb (1955)
   Yugoslav Championship (1956)
   Raach Zonal (1969)
   Capablanca Memorial (1963)
   Capablanca Memorial (1962)
   Amsterdam Interzonal (1964)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   0ZeR0's Favorite Games Volume 47 by 0ZeR0
   0ZeR0's Favorite Games Volume 48 by 0ZeR0
   English by kefchess
   Havana 1962 by suenteus po 147

RECENT GAMES:
   🏆 Snowdrops - Oldhands
   A Kashlinskaya vs Ivkov (Dec-06-13) 1-0
   Ivkov vs V Cmilyte (Dec-05-13) 1/2-1/2
   Ivkov vs M Muzychuk (Dec-03-13) 1/2-1/2
   N Ziaziulkina vs Ivkov (Dec-02-13) 1/2-1/2
   Ivkov vs A Kashlinskaya (Dec-01-13) 1/2-1/2

Search Sacrifice Explorer for Borislav Ivkov
Search Google for Borislav Ivkov


BORISLAV IVKOV
(born Nov-12-1933, died Feb-14-2022, 88 years old) Yugoslavia (federation/nationality Serbia)
PRONUNCIATION:
[what is this?]

Borislav Ivkov was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He was awarded the Yugoslav National Master title in 1949, the IM title in 1954 and the GM title in 1955.

Tournaments: Ivkov won the Yugoslav Championship in 1958 (jointly with Svetozar Gligoric) with 12.5/19, 1963 (jointly with Mijo Udovcic) with 15/21, finally as sole winner in 1972 with 12/19.

His tournament wins include Mar del Plata 1955 with 11.5/15, ahead of Miguel Najdorf, Gligoric, Laszlo Szabo, Ludek Pachman, Oscar Panno and Herman Pilnik and Buenos Aires 1955 with 13/17, ahead of Gligoric, Pilnik, Szabó, Arthur Bisguier, Pachman, Hector Rossetto, Panno and Jan Hein Donner, which was also the year he won his GM title. Other tournament wins and near wins include Sarajevo 1958 with 7/11, Belgrade 1959 by 2.5 points with 9/11, =1st Lima 1959 with Pachman on 10.5/13, =1st at Santiago 1959 with Pachman, =1st at Beverwijk 1961 with Bent Larsen on 7.5/9; =2nd at Belgrade 1964; =1st at Zagreb 1965 with Wolfgang Uhlmann on 13.5/19, ahead of then World Champion Tigran V Petrosian, Lajos Portisch, Larsen, and David Bronstein, 2nd at Havana in 1965, Venice 1966 with 5/7, Eersel 1966 with 4/5, the 1966 Open Canadian Chess Championship, =1st at Sarajevo 1967 on 10.5/15 with Leonid Stein, =1st at Málaga 1968 with Drazen Marovic on 7.5/11, Stockholm 1970 with 6.5/9, =2nd at Wijk aan Zee 1971 behind Viktor Korchnoi, =1st at Amsterdam 1974 on 10/15 with Vlastimil Jansa and Vladimir Tukmakov, 2nd at Štip 1977 with 8.5/13, behind Vlastimil Hort, Cienfuegos 1985 with 10/13, =1st with Portisch at the Tigran Petrosian Memorial at Moscow 1999 with 5/9. He won the European Senior Championship in 2006 and came =3rd in the same event in 2008.

He played successfully in the 2007 Canadian Open in Ottawa scoring 6/10 and in the 2008 Canadian Open in 2008 with 5/9. Other recent participation in competitions was in the Belgrade Premier Leagues in October 2008 when he scored 4 points in 5 rounds (+3 =2 -0), in October 2010 (2.5/4) and October 2011 (1/1), the last when he was nearly 78.

Team events: The quintessential team player, Ivkov first represented Yugoslavia at the Student Olympiad in 1956 when he helped the team win bronze. Subsequently he represented his country 12 times in open Olympic competition between 1956 and 1980, winning 15 medals (6 team silvers, 4 team bronzes, 2 board golds, 2 board silvers and 1 board bronze). He also represented his country six times in European Team Championships, winning 3 team silver medals, a team bronze and a board gold.

World championship cycle: He was the first World Junior Champion in 1951. He subsequently played in 5 Interzonal tournaments in 1964, 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979. His result in the 1964 Interzonal in Amsterdam qualified him for the 1965 Candidates where he lost to Larsen 5.5-2.5. He just missed qualifying for the Candidates on the basis of his 1979 results.

