Ricardo Calvo Mínguez (October 22, 1943 – September 26, 2002) was a Spanish

chess player This list of chess players includes people who are primarily known as chess players and have an article on the English Wikipedia. A * Jacob Aagaard (Denmark, Scotland, born 1973) * Manuel Aaron (India, born 1935) * Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan, bor ...

, doctor, author, reporter, and chess historian, who 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 (chess), Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combinatio ...

in 1973 and played for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

at the Chess Olympiads of 1966, 1968, 1972 and 1974. He died in 2002 from

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse vo ...

Early life

Calvo spoke fluent Spanish, German, and English.IM Dr. Ricardo Calvo
/ref> As a chess historian, Dr. Calvo set out to prove that Spain was central to the monumental changes that occurred in

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 ...

late in the fifteenth century. It is most widely believed that the increased powers of the queen and the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

were introduced during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

; however, Calvo insisted that Spain played a major role.

Politics

Dr. Calvo was deeply involved in chess politics. In 1987, he was condemned by FIDE and declared "''

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution. Diplomacy Under Article 9 of the ...

''" (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

: "An unwelcome person") by a vote of 72-1, for writing a controversial article in '' New in Chess''. The article, according to FIDE, was a "racial attack on Latin Americans". In response, Calvo wrote a letter to FIDE titled "On the Nature of FIDE Legitimacy" in which he disputed their decision:

Notable Games

Ricardo Calvo vs Viktor Korchnoi

This game between Ricardo Calvo and GM

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. H ...

is known as "Calvo's Salvo",Calvo's Salvo
/ref> and was played at the

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.

Olympiad 1966: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Bc5 6. Nb3 Ba7 7. c4 Nc6 8. O-O Qh4?!, a dubious move by Korchnoi that will allow his queen to be targeted: 9. N1d2 Nge7 10. c5 Ne5 11. Be2 b6 12. f4 N5c6 13. Nc4 bxc5 14. g3 Qh6 15. f5 Qf6 16. fxe6 Qxe6 17. Nd6+ Kf8 18. Bc4!, now Korchnoi will lose his queen or be

checkmated Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

, so resigns: 1-0.

Ulf Andersson vs Ricardo Calvo

This game, played in 1997, was between Ulf Andersson and Ricardo Calvo: 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.g3 Nc6 4.d3 e5 5.Bg2 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 a5 7.O-O Nge7 8.a3 Bd6 9.Ne4 Ng6 10.e3 Be7 11.exd4 exd4 12.Nfg5 h6 13.Nh3 O-O 14.f4 f5 15.Neg5 hxg5 16.Bd5+ Rf7 17.Qh5 Qd6 18.Re1 Bd7 19.fxg5 Nce5 20.Nf4 Ra6 21.Bd2 Bf8 22.Rac1 c5 23.h4 Nh8 24.Qe2 Ng4 25.h5 g6 0-1.

References

External links

*
Ricardo Calvo at 365Chess.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calvo, Ricardo 1943 births 2002 deaths Deaths from cancer in Spain Deaths from esophageal cancer Spanish chess players Chess historians Chess International Masters 20th-century chess players