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Aleksandar Matanović

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Aleksandar Matanović
Matanović competing in 1961
CountrySerbia
Born(1930-05-23)23 May 1930
Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Died9 August 2023(2023-08-09) (aged 93)
TitleGrandmaster (1955)
Peak rating2525 (January 1976)

Aleksandar Matanović (Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: Александар Матановић; 23 May 1930 – 9 August 2023) was a Serbian chess grandmaster and the founding editor-in-chief of Chess Informant, which publishes the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings.

Chess career

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Matanović was junior champion of Yugoslavia in 1948 and awarded the GM title in 1955. He was Yugoslav national champion in 1962 (joint with Minić), 1969 and 1978 (he took second place in 1956 and 1959).[1][2][3][4][5][6]

His main tournament results included second place at the Vrnjacka Banja zonal tournament 1967, first place at Opatija 1953, second at Belgrade 1954, first at Hamburg 1955, first at Beverwijk 1957, tied for first at Buenos Aires 1961, first at Zevenaar 1961 and second at Jerusalem 1964. He had an Elo rating of 2490,[7] and was one of just a few living players in the world with Morphy Number 3. Following the death of Yuri Averbakh at the age of 100 on 7 May 2022, Matanović became the oldest living grandmaster.[8]

Aleksandar Matanović
Medal record
Representing  Yugoslavia
Men's chess
Olympiad
Bronze medal – third place 1954 Amsterdam Open team
Bronze medal – third place 1954 Amsterdam Individual board 2nd reserve[9]
Silver medal – second place 1956 Moscow Open team
Silver medal – second place 1956 Moscow Individual board 2[10]
Silver medal – second place 1958 Munich Open team
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Leipzig Open team
Silver medal – second place 1962 Varna Open team
Silver medal – second place 1964 Tel Aviv Open team
Silver medal – second place 1966 Havana Individual board 4[11]
Silver medal – second place 1968 Lugano Open team
Bronze medal – third place 1970 Siegen Open team
Gold medal – first place 1970 Siegen Individual board 4
Bronze medal – third place 1972 Skopje Open team
European Championship[12]
Silver medal – second place 1957 Vienna Open team
Silver medal – second place 1961 Oberhausen Open team
Silver medal – second place 1965 Hamburg Open team
Silver medal – second place 1973 Bath Open team
Bronze medal – third place 1977 Moscow Open team
Silver medal – second place 1977 Moscow Individual board 3[13]

Matanović earned the first of his 11 selections to the Yugoslav Olympiad team in 1954, and was a member of the national team continuously through 1972. This was during a period when Yugoslavia was usually among the top three chess countries. He won a total of nine team medals and four board medals during his career[14].

Matanović 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 five team medals and one board medal in Euroteams events[15].

  • Vienna 1957: board 2, 2½/6 (+0 =5 −1), team silver;
  • Oberhausen 1961: board 3, 7/10 (+4 =6 −0), team silver;
  • Hamburg 1965: board 3, 5½/10 (+3 =5 −2), team silver;
  • Bath 1973: board 4, 4/7 (+1 =6 −0), team silver;
  • Moscow 1977: board 3, 3/6 (+1 =4 −1), board silver, team bronze;

Matanović was the author of leading chess encyclopedias and the founding editor-in-chief of Chess Informant, a position he held from 1966. He was also a radio announcer and producer.

Death

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Aleksandar Matanović died on 9 August 2023, at the age of 93.[16][17]

Bibliography

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Citations

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  1. ^ Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1996) [First pub. 1992], The Oxford Companion to Chess (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 251, ISBN 0-19-280049-3
  2. ^ Matanović, Aleksander, ed. (1996), Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, Belgrade: Sahovski Informator
  3. ^ https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=39910
  4. ^ https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=42542
  5. ^ https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=42548
  6. ^ https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=90839
  7. ^ Matanovic, Aleksandar FIDE Online Chess Personal card
  8. ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (16 May 2022). "Yuri Averbakh, 1922-2022". Chess.com. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  9. ^ https://www.olimpbase.org/1954/1954in.html
  10. ^ https://www.olimpbase.org/1956/1956in.html
  11. ^ https://www.olimpbase.org/1966/1966in.html
  12. ^ https://www.olimpbase.org/index.php?https%3A%2F%2Fwww.olimpbase.org%2Fworldteam%2Feuro_results.html
  13. ^ https://www.olimpbase.org/1977e/1977in.html
  14. ^ https://www.olimpbase.org/players/4s0i88ml.html
  15. ^ https://www.olimpbase.org/playerse/4s0i88ml.html
  16. ^ "Preminuo Aleksandar Matanović, simbol zlatnog doba našeg šaha". Danas. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  17. ^ Chessbase.com: Remembering Aleksandar Matanovic (1930-2023)

References

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  • Adriano Chicco, Giorgio Porreca: Dizionario enciclopedico degli scacchi, Mursia, Milano 1971.
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