Ivkov Borislav (12.11.1933)

Serbian Grandmaster (1955). International Arbiter (1986). European Senior Champion in 2006.

He learned chess in his early childhood and were obvious he was possessed of an extraordinary talent. At 15 he made ready an outstanding result of 8-0 as a participant of Crvena at the Yugoslavian team championship. Awarded with the national title in 1949 he will be remembered as the first World Junior Champion at Birmingham in 1951.  Three wins in Yugoslav championship in 1958, 1963 and 1972 made him one of the giant of the Yugoslav chess with Svetozar Gligoric and Alexander Matanovic.

Best results: winner or shared first at Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata in 1955, Bognor Regis 1958, Sarajevo, Lima and Santiago in 1959, Beverwijk 1961 Venice 1966, Malaga 1968, Belgrade 1969, Amsterdam 1974, Turin 1983, Havana 1985, Cannes 1989 and La Corogne 1990, Cannes 1995 and Moscow Petrosian Memorial 1999.

A participant in seven Zonals and five Interzonals (1964, 1967, 1970, 1973 and 1979) with generally good scores. In 1985 he qualified for the Candidates but was defeated by Bent Larsen in the quarterfinal match. A member of the Rest of the World team in 1970 he had to faced Paul Keres but lost 1-3.
Ivkov represented his country in 12 Olympiads from 1956 till 1980. All together he was awarded 6 silver and 4 bronze medals. He got also 3 silver and one bronze medal at European Team Championships.
Ivkov defeated five World Champions: Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, Bobby Fischer, and Anatoly Karpov.

Peak rating: 2540 in 1981.