Luben Spasov (; 23 March 1943 – 5 July 2023) was a
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
n
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 ...
Grandmaster (GM) (1977),
World Senior Chess Championship
The World Senior Chess Championship is an annual chess tournament established in 1991 by FIDE, the World Chess Federation.
The 2024 tournament took place in Porto Santo, Portugal from November 16–29, 2024.
Overview
Originally, the minimum age w ...
winner (2005),
Bulgarian Chess Championship
The Bulgarian Chess Championship is an event inaugurated in 1933 to crown the best chess player in Bulgaria. The championship has been held on a nearly annual basis since, with only a few years missed. In recent years some of the very best Bulgaria ...
medalist (1965, 1973),
European Team Chess Championship
The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...
s individual medalist (1977, 1980).
Biography
In the 1970s and 1980s Luben Spasov was one of the leading Bulgarian chess players. He twice in row won Bulgarian Junior Chess Championship (1959, 1960). In the
Bulgarian Chess Championship
The Bulgarian Chess Championship is an event inaugurated in 1933 to crown the best chess player in Bulgaria. The championship has been held on a nearly annual basis since, with only a few years missed. In recent years some of the very best Bulgaria ...
s Luben Spasov two times won bronze medals (1965, 1973). Luben Spasov was winner of many international chess tournament awards, including first place or shared first place in
Lublin
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
(1971),
Gausdal
Gausdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Segelstad bru. Other villages in Gausdal include Follebu, Forse ...
(1975),
Albena
Albena () is a major Black Sea resort in northeastern Bulgaria, Balchik Municipality, situated from Balchik and from Varna. Albena is served by Varna Airport. Since 2005 is considered as a settlement by the National Statistical Institute.
Al ...
(1975, 1978), Sofia (1975),
Pristina
Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district.
In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...
(1975),
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
(1976),
Pernik
Pernik ( ) is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, a town in western Bulgaria (about south-west of Sofia) with a population of 70,285 . Pernik is the most populated town in western Bulgaria after Sofia. It is the main town of Pernik Province an ...
(1976),
Virovitica
Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungary, Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). I ...
(1976),
Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora (, ) is a city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of Stara Zagora Province. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain, near the cities of Kazanlak, Plovdiv, and Sliven. Its population is 121,582 making it the sixth largest c ...
(1977),
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
(1977),
Kikinda
Kikinda ( sr-Cyrl, Кикинда, ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the North Banat District in Serbia. The city's urban area has 32,084 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 49,326 inhabit ...
(1978),
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 ...
(1980),
Pamporovo
Pamporovo (, ''pronunciation'': /pam'porovo/) is a popular ski resort in Smolyan Province, southern Bulgaria. It is set amongst Norway spruce forests and is primarily visited during the winter for skiing and snowboarding. It is also a popular t ...
(1981).
Luben Spasov played for Bulgaria in the
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in FIDE Onli ...
s:
* In 1974, at first reserve board in the
21st Chess Olympiad
The 21st Chess Olympiad (), 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 other events designed to promote ...
in
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million[23rd Chess Olympiad
The 23rd Chess Olympiad (), 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 as several other events designed t ...]
in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the RÃo de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
(+3, =5, -2),
* In 1980, at second reserve board in the
24th Chess Olympiad
The 24th Chess Olympiad (), organized by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between November 20 and December 6, 1980, at the Mediterranean Confer ...
in
La Valletta
Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...
(+1, =3, -1).
Luben Spasov played for Bulgaria in the
European Team Chess Championship
The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...
s:
* In 1977, at sixth board in the 6th European Team Chess Championship in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
(+2, =4, -1) and won individual silver medal,
* In 1980, at first reserve board in the 7th European Team Chess Championship in
Skara
Skara is a locality and the seat of Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 18,580 inhabitants in 2013. Despite its small size, it is one of the oldest cities in Sweden, and has a long educational and ecclesiastical history. O ...
(+2, =1, -2) and won individual bronze medal,
* In 1983, at fifth board in the 8th European Team Chess Championship in
Plovdiv
Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...
(+1, =3, -0).
Luben Spasov played for Bulgaria in the World Student Team Chess Championships:
* In 1964, at second reserve board in the 11th World Student Team Chess Championship in
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
(+3, =1, -4),
* In 1965, at third board in the 12th World Student Team Chess Championship in
Sinaia
Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named after ...
(+4, =2, -2),
* In 1966, at third board in the 13th World Student Team Chess Championship in
Örebro
Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...
(+4, =3, -5),
* In 1967, at first board in the 14th World Student Team Chess Championship in
Harrachov
Harrachov (; ) is a town in Jablonec nad Nisou District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic, close to the border with Poland. It has about 1,400 inhabitants. It is known as one of the most popular Czech ski resorts.
Administrative divisio ...
(+2, =5, -4),
* In 1968, at first board in the 15th World Student Team Chess Championship in
Ybbs
Ybbs () is a river in Lower Austria. Its drainage basin is .
Its source is located on the Zellerrain Pass near Mariazell. In the beginning, the river is called , then onwards from the border between Lower Austria and Styria up to Lunz am See it ...
(+4, =3, -4),
* In 1969, at first board in the 16th World Student Team Chess Championship in
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
(+9, =1, -3) and won team bronze and individual gold medals.
Also Luben Spasov nine times played for Bulgaria in the Men's Chess Balkaniads (1973–1978, 1981–1982, 1984) and won 3 gold (1973, 1974, 1982), 3 silver (1975, 1976, 1984) and 3 bronze (1977, 1978, 1981) medals in team competition, and won 3 gold (1973, 1974, 1975), 4 silver (1976, 1977, 1978, 1982) and 1 bronze (1981) medals in individual competition.
In 1972, he was awarded the FIDE International Master (IM) title and received the FIDE Grandmaster (GM) title four years later.
Luben Spasov achieved his greatest career success in
World Senior Chess Championship
The World Senior Chess Championship is an annual chess tournament established in 1991 by FIDE, the World Chess Federation.
The 2024 tournament took place in Porto Santo, Portugal from November 16–29, 2024.
Overview
Originally, the minimum age w ...
s in S60 age group. In 2005 he won gold medal in
Lignano
Lignano Sabbiadoro (; ) is a town and (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of north-eastern Italy. It is one of the main summer resorts in northern Italy and on the Adriatic Se ...
,
and in 2006 in
Arvier he won bronze medal in this competition.
References
External links
*
Luben Spasovchess games at 365chess.com
1943 births
Chess players from Sofia
Chess Grandmasters
Chess Olympiad competitors
2023 deaths
Bulgarian chess players
{{Bulgaria-chess-bio-stub