Boris de Greiff Bernal (13 February 1930 – 31 October 2011) was a Colombian

chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...

and writer, born in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

and son of the Colombian poet

León de Greiff Francisco de Asís León Bogislao de Greiff Haeusler (July 22, 1895 – July 11, 1976), was a Colombian poet known for his stylistic innovations and deliberately eclectic use of obscure lexicon. Best known simply as León de Greiff, he often us ...

. Student in San Bartolome Mayor School], in 1951, he won the Colombian Chess Championship, Colombian Championship in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

. In 1955, he took 16th in Mar del Plata ( Borislav Ivkov won). In 1957, he won in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

(zonal). In 1958, he took 20th in Portorož ( interzonal; Mikhail Tal won). In 1958, he took 9th in Bogotá (

Oscar Panno Oscar Roberto Panno (born 17 March 1935 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine chess Grandmaster. Panno was the first top world chess player born in South America. Panno won the 2nd World Junior Chess Championship in 1953, ahead of such future stron ...

won). In 1962, he took 18th in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

(1st Capablanca Memorial; Miguel Najdorf won). In 1963, he took 20th in Havana (2nd Capablanca Memorial;

Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He ...

won). In 1963, he took 7th in Havana (Torneo Panamericano;

Eleazar Jiménez Eleazar Jiménez Zerquera (25 June 1928 – 6 May 2000) was a Cuban chess master. Jiménez won the Cuban Championship five times, in 1957, 1960, 1963, 1965, and 1967. He won the Pan American Chess Championship three times, in 1963, 1966 and 1970. ...

won). In 1969, he tied for 1st–2nd with

Miguel Cuéllar Miguel Cuéllar Gacharná (18 November 1916 – 5 December 1985) was a Colombian chess master from Tinjacá. Cuéllar won the Colombian championship nine times: in 1941, 1946, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961, and 1971. He played for Colombia i ...

in Bogotá. In 1970, he tied for 8–10th in Bogotá (

Henrique Mecking Henrique Costa Mecking (born 23 January 1952), also known as Mequinho, is a Brazilian chess grandmaster who reached his zenith in the 1970s and is still one of the strongest players in Brazil. He was a chess prodigy, drawing comparisons to Bobby ...

won). In 1973, he took 15th in Cienfueogos (10th Capablanca Memorial; Vasily Smyslov won). De Greiff played for Colombia in nine Chess Olympiads. * In 1954, at second board in

11th Chess Olympiad The 11th Chess Olympiad ( nl, De 11e Schaakolympiade), organized by the FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. team tournament, as well as several o ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

(+8 –6 =4); * In 1956, at third board in

12th Chess Olympiad The 12th Chess Olympiad (, ''12-ya Shakhmatnaya olimpiada''), organized by the FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. team tournament, as well as se ...

in Moscow (+7 –3 =9); * In 1958, at third board in

13th Chess Olympiad The 13th Chess Olympiad (german: Die 13. Schacholympiade), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. team tournament, as well as several o ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

(+2 –2 =15); * In 1966, at third board in

17th Chess Olympiad The 17th Chess Olympiad ( es, La 17a Olimpíada de ajedrez), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. team tournament, as well as severa ...

in Havana (+4 –4 =8); * In 1970, at first reserve board in

19th Chess Olympiad The 19th Chess Olympiad (german: Die 19. Schacholympiade), comprising an open team tournament as well as the annual FIDE congress, took place between September 5–27, 1970, in Siegen, West Germany. The Soviet team with six Grandmasters, led by ...

in Siegen (+3 –4 =1); * In 1972, at fourth board in

20th Chess Olympiad The 20th Chess Olympiad ( mk, 20. Шаховска олимпијада, ''20. Šahovska olimpijada''), organized by Fédération Internationale des Échecs, FIDE and comprising an open team tournament, as well as several other events designed t ...

in Skopje (+4 –4 =8); * In 1974, at first reserve board in

21st Chess Olympiad The 21st Chess Olympiad (french: La 21e Olympiade d'échecs), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. team tournament, as well as severa ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

(+6 –0 =6); * In 1976, at first reserve board in

22nd Chess Olympiad The 22nd Chess Olympiad ( he, אולימפיאדת השחמט ה-22, ''Olimpiada ha-shachmat ha-22''), organized by Fédération Internationale des Échecs, FIDE, took place between October 26 and November 10, 1976, in Haifa, Israel. For the firs ...

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

(+4 –0 =3); * In 1978, at first reserve board in

23rd Chess Olympiad The 23rd Chess Olympiad ( es, La 23a Olimpíada de ajedrez), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as well a ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

(+0 –1 =2). He died in Bogotá.

Awards

* He won the individual gold medal at Haifa 1976, and the silver medal at Nice 1974. * He was awarded the title of

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

in 1957 and

International Arbiter {{No footnotes, date=April 2022 In chess tournaments, an arbiter is an official who oversees matches and ensures that the rules of chess are followed. International Arbiter ''International Arbiter'' is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed ...

in 1978. * He was elected an Honorary Member of

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

in 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greiff Bernal, Borisde 1930 births 2011 deaths Colombian chess players Colombian male writers Chess arbiters Chess Olympiad competitors Colombian people of Spanish descent Colombian people of Swedish descent Colombian people of German descent Boris Sportspeople from Medellín 20th-century Colombian people