Ranking: Ivkov was world number 9 in 1956, and was in the world's top forty between 1955 and 1975. He was also long time Yugoslavian number two after Gligoric.

Ivkov was awarded the International Arbiter title in 1986.

Wikipedia article: Borislav Ivkov

Last updated: 2023-09-03 09:54:08

 page 1 of 116; games 1-25 of 2,882  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Ivkov vs B Milenkovic  1-0321947Serbian Junior ChampionshipC91 Ruy Lopez, Closed
2. V Miholic vs Ivkov  0-1351947Yugoslav Junior Championship 1947/48A07 King's Indian Attack
3. Radic vs Ivkov 0-1131948YUGD23 Queen's Gambit Accepted
4. S Vrhovec vs Ivkov  0-1391948Yugoslav Junior Championship 1947/48C04 French, Tarrasch, Guimard Main line
5. B Lazarevic vs Ivkov  0-1321948Serbian Junior ChampionshipA03 Bird's Opening
6. Ivkov vs R Krstic  1-0411948Serbian Junior ChampionshipC18 French, Winawer
7. S Nedeljkovic vs Ivkov  1-0891949Belgrade ChampionshipB59 Sicilian, Boleslavsky Variation, 7.Nb3
8. D Andric vs Ivkov  1-0271949Belgrade ChampionshipD27 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical
9. Ivkov vs A Bozic  1-0301949Belgrade ChampionshipE68 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Classical Variation, 8.e4
10. Ivkov vs B Gruber  1-0251949YUG-ch Semifinal EastD49 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, Meran
11. S Kalabar vs Ivkov  0-1251949YUG-ch Semifinal EastA04 Reti Opening
12. Ivkov vs D Avirovic 0-1461949YUG-ch Semifinal EastE48 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5
13. Ivkov vs Kostic  ½-½421949Yugoslav ChampionshipD38 Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin Variation
14. Gligoric vs Ivkov  ½-½401949Yugoslav ChampionshipC90 Ruy Lopez, Closed
15. Ivkov vs P Trifunovic  ½-½491949Yugoslav ChampionshipC05 French, Tarrasch
16. M Germek vs Ivkov  ½-½461949Yugoslav ChampionshipD11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
17. Ivkov vs Janosevic  1-0451949Yugoslav ChampionshipD99 Grunfeld Defense, Smyslov
18. Ivkov vs A Fuderer  0-1361949Yugoslav ChampionshipC81 Ruy Lopez, Open, Howell Attack
19. D Avirovic vs Ivkov  0-1441949Yugoslav ChampionshipD02 Queen's Pawn Game
20. Ivkov vs N Karaklajic ½-½231949Yugoslav ChampionshipC42 Petrov Defense
21. B Milic vs Ivkov  1-0461949Yugoslav ChampionshipE62 King's Indian, Fianchetto
22. Ivkov vs Pirc ½-½281949Yugoslav ChampionshipB00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening
23. B Tot vs Ivkov  0-1421949Yugoslav ChampionshipD83 Grunfeld, Grunfeld Gambit
24. Ivkov vs V Tomovic  0-1731949Yugoslav ChampionshipC55 Two Knights Defense
25. B Rabar vs Ivkov  ½-½381949Yugoslav ChampionshipD70 Neo-Grunfeld Defense
 page 1 of 116; games 1-25 of 2,882  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Ivkov wins | Ivkov loses  
 

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 4 OF 4 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Jul-03-14  zydeco: Other grandmasters thought very highly of Ivkov, who was apparently a wonderful talent. In his autobiography, Tal mentions that he and his seconds (along with most experts) were convinced that Ivkov was going to win his 1965 match against Larsen -- before Larsen demolished him. Larsen, for his part, lists Ivkov among the eight best players in the world in 1968, ahead of Geller, Keres, Gligoric, and Stein: http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/...

Ivkov may be one of the all-time great underachievers. He was pegged to be in the world's elite for a long time, and occasionally had a dominating tournament (especially Zagreb 1965) but never put together a really consistent string of results, especially in the world-title cycle.

In his autobiography, Gligoric in part blames Ivkov for his own poor result at Buenos Aires 1960. Gligoric claims that Ivkov, his roommate for the tournament, "forced upon me his own way of life - in bed until 2 o'clock, a quick lunch, and then play at 3."

