Anders Gideon Tom Ståhlberg (26 January 1908 – 26 May 1967) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

player. He was among the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. He won the

Swedish Chess Championship The first Swedish Champion was Gustaf Nyholm, who won two matches against winners of national tournaments: Berndtsson in Göteborg and Löwenborg in Stockholm in 1917. Up until 1931 Swedish Chess Championships decided by match play. In the 1930s, G ...

of 1927, became Nordic champion in 1929, and held it until 1939. Ståhlberg came to fame when he won matches against star players

Rudolf Spielmann Rudolf Spielmann (5 May 1883 – 20 August 1942) was a Jewish-Austrian chess player of the romantic school, and chess writer. Career Spielmann was born in 1883, third child of Moritz and Cecilia Spielmann, and had a younger brother Edgar, an ol ...

and

Aron Nimzowitsch Aron Nimzowitsch ( lv, Ārons Nimcovičs, russian: Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич, ''Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich''; 7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935) was a Latvian-born Danish chess player and writer. In the late 1920s, Nimz ...

in 1933 and 1934 respectively, and came third (after

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...

) in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

1936, and second (after

Reuben Fine Reuben C. Fine (October 11, 1914 – March 26, 1993) was an American chess player, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology. He was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the mi ...

) in Stockholm 1937. In 1938 he drew a match against

Paul Keres Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...

. Following the Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires 1939, he stayed in Argentina until 1948, where he won many tournaments, some of them in competition with

Miguel Najdorf Miguel Najdorf (born Mojsze Mendel Najdorf) (15 April 1910 – 4 July 1997) was a Polish–Argentinian chess grandmaster. Originally from Poland, he was in Argentina when World War II began in 1939, and he stayed and settled there. He was ...

: Mar del Plata 1941 (ahead of Najdorf and

Erich Eliskases Erich Gottlieb Eliskases (15 February 1913 – 2 February 1997) was a chess player who represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition. In the late 1930s he was considered a potential contender for the World Championship. ...

), Buenos Aires 1941 (tied with Najdorf), Buenos Aires 1947 (ahead of Najdorf, Eliskases and

Max Euwe Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. He served as ...

). His best results after returning to Europe were: the Interzonal of Saltsjöbaden 1948 (6th, becoming a candidate), the Candidates tournament of Budapest 1950 (7th), Amsterdam 1950 (3rd), Budapest 1952 (3rd), the Interzonal of Saltsjöbaden 1952 (5th, again becoming a candidate) Ståhlberg umpired in the five World Championships between 1957 and 1963. In 1967 he travelled to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

to take part in an international tournament but died before playing his first game. He was buried in Gothenburg. Ståhlberg published more than ten chess books (some of them originally in Spanish): * ''Schack och schackmästare'', 1937 (''Chess and Chess Masters'', 1955) * ''El gambito de dama'', 1942 (Queen's gambit) * ''Partidas clásicas de Capablanca (La perfección en ajedrez)'', 1943 (with Paulino Alles Monasterio) (Classic games of Capablanca, perfection in chess) * ''I kamp med världseliten'', 1958 (In battle against the world elite) * ''Strövtåg i schackvärlden'' (Excursions in the world of chess, 1965) * ''Tal-Botvinnik II match'', 1969 * ''Modern spelöppningsteori i schack'' * ''Svenska schackmästare''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stahlberg, Gideon 1908 births 1967 deaths Chess arbiters Chess grandmasters Chess Olympiad competitors Chess writers People from Ale Municipality Swedish chess players Swedish expatriates in Argentina 20th-century chess players