{"id":3800,"date":"2024-02-19T11:30:05","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T11:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/?p=3800"},"modified":"2024-11-14T05:38:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T05:38:21","slug":"unsung-heroes-of-chess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/unsung-heroes-of-chess\/","title":{"rendered":"Unsung Heroes of Chess"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Chess history is replete with legends whose names echo through time, like Fischer, Kasparov, and Carlsen. Yet, there are also lesser-known masters in the game, each contributing uniquely to the chess world. Among these unsung heroes are Dragoljub Velimirovic, Boris Verlinsky, and Vsevolod Rauzer. Let&#8217;s get to know them a bit better!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:auto 38%\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-luminous-vivid-orange-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-79197cdd42f83018975076de58e345db\">Dragoljub Velimirovic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dragoljub &#8220;Drasko&#8221; Velimirovic, born in Yugoslavia in 1942, was known for his fearless, attacking style. His games were filled with imaginative sacrifices and complex tactical sequences, capturing the essence of chess as an art form. Velimirovic&#8217;s contributions to opening theory, particularly in the Sicilian Defense, remain influential. <\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"476\" height=\"570\" src=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/velimirovic1-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3817 size-full\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The line Sicilian, Velimirovic Attack goes as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf67984efd3-2\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgame\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf67984efd3-2\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderPGN($(selector), {\"pgn\":\"[Event \\\"?\\\"]\\n[Date \\\"????.??.??\\\"]\\n[Round \\\"?\\\"]\\n[White \\\"Sicilian, Velimirovic attack\\\"]\\n[Black \\\"?\\\"]\\n[Result \\\"*\\\"]\\n[ECO \\\"B89\\\"]\\n[PlyCount \\\"15\\\"]\\n[EventDate \\\"2023.??.??\\\"]\\n[SourceVersionDate \\\"2024.02.19\\\"]\\n\\n1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qe2 {intending 0-0-0, and at the same time, not allowing &#8230;Ng4.} *\",\"pieceSymbols\":\"native\",\"navigationBoard\":\"scrollLeft\",\"withFlipButton\":true,\"withDownloadButton\":true,\"nboSquareSize\":32,\"nboCoordinateVisible\":true,\"nboTurnVisible\":true,\"nboColorset\":\"original\",\"nboPieceset\":\"cburnett\",\"nboAnimated\":true,\"nboMoveArrowVisible\":true,\"nboMoveArrowColor\":\"r\",\"idoSquareSize\":32,\"idoCoordinateVisible\":true,\"idoTurnVisible\":true,\"idoColorset\":\"original\",\"idoPieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>This line becomes super sharp, with a lot of theory developed. This suited Drasko&#8217;s style, and he went on to win many brilliant games with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Author Georg Mohr calls Drasko &#8220;A hero who in one way or another shaped the chess career and destiny of all chess players who grew up in the spaces of former Yugoslavia&#8221;. He won medals at various tournaments &#8211; the European Team Championships, the World Team Championship, and even the World Chess Olympiad. However, Drasko could never propel himself to the elite level and never qualified for the Candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The book &#8220;The Life and Games of Grandmaster Dragoljub Velimirovic: Volume 1&#8221; written by Mohr and Velimirovic&#8217;s daughter, Ana,  sheds light on the forgotten genius &#8211; all the obstacles he faced, but more so the contributions he made to chess. His adventurous spirit on the board continues to inspire players seeking to embrace the game&#8217;s creative and combative aspects. Take this position, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf67984efd3-1\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf67984efd3-1\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"r2qkb1r\\\/1b3p2\\\/p2ppn1p\\\/1p2n1p1\\\/3NP3\\\/1BN3B1\\\/PPP2PPP\\\/R2QR1K1 w kq - 2 13\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here the reasonable 13.a3 or 13.f3 is White&#8217;s best option, but true to Drasko&#8217;s style, he played 13.Bxe6!?. Now does this sacrifice work? Probably not (according to the engine), but Drasko&#8217;s opponent, Bruno Parma, was not a computer, and could not defend the craziness in the position. You can view the full game in the book&#8217;s free sample!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/sample\/the-life-and-games-of-grandmaster-dragoljub-velimirovic-volume1\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Let us know in the comments which <em>forgotten genius<\/em> we should talk about next!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a limited time, all books mentioned in the post are on sale with a special offer only at Forward Chess.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chess history is replete with legends whose names echo through time, like Fischer, Kasparov, and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":3823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3800"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3800"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4047,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3800\/revisions\/4047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}