Victor Ciocâltea
Encyclopedia
Victor Ciocâltea was a Romanian
chess
master. He was awarded the International Master title in 1957 and the International Grandmaster title in 1978. Among his notable games is the one at the 16th Chess Olympiad
, held in Varna
in 1962, where he defeated Bobby Fischer
.
in 1952, 1959, 1961, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, and 1979. He played for Romania in eleven Chess Olympiad
s from 1956 to 1982.
He was a participant of four zonal FIDE tournaments (1954–1982). In 1954, he took 14th in Mariánské Lázně
–Prague
(Luděk Pachman
won). In 1967, he took 15th in Halle
(Lajos Portisch
won). In 1972, he tied for 5-7th in Vrnjačka Banja
. In 1982, he tied for 19-20th in Băile Herculane
(Zoltán Ribli
won).
In 1953, he tied for 11-12th in Bucharest (Alexander Tolush
won). In 1954, he 16th in Bucharest (Viktor Korchnoi
won). In 1956, he took 3rd, behind Yuri Averbakh
and Ratmir Kholmov
, in Dresden
. In 1956, he took 14th in Moscow (Alekhine
Memorial; Mikhail Botvinnik
won). In 1962, he took 9th in Havana
(Capablanca
Memorial; Miguel Najdorf
won). In 1962, he tied for 1st-2nd in Sofia
. In 1962, he tied for 3rd-4th in Belgrade
(Svetozar Gligorić
won).
In 1965, Ciocâltea took 16th in Havana
(Capablanca Memorial; Vasily Smyslov
won). In 1966, he took 2nd in Zinnowitz
. In 1966/67, he tied for 1st-2nd with Dragoljub Čirić
in Reggio Emilia
. In 1968, he took 6th in Netanya
(Bobby Fischer won). In 1968/69, he tied for 1st-4th in Reggio Emilia. In 1970, he took 13th in Caracas
(Lubomir Kavalek won). In 1971, he tied for 3rd-4th in Málaga
(Arturo Pomar
won).
In 1973, he won in Tunis
. In 1974, he tied for 1st with László Szabó
in Dortmund
. In 1975, he won in Bucharest. In 1979, he won in Satu Mare. In 1980, he won in Călimăneşti
. In 1981, he won in Val Thorens
. In 1981, he tied for 2nd-4th in Barcelona
. In 1983, he tied for 6-8th in Netanya (Miguel Quinteros
won). Ciocâltea died at the chess table, while playing a chess game at a Spanish tournament in September 1983.
Sports Association organizes the annual Victor Ciocâltea Memorial, the strongest chess competition in Romania.
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
master. He was awarded the International Master title in 1957 and the International Grandmaster title in 1978. Among his notable games is the one at the 16th Chess Olympiad
16th Chess Olympiad
The 16th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between November 2 and November 25, 1964, in Tel Aviv, Israel.-References:* OlimpBase...
, held in Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
in 1962, where he defeated Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
.
Biography
Ciocâltea was Romanian ChampionRomanian Chess Championship
The Romanian Chess Championship became a yearly even in 1946, and was held irregularly earlier. A series of national eliminating contests are played to select a 20-player field for the men's final...
in 1952, 1959, 1961, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, and 1979. He played for Romania in eleven Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s from 1956 to 1982.
He was a participant of four zonal FIDE tournaments (1954–1982). In 1954, he took 14th in Mariánské Lázně
Mariánské Lázne
Mariánské Lázně is a spa town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. The town, surrounded by green mountains, is a mosaic of parks and noble houses...
–Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(Luděk Pachman
Ludek Pachman
Luděk Pachman was a Czechoslovak-German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and political activist. In 1972, after being imprisoned and tortured almost to death by the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, he was allowed to emigrate to West Germany...
won). In 1967, he took 15th in Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
(Lajos Portisch
Lajos Portisch
Lajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...
won). In 1972, he tied for 5-7th in Vrnjačka Banja
Vrnjacka Banja
Vrnjačka Banja is a town, municipality, and a resort, mineral spa located in Raška District of Serbia. It contains the world's only hot spring with a temperature measuring exactly that of the human body ....
. In 1982, he tied for 19-20th in Băile Herculane
Baile Herculane
Băile Herculane is a town in Romanian Banat, in Caraş-Severin County, situated in the valley of the Cerna River, between the Mehedinţi Mountains to the east and the Cerna Mountains to the west, elevation 168 meters. Its current population is approximately 6,000...
(Zoltán Ribli
Zoltan Ribli
Zoltán Ribli is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and International Arbiter . He was twice a World Championship Candidate and three times Hungarian Champion.-A career in chess:...
won).
