Svetozar Gligorić – From Carved Cork Pieces to Global Chess Fame

🌱 Humble Origins on the Banks of the Sava and Danube

Svetozar Gligorić was born in Belgrade in 1923. His father died when he was only nine years old. Raised by his mother — a beautiful and intelligent woman, though lacking formal education — Gligorić spent his early years in modest circumstances. He would often roam the banks of the Sava and Danube, the rivers that embrace Belgrade, drawn to their vastness and possibilities.

His fascination with chess came slowly, almost by accident. In his autobiographical book I Play Against Pieces, Gligorić recalled:

“I remember how, on my way home to our attic apartment, I would stop in front of a tavern nearby. Pressed against the window, I stared at what seemed to me a magical, mysterious contest on the other side of the glass. That daily ‘ritual of longing’ lasted two or three years.
I don’t even know how I eventually learned the rules of chess — painfully late — when I was about eleven.”

 A Broken Arm and the Birth of a Chess Career

At age thirteen, Gligorić broke his arm during the summer. The injury pulled him away from football — his first passion — and led him to discover chess more seriously. He began to study from textbooks, cutting out annotated games from newspapers and building his own small chess library.

With a friend, he entered the Belgrade Youth Championship. He didn’t achieve notable success, but the competitive atmosphere captivated him. Soon after, he competed in the championship of the First Men’s Real Gymnasium, placing second.

Unable to afford chess equipment, he made his own. He carved pieces out of wine corks and drew a board using school ink meant for art class.

🧒 The Rise of a Prodigy

At the next youth championship, Gligorić played much better. In the semifinals, he won a game after which his young opponent burst into tears. Unsure how to react, Gligorić retracted his move — and although against the rules, the game continued. This time, he made a mistake, and his opponent reached the final.

But the scene had been noticed by the tournament director, Voja Popović, who invited Gligorić into the final anyway. There, he won decisively and became the Youth Champion of Belgrade.

In 1938, he won the city’s under-18 championship. Then, at just sixteen, he stunned the adult players by winning the Belgrade Chess Club Championship.

That victory earned him a place at the Amateur Championship of Yugoslavia, held in Zagreb. There, the teenager triumphed again and was awarded the national master title.

☠️ War and the Silence of the Board

At the end of 1940, Gligorić’s mother passed away at just 37 years old. Only months later, on April 6, 1941, Hitler’s forces invaded Yugoslavia without a declaration of war. For four years, chess disappeared from Gligorić’s life.

He joined the Partisan resistance and became an officer. After the war, using his position and influence, he helped revive the chess scene in Belgrade. He founded a Chess House, organized the Belgrade City Championship, and soon after, the National Championship in Novi Sad. At both events, he finished second — just behind Dr. Petar Trifunović.

💍 Love and the First Major Triumph

At the age of 24, Gligorić married Danica, the sister of a school friend. She knew him as a journalist for the Borba newspaper, but it wasn’t until he traveled to Warsaw for a chess tournament that she realized he was also a serious competitor.

In Warsaw, Gligorić caused a sensation by winning ahead of Vassily Smyslov and Isaac Boleslavsky, two giants of the Soviet school. That victory shook the chess world and marked the true beginning of Gligorić’s international ascent.

This was only the beginning. Gligorić would go on to represent Yugoslavia in 15 Chess Olympiads, win more than 60 international tournaments, and become the world’s leading expert on the King’s Indian Defense. But behind the triumphs was always the boy from the attic, carving cork pieces and pressing his nose against tavern windows — dreaming of a game he didn’t yet know how to play.

🏅 Chess Career Renaissance

Gligorić’s rebirth took form in Warsaw 1947, where he triumphed over Soviet giants Smyslov and Boleslavsky, officially announcing his status as a global force (independent.co.uk). He earned the titles of International Master (1950) and Grandmaster (1951) (en.wikipedia.org). His consistent performance included:

• Leading Yugoslavia to team gold at the 1950 Dubrovnik Olympiad, and many more medals over the next decades (wikipedia.nucleos.com).

• Three-time Candidates participant (1953, 1959, 1968), narrowly falling short of the World Championship.

