A Cigar

...(metaphorically) to whomever can identify this now-deceased IM.  The photo is circa 1976.

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Vitolinsh?

no sir.

I'm idiot, that set looks western.

He was from California.

It's not John Grefe is it?

You're on the right track...

here's Grefe, also 1976:
(IM Silman's article upon Grefe's death)

I knew he had long hair,  just thought it might have been shorter at one point. 

Jack Peters?

I have seen another picture that looks similar but that person is a GM now and still alive from what I can tell (of course, the picture could be misattributed.)

Wow, that's an interesting guess... interesting but wrong.

He's alive...

Yes he is. :-D

To be honest, about that time only Soviets sound familiar to me.

Well, here's the cigar should you succeed.

Did he pass away in 2015? I have a guess but I'm not finding old pictures of the player. 

No, he died from cancer 5 years ago at a relatively young age.

Ok, then I'm probably way off track.