Stahlberg Guideon Anders Tom (26.01.1908 – 25.05.1967)

Swedish Grandmaster (1950), International Arbiter (1951), the chief arbiter of five world championship matches between 1957 and 1963. Chess author. Stahlberg lived in Argentina from 1939 until 1948.

Twice a participant in the Candidates’ Matches, in 1950 he finished seventh and in 1953, the fifteenth,
In the Interzonal Tournament of 1948, he finished equal sixth; in 1952, equal fifth, and in 1955, equal seventeenth.
Stahlberg took part in the Olympiads as a member of the Swedish Team during the period 1928 to 1964. In his overall performance in over 200 games, he achieved 61%. Four times between 1927 and 1939, he became the Champion of Sweden and three times he won the Northern Country Championship.

Best results: winner or equal first in Djor in 1930 and Nindorf 1934, Helsinki 1935, Buenos Aires 1941, Mar del Plata 1941, Trnava 1949, Goteborg 1957-58 and Bevervijk 1956.

In the matches, he beat Aron Nimtzovitsch by 4-3 in 1930, beat Rudolf Spielmann 5-3 in 1933, drew a match with Paul Keres 4-4 in 1938, and was defeated by Efim Bogoljubow ½ –3½ in 1930 and lost 3-5 in 1933; he lost also to Reuben Fine by 3-5, and lost to Svetozar Gligoric 5½-6½ in 1949.

Stahlberg was a good master of attacks, very creative in defence, was characterised by a high technique of play. He was very witty and charming, he liked good living, was a quite strong bridge player, a man of wide interests, a connoisseur of wine.

The author of Chess and Chessmasters (1937), I kamp med Varldseliten (1958) including 53 of his games. Lajos Steiner said: The words of a simple player applies to no other player, as much as to Stahlberg’s game.

Named the father of Swedish chess, he died on 25 May 1967 when he was participating in the Leningrad Tournament.