„ If I don’t kill myself tonight, I’m gonna live a thousand years!“

These immortal words were uttered on 13.01.2013. during the 2nd round of Tata Steel 2013 chess tournament by a famous grandmaster and chess author, Ivan Sokolov.

Sokolov was born in Jajce in former Yugoslavia (today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina). He quickly rose to prominence, becoming an FM in 1985 at the age of 17, IM in 1986 at the age of 18 and GM in 1987 at the age of 19. Even though these figures don’t seem impressive from today’s perspective, at a time he was the fifth-youngest grandmaster in history, behind Fischer, Tal, Kasparov and Spassky.

Although he was studying law at a time, he decided to give it up and pursue a career of professional. He would become a part of the World Elite for the next 20 years, playing against the top players in the world and winning several international tournaments.

At his peak – in 1992 – Sokolov was the 12th ranked player in the world (rated 2630 – a sign of times). In the 2000s, he also managed to cross the 2700 barrier.

He particularly distinguished himself during the Hoogovens 1999 tournament. In a strong line-up including Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik, Shirov, Timman, Ivanchuk, Svidler and Topalov, Sokolov finished 4th. He managed to beat the great Garry Kasparov by out preparing him in a variation of the Nimzo-Indian. Even though Gazza managed to win the tournament, he never forgot that defeat, since he mentioned it several times in his On Garry Kasparov book series.

Later in life, he became a renowned book author, publishing 5 chess books in the 2008-2015 period.

It is a pity that, due to the war in Bosnia, he emigrated in 1992 and became a Dutch citizen. But unfortunately, failing to prevent the talented from leaving the country has become a trademark of Balkan ever since…

To find out more about Ivan, read this fantastic Chessbase Interview

(If you like posts such as this one, check our complete list of Chess Birthdays )