Juraj Nikolac (born 22 April 1932) is a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n, formerly Yugoslav,

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player who received the

FIDE title 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 ...

of Grandmaster (GM) in 1979. He previously held the

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 ...

(IM) title since 1975. Nikolac was born in

Metković Metković () is a town in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the river Neretva and on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Climate Since records began in 1997, the highest temper ...

and is a retired

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

teacher. He finished 3= behind

Aleksandar Matanović Aleksandar Matanović (; 23 May 1930 – 9 August 2023) was a Serbian chess grandmaster, one of the leading Yugoslav players in the 1950s-1970s. In 1966 he founded the company Chess Informant, which publishes regular game collections from recen ...

in the 1978 Yugoslav championship. His international tournament successes include: * 4th,

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, 1973 * 2=, Zagreb -

Rovinj Rovinj (; Venetian and ; Istriot: or ; ; ) is a city in west Croatia situated on the north Adriatic Sea with a population of 14,294 (2011). Located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, it is a popular tourist resort and beach destin ...

, 1975 * 2=,

Wijk aan Zee Wijk aan Zee (; ) is a village on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk, the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament (formerly called the Corus chess tournament or the Hoogove ...

B, 1976 * 1=,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

B, 1977 * 1st, Vrnjacka Banja, 1978 * 2nd,

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

, 1979 * 2nd,

Oberwart Oberwart (; ; ) is a town in Burgenland in southeast Austria on the banks of the Pinka River, and the capital of the district of the Oberwart (district), same name. With almost 8,000 inhabitants it’s the third largest town in Burgenland, after E ...

, 1985 * 1st,

Bled Bled (; ,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146. in older sources also ''Feldes'') is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper Carniolan regio ...

, 1986 * 1=,

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

, 1986 * 1st,

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

, 1987 He is the author of a number of theoretical studies. With the death of

in August 2023, Nikolac became the oldest living grandmaster in the world, until February 2024 when

Andreas Dückstein Andreas Dückstein (2 August 1927 – 28 August 2024) was an Austrian chess master. He was awarded the International Master title in 1956 and Honorary Grandmaster title in 2024. Dückstein was regarded as a dangerous attacker, as a win against W ...

and

Iivo Nei Iivo Nei (born 31 October 1931 in Tartu) is an Estonian chess grandmaster. Tournament career In 1947, at the beginning of his career, Nei took 3rd in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) at the sixth USSR juniors championships won by Viktor Korchnoi. I ...

were given honorary grandmaster titles.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nikolac, Juraj 1932 births Living people Croatian chess players Yugoslav chess players Chess Grandmasters Sportspeople from Metković