The legendary grandmaster Borislav Bora Ivkov died
The chess world is in sorrow after the grandmaster Borislav Bora Ivkov died tonight in Belgrade at the age of 89.
Ivkov was born in Belgrade in 1933, and fell in love with chess at the age of 10. In 1951 he became the first world youth champion, while in 2006 he was European champion in the veterans' competition.
Borislav Bora Ivkov received the title of chess master at the age of 16, while he became a grandmaster in 1955 at the age of only 22. He has won 10 Olympic medals, five medals from world and European championships, and three times was the champion of SFR Yugoslavia.
We hear with regret that Borislav Ivkov has succumbed to the universal conqueror, having reached the unusual age of fourscore years and nine. pic.twitter.com/sxhwLNC4q8
- Howard Staunton (@HowardStaunton) February 14, 2022
Ivkov together with Svetozar Gligoric are the only chess players from the former SFR Yugoslavia who played for the world champion title.
In 1965, Ivkov was defeated by the Swede Larsen in the title match, and five years later he was part of the rest of the world team that played the match of the century in Belgrade against the former USSR.
Borislav Bora Ivkov is the author of numerous chess books such as "My 60 years in chess", "Black and white", "Parallels 1 and 2"…