Petar Trifunović


Dr. Petar Trifunović was an International Grandmaster and five-times Yugoslav Champion of chess.

Chess career

Yugoslavia was for many years the world's second strongest chess nation. Trifunovic came third in the first Yugoslav championship, second in the next championship, and won in 1945, 1946, 1947, 1952, and 1961. The young Trifunovic was also an excellent scholar, obtaining a law degree in 1933, followed by a doctorate.
He had a reputation as an attacking player in the 1930s, when he was known as 'Typhoonovic'. Later, he concentrated more on positional play and defensive technique, his style becoming less adventurous but difficult to refute. As a result, he drew many games. For example, his drawn match with Miguel Najdorf at Opatija 1949 included ten drawn games, and at Leipzig in 1965 he drew all 15 of his games.
His international tournament successes included: Zlín 1945, Prague 1946, Lima 1950, Cheltenham 1951, Belgrade 1954. At Netanya 1961 he tied for first with Matulović and Czerniak. At Prague 1961 and Beverwijk 1962 he came outright first and at Sarajevo, also in 1962, third after Gligorić and Portisch. Trifunović tied for first with 10 players at the 1962 Oklahoma City Open after drawing with Ken Smith and drawing with Bob Potter, a little-known expert from Dallas. At Noordwijk in 1965 he finished second to Botvinnik.
His international master title was awarded in 1950 and his grandmaster title in 1953. He played for his country in seven Olympiads between 1935 and 1962. His best individual result was the event held in his birthplace, Dubrovnik, in 1950. A score of 10/13 won him the board 3 gold medal.

Legacy

He popularised and subsequently had his name associated with a variation of Alekhine's Defence. The Trifunovic Variation is identified by the move 5...Bf5 as a counter to White's Four Pawns Attack.