May-11-15  TheFocus: <To prevent the threatened Marshall Gambit I always play this move. If Fischer on principle always allows the gambit, which has been revived by Spassky, I avoid it - also on principle!> - upon playing 8.a4 - Borislav Ivkov.
Mar-18-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: Have you ever thought about his name?

It's basically BOR followed by about 10 suffixes.

Apr-28-16  diagonal: This man is a legend and forever the first World Junior Chess Champion, 1951 in Birmingham, clear first in a swiss system: http://www.brasilbase.pro.br/w20b19...
Aug-04-16  brankat: Didn't he also win the World Senior's Championship some 55 years later, ahead of Korchnoi?
Nov-12-18  Ironmanth: Happy birthday, Grandmaster. Long time fan. Many happy returns of the day, sir!
Nov-12-18  Marmot PFL: Is Ivkov the world's oldest GM now? Probably not but I can't recall an older one offhand.
Nov-12-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  paulalbert: GM Yuri Averbakh, 96 years old, is still alive.

After Ivkov, Boris Spassky, 81, is maybe the next oldest of the world class GMs.

Perhaps I have forgotten someone but, not too many left from the pre Fischer, Soviet and Eastern Europe dominated period of chess.

Nov-12-18  Marmot PFL: Benko is 90, should have remembered him too.
Nov-12-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  paulalbert: You're right!! I forgot Pal Benko and his being of Hungarian origin, I should have been reminded to also think of GM Lajos Portisch, 81, definitely among the elite players when at his peak.
Nov-12-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  alexmagnus: Ivkov is not even close to the oldest GM. I always track the top 3 - currently these are Averbakh, Benko and Matanovic.

Ivkov is though, after Averbakh and Benko, the third oldest living Candidate.

Nov-12-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  alexmagnus: Top 10 oldest living GMs:

1. Averbakh
2. Benko
3. Matanovic
4. Krogius
5. Nikolac
6. Kraidman
7. Padevsky
8. Penrose
9. Ivkov
10. Darga

Top 10 oldest living Candidates:

1. Averbakh
2. Benko
3. Ivkov
4. Olafsson
5. Panno
6. Uhlmann
7. Spassky
8. Portisch
9. Hort
10. Hübner

Aug-26-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  gezafan: Ivkov was name checked on an episode of Mr. Ed in which Mr. Ed names the participants of the 1965 Candidate's Matches.
Feb-14-22  dejandjakovic: Sad news.

Borislav Bora Ivkov passed away today in Belgrade.

Rest in peace, Bora!

Feb-14-22  Albertan: https://www.fide.com/news/1575

R.I.P.

Feb-15-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  0ZeR0: Rest in peace, GM Ivkov.
Feb-15-22  Eastfrisian: Sad news. RIP.
Feb-15-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  Messiah: Rest in peace, Grandmaster.

In my younghood the trainer suggested there is no better way to learn the philosophy behind openings than analysing Ivkov's approach to the first 10-20 moves. Although I disagree with this suggestion, it is very clear that Borislav Ivkov's contribution to chess is huge, and will not be forgotten as it cannot be forgotten.

Feb-15-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  alexmagnus: At death he was the second oldest living Candidate.

The new top-3 is Averbakh, Olafsson, Panno.

Feb-15-22  Granny O Doul: I was feeling sorry I hadn't asked Ivkov to sign my Yugoslav Chess Triumphs at that 1988 New York Open but I see now that he rather bombed that tournament (-2) so I'm glad I didn't bother him.
Feb-16-22  Albertan: Remembering Borislav Ivkov (12 Nov. 1933-14 Feb. 2022):

https://en.chessbase.com/post/remem...

Boris Ivkov 1933-2022:

https://www.chess.com/news/view/bor...

Feb-16-22  Captain Hindsight: All this makes me sad.
Feb-16-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: <Captain Hindsight: All this makes me sad.>

Don't be sad, Captain. We're all gonna die. Most of us won't live so long, nor do so much, as Ivkov. Besides all his chess success, he married Miss Mar del Plata 1954/55!

https://en.chessbase.com/portals/al...

This obit by Milan Dinic, posted by Albertan, gave me a greater appreciation for him as a person.

https://www.fide.com/news/1575

Feb-17-22  wordfunph: GM Bora, rest in peace.
Mar-10-22  Captain Hindsight: <keypusher> Thank you very much for your positive message. This has me then but again cheered up a bit
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