MILUNKA LAZAREVIC (12/3/1932 - December 15, 2018)

The Chess Federation of Serbia with extreme regret tells the public that on December 15, 2018 in Belgrade, at the age of 87, a multiple state champion in chess and representative Veliki Milo Milunka Lazarevic passed away. 
The funeral will be held on Wednesday at 12.00 at the New Cemetery in Belgrade. 
The time and place of commemoration will be published later.

Milunka Lazarević was married on December 3, 1932, in Šantarac, in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Because of her father's needs, she moved to Novi Sad with her family from Jagodina. She learned to play chess with her father and older brother, but she also had other interests: she sang in a school choir, acted in an amateur theater, took private English and French classes, taught her to play guitar, as a talented poet wrote poetry and was a member Association of young writers of Novi Sad, later Vojvodina, took part in literary evenings ... Although the "chess illiterate" became the champion of its high school, and soon in Novi Sad. Chess seriously began to study only in the 18th year of chess instructor Zarko Popovic. In Novosadski chess club in Miletic Street, he gained experience playing with old Novi Sad chess players. At the time when there was not much literature, she taught Magzar Sakkvilag, Kapplankin's "

Chess was for her the fight of ideas and personalities and the most respected profession. Keeping the principle "let them win better" has always played for victory and first place. Everything else was considered a failure. It was important to her and how she won. That's why the chess board often moved from the trails to get inspiration and creativity. That is why she later received the nickname "Women's Tale", and world champion Nona Gaprindashvili wrote in her book "I Love the Risk" that Milunka was a role model.

During 1951 she became the champion of Vojvodina and Serbia, she was second in the national championship and in the next year she was placed first and second place. In the period 1954-1982. she was 11 times the champion of the country, and in 1957 with a 100% performance. As part of the ŠK "Partizan" from 1955 to 1992, she took part in the 6 titles of the team champions and the Cup of Yugoslavia. Since 1954, she is an international master, and FIDE recognized her title as a female grandmaster in 1976 as the first Yugoslavian and the second in the world. She won a silver medal at the 1963 Olympics in Split, playing on the first board. Over the course of 25 years, she participated in the world championship competition system. She played in 6 zonal tournaments, 4 in the interim, on 5 tournament candidates and 2 times in the world championship candidates. In the last round of the tournament in Suhumi in 1964. year-old Gizel Kan Greser offered her a game without a game before becoming a challenger to champion None Gaprindashvili, but she rejected the offer in a guise that chess is a knightly competition, not a trade. She lost the game, so the Soviet chess players Zatulovska and Kushnir caught up on the table. Later, in a two-armored triangle, there was another. The unique gesture from Suhumi brought her great reputation and respect in the chess world. At that moment she was the third in the world rankings, and for the best time she was a Shahist from the Soviet Union. in the two-ring triangle was the second. The unique gesture from Suhumi brought her great reputation and respect in the chess world. At that moment she was the third in the world rankings, and for the best time she was a Shahist from the Soviet Union. in the two-ring triangle was the second. The unique gesture from Suhumi brought her great reputation and respect in the chess world. At that moment she was the third in the world rankings, and for the best time she was a Shahist from the Soviet Union.

When she was at the height of chess power, the women's tournament was scarce. She won in Emen 6 times, Rotterdam 2 times, Hestings, Sirmione 1955, Bevervayak 1957, Venice 1957, Bonu 1960, Amsterdam 1960, Vienna 1961, at the Osmartart Tournament in Belgrade in 1972, Novi Sad in 1980, Salchevaden, Athens 1984, at Zonal tournaments in Vrnjacka Banja 1960 and Travnik 1978 ...

As president of the FIDE Commission for Women's Chess from 1970 to 1978, she introduced a series of revolutionary newspapers: in Skopje in 1972, she united the male and female Olympic Games, which have been held since 1976; swordsman's matches at the Olympics on three, instead of two boards; the title of female grandmaster; world championship for youth; A cup of European championship, a rating system in women's chess, matches instead of a candidate tournament, a gold trophy for a triple world champion, silver for the challenger ... She was the initiator or organizer of numerous competitions. According to her idea, the Osmomart tournament was launched in 1965, at that time after the tournament, the best contest was held, and now after Hestings and Wake Up Zea, the world's longest-running competition.

The first woman is an international judge in Yugoslavia. She was Chief Judge of the Zone Tournament in Vrnjacka Banja in 1970, the jubilee tournament Nona Gaprindashvili 1991, superturbed by Investbanka in 1995 and 1997 ...

As a journalist, she wrote for several domestic and foreign newspapers and magazines: NIN, Večernje novosti, Duga, Politika, Ilustrovana Politika, Sport, Chess Life ... She also contributed to TV Beograd and TB Novi Sad. She has conducted interviews with all the world's first from Max Eve to Vladimir Kramnik, with Nona Gaprindasvili, Maja Ciburdanidze, sisters Polgar, all the leading chess players from the half of the last century onwards ... as well as with numerous figures from the world of culture.

Recognition and awards: the third-degree holder of the Sretensky Order of 2013, the recognition of the Chess Federation of the USSR and Georgia for the contribution to the world chess 1985, the lifetime award of the Sports Union of Belgrade 2007, the Lifetime Achievement of the Association of National Representatives 2010, Honorary FIDE member since 2016, Honorary Citizen of Venice 1957. She was confirmed in the monograph "Extraordinary Women of Serbia XX and XXI Century", which includes the most important women in our country in that period. Women's chess club in Sivac is named Milunka Lazarević.

Chess Federation of Serbia