Descripción

 The Life and Games of D.Velimirovic – Volume 1 Dragoljub Velimirovic was a former

Yugoslav – Serbian, chess grandmaster whose international career was handicapped by political

intrigues and his outspoken temperament.

Forgotten Genius 

During the heyday of the USSR as the greatest national chess power, the former Yugoslavia was

capable of running the Soviet Union a good second. Dragoljub Velimirovic posed a real threat to the

men from Moscow.

 George Mohr & Ana Velimirovic

Velimirovic was born in 1942 to a prominent family from Valjevo, in the former Yugoslavia. He was

introduced to chess at the age of seven by his mother, Jovanka Velimirovic, one of Yugoslavia’s

leading female chess players.

He died at the age 72, being one of the last players to develop a system or strategy that is so inventive

it bears its creator’s name.

It is a feat that is unlikely to be repeated in the modern era, when computer-based games and

databases so thoroughly dominate competition that it is almost impossible to come up with

something new.

The Life and Games of D.Velimirovic

That does not mean that players were more talented or courageous in the decades when Velimirovic

was in his prime. Velimirovic, who became a grandmaster in 1973, was never among the 20 top-

ranked players in the world. And that was when there were only 200 or so grandmasters; today, there

are about 1,800.

 George Mohr & Ana Velimirovic

I sincerely hope that you, dear readers, will enjoy the wonderful masterpieces you will find in this

book. In addition to the authors, some of Drasko’s contemporaries were also involved in the

writing, and they immediately responded with pride and love to the request to keep the memory of

the Serbian genius alive. I would like to thank all those who participated in this project.

Volume 1

 To the Grandmasters who wrote down their own memories of Drasko Velimirovic, which you will

find in this book in special ”boxes”. To the contemporaries, friends, and comrades-in-arms of ”Boss”

who remember this or that anecdote, this or that event, this or that memory.

Forgotten Genius 

 

I sincerely hope that this book will ensure that we do not forget the Serbian chess autodidact, one of

the greatest chess players, theoreticians and coaches the world has ever known. Almost last, but not

least, I would like to thank the contributors (you will find their names in the colophon) who have

invested too many hours of their free time in this project. And finally, although perhaps they should

be at the top, the members of my family who have so patiently endured my escapes to the great

chess masters of the world.

Volume-1-–-George-Mohr-Ana-Velimirovic