• Victories at major events: Hastings (multiple years), Mar del Plata (where he launched the legendary variation), Stockholm 1954, Belgrade 1964, Manila 1968, and Lone Pine (1972, 1979) (wikipedia.nucleos.com).

• Ranked in the world top 10 throughout the 1950s and 60s .

♔ The Father of the Mar del Plata Variation

Gligorić's theoretical legacy is profound. He developed key systems in the King’s Indian Defense, Ruy Lopez, and Nimzo-Indian (wikipedia.nucleos.com). His crowning contribution—the Mar del Plata Variation—was introduced in 1953 with devastating wins over Najdorf and Eliskases (en.wikipedia.org). Today it remains a staple of grandmaster repertoires.

🕴️ A Distinguished Presence

Svetozar Gligorić had a strong, masculine appearance, like a Hollywood leading man from the Golden Age of cinema. He looked confident and commanding, a sharp contrast to many of today’s top grandmasters, who often come across as meek, awkward, or like sidekicks—essentially the doubles of the geeky characters Sheldon, Raj, Howard, and Leonard from The Big Bang Theory. Unlike these modern “soft” types, Gligorić embodied the image of a true chess master—both intellectually and in presence.

🤝 Friendship, Sportsmanship, and Legacy

Gligorić was admired for his integrity. He befriended rising star Bobby Fischer, helping him prepare in 1958 and later persuading him to return for the famed 1992 Fischer–Spassky rematch in Belgrade and Sveti Stefan—where Gligorić served as an indispensable liaison and arbiter (independent.co.uk). He was a regular commentator at Reykjavik 1972, authoring a bestselling first-hand account of the "Match of the Century" .

His dignified sportsmanship was honored by FIDE in 2019, when they created the Gligorić Fair Play Trophy (wikipedia.nucleos.com).

🎵 Beyond Chess: A Cultural Renaissance

In his later years, Gligorić rekindled his love for music. At age 88, he released “How I Survived the Twentieth Century”, a personal tribute blending jazz, blues, ballads—and yes, even a touch of rap (en.chessbase.com).

He also pursued composition seriously, drawing parallels between chess and music: “Each note is a move and from these elements you create your own architecture with known rules” (independent.co.uk).

♟️ Devotion Until the Very End

Even in his later years, Gligorić remained committed to chess. He continued participating in the Yugoslav Championships as a veteran, though his results were no longer his primary concern. His presence alone served as an inspiration to younger players, and his composure remained dignified and calm as ever. At times, while waiting for his opponent to make a move, he would doze off on the terrace of the hotel—under the sun or in the shade of a linden tree—with the chessboard in his mind rather than before his eyes. Victory no longer mattered. What mattered was being part of the game, of the community he helped build. As always, he was playing against the pieces—not the people.

🛡️ The Night of the Burglary – A Lasting Wound

In January 2003, the world watched in stunned disbelief when Svetozar Gligorić—aged 79—was violently attacked in his own Belgrade home. Masked burglars broke in during the night, tied him up, and brutally beat him while he slept (chessable.com). They stole not only money and jewelry, but also chess trophies and medals—the symbols of a lifetime of sacrifice and achievement.

Gligorić sustained serious injuries, waking up with a shattered sense of security and a black eye—a visible sign of the violence inflicted upon him (scribd.com). This attack on a revered national figure was not just a physical crime—it was a profound moral violation. It felt like an assault on his identity, dignity, and the entire community that revered him.

🕊️ A Gentle Farewell

Svetozar Gligorić passed away on August 14, 2012, aged 89, in Belgrade, after a stroke (en.chessbase.com). He was laid to rest in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens at the New Cemetery. His life was celebrated through documentaries such as Gligorić’s Mar del Plata – The King’s Indian Variation, award-winning biographies, and tributes from FIDE and Serbian leaders (wikipedia.nucleos.com).

🏁 Final Thoughts for the Modern Reader

When you encounter the term Gligorić Variation, know it represents more than a chess opening: it is the embodiment of a life forged in adversity, honed in conflict, and refined by art. In chess history, his name stands beside Tito, Tal, Fischer—a man who was not just a grandmaster of the board, but a grandmaster of life.