In 1953, he tied for 11-12th in Bucharest (Alexander Tolush
Alexander Tolush
Alexander Kazimirovich Tolush was a Soviet Russian chess grandmaster. He was one of Boris Spassky's mentors. Tolush was born and died in Saint Petersburg...
won). In 1954, he 16th in Bucharest (Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
won). In 1956, he took 3rd, behind Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Lvovich Averbakh is a Soviet and Russian chess player and author. He is currently the oldest living chess grandmaster.-Life and career:...
and Ratmir Kholmov
Ratmir Kholmov
Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov was a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his career, and tied for the Soviet Championship title in 1963, but lost the playoff...
, in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. In 1956, he took 14th in Moscow (Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
Memorial; Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
won). In 1962, he took 9th in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
(Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
Memorial; Miguel Najdorf
Miguel Najdorf
Miguel Najdorf was a Polish-born Argentine chess grandmaster of Jewish origin, famous for his Najdorf Variation....
won). In 1962, he tied for 1st-2nd in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
. In 1962, he tied for 3rd-4th in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
(Svetozar Gligorić
Svetozar Gligoric
Svetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
won).
In 1965, Ciocâltea took 16th in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
(Capablanca Memorial; Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
won). In 1966, he took 2nd in Zinnowitz
Zinnowitz
Zinnowitz is a spa town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the northern German island of Usedom on the Baltic Sea. The town has rail connections to Wolgast and Ahlbeck.-History:...
. In 1966/67, he tied for 1st-2nd with Dragoljub Čirić
Dragoljub Čirić
Dragoljub Miladin Čirić in Novi Sad) is a former Yugoslavian, now Serbian, chess Grandmaster.- Background :Čirić gained the title of International Master in 1961 and became a Grandmaster in 1965....
in Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia chess tournament
The Reggio Emilia chess tournament is a chess tournament played in Reggio Emilia, Italy. In Italian the tournament is called Torneo di Capodanno , as it starts just after Christmas and ends on the day of Epiphany...
. In 1968, he took 6th in Netanya
Netanya
Netanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...
(Bobby Fischer won). In 1968/69, he tied for 1st-4th in Reggio Emilia. In 1970, he took 13th in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
(Lubomir Kavalek won). In 1971, he tied for 3rd-4th in Málaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
(Arturo Pomar
Arturo Pomar
Arturo Pomar Salamanca is a Spanish chess Grandmaster .A chess prodigy , and a pupil of Alexander Alekhine, he became quite famous...
won).
In 1973, he won in Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
. In 1974, he tied for 1st with László Szabó
László Szabó (chess player)
László Szabó was a prominent Hungarian Grandmaster of chess.Born in Budapest, he burst onto the international chess scene in 1935, at the unusually young age of 18...
in Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
. In 1975, he won in Bucharest. In 1979, he won in Satu Mare. In 1980, he won in Călimăneşti
Calimanesti
Călimănești, often known as Călimănești-Căciulata, is a town in Vâlcea County, southern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Oltenia and the northern part of the county, on the traditional route connecting the region to Transylvania, and at the southern end of the Olt River valley...
. In 1981, he won in Val Thorens
Val Thorens
Val Thorens, located in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, French Alps, is the highest ski resort in Europe, at 2300 m altitude. It is located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in the Savoie département...
. In 1981, he tied for 2nd-4th in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. In 1983, he tied for 6-8th in Netanya (Miguel Quinteros
Miguel Quinteros
Miguel Quinteros is an Argentine chess grandmaster.He won the Argentine Chess Championship at the age of 18 and in 1969 took eighth place at the Mar del Plata Zonal tournament...
won). Ciocâltea died at the chess table, while playing a chess game at a Spanish tournament in September 1983.
Victor Ciocâltea Memorial
Starting in 1984, the RATBRegia Autonoma de Transport Bucuresti
Regia Autonomă de Transport Bucureşti is a public transport operator in Bucharest, Romania. It operates a complex network of buses, trams and trolleybuses – in fact, all public transport except the Bucharest Metro, which is managed by Metrorex...
Sports Association organizes the annual Victor Ciocâltea Memorial, the strongest chess competition in Romania.
Notable chess games
- Victor Ciocaltea vs Robert James Fischer, Varna 1962, 15th Olympiad, Sicilian, Fianchetto, B50, 1-0
- Victor Ciocâltea vs László Szabó, Hamburg 1965, EU-ch T, Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer Defense, C94, 1-0
- Victor Ciocaltea vs Nona Gaprindashvili, Beverwijk 1969, Modern Defense, Standard Defense, B06, 1-0
- Miguel Quinteros vs Victor Ciocaltea, Málaga 1971, King's Indian, Fianchetto, E62, 0-1