Leon Livaić
Ever since his youngest years, International Master Leon Livaić (together with International Masters Jadranko Plenča and Sven Tica) has been widely regarded as one of the brightest Croatian talents and promising young players. He is, in fact, the youngest International Master in the history of Croatian chess.
Leon learned the rules of the game at the age of 3. His father – a 1st category player – taught him the rules, but more importantly, he managed to infuse Leon with his love for the game. At the age of 6, Leon participated in his first rated tournament. In the upcoming years, he quickly distinguished himself as one of the strongest Croatian young players. He dominated National Youth Championships and performed worthily at the European and World Youth Championship.
However, by his own admission, he rarely worked on chess on his own until he was 13-14 years old. Somewhere around that time, something ‘snapped’ and Leon decided to make a real push and started working seriously on his game. The effects of this work were almost immediately apparent – he increased his rating by 200 points in less than a year and gained the FM title at the age of 15. In subsequent years he continued improving and the culmination of his efforts happened in 2017 when he achieved his biggest OTB success so far.
First, he won fourth place in the European Chess Youth Championship in May. Then he became the European Rapid Youth Champion and bronze European Youth Blitz medalist in June. Finally, in December, he managed to top a cohort of young talents from all over the world to become the World Rapid Youth Champion. During this period he also gained his IM title and improved his rating all the way up to 2500, on the verge of grandmaster level.
In the subsequent years, Leon kept on working on his chess and improving. Despite the fact he took a short break from chess in 2019 to study Chemistry at the University in Zagreb, and also the global pandemic, he did keep improving, playing in many tournaments and leagues and becoming one of the strongest Croatian players. During that period, he managed to win third place in the Croatian National Championship and elevate his rating very close to the 2600 rating barrier, which essentially turned him into one of the strongest IMs in the world.
And despite some lack of luck when it comes to fulfilling the criteria for the final GM norm, in 2022, the last barrier was broken in the Austrian League and Leon finally – and fully deservingly – obtained the coveted GM title.
As for his activity in Croatia Bulldogs, Leon has been a member of the team from the very beginning and played in all three Pro Chess League Qualifiers (which is not surprising considering he and the manager Vjekoslav Nemec have a long history). He has always been a vital part of the team and will definitely remain to be one in the upcoming seasons.
You can read an in-depth interview with Leon here
Leon Livaić Top 5 Games
(Note: The full study with Leon’s annotated games can be found on the following link and is publicly available for free)
1) Vahap – Livaić, Budapest Spring Open, 2017
A game from Leon’s junior days, featuring a remarkable and nice tactical combination and showcasing Leon’s creativity and calculating ability.
2) Livaić – Ivanchuk, Croatian Cup Final, 2018
Leon’s first-ever win against a 2700+ player in OTB chess and still one of the biggest wins of his career up to this date.
3) Xiong – Livaić, Speed Chess Championship Qualifier, 2020
Another scalp of the member of the 2700 club in a series chess competition, featuring a nice combination in a knight endgame.
4) Livaić – Šarić I., Croatian Chess Championship 2021
In 2021, Livaić won the Bronze medal at the Croatian National Championship and in the first round of that competition, he beat the strongest Croatian player Ivan Šarić in a very nice style.
5) Durarbayli – Livaić, Pro Chess League Qualifier 2020
Last but not least, even though the following game is not an OTB game nor is perhaps the most remarkable game of Leon’s career, it is very dear to me as the manager of the Croatia Bulldogs as it was played in the playoff stage of the 2020 Pro Chess League Qualifier and was one of the instrumental games in getting us to the main event. Were it not for this game and that event, it is very likely Croatia Bulldogs wouldn’t be a thing today, so you will have to excuse me for including it on this list.