Fridrik Olafsson, Iceland’s first Grandmaster and the fourth President of FIDE, has died aged 90. A six-time national champion and two-time Nordic Chess Champion, he led the global chess body from 1978 to 1982.
Born on January 26, 1935, in Reykjavik, Olafsson was taught chess by his father when he was eight. His first big national success came at the age of 17, when he won the Icelandic chess championship in 1952. This would be the first of six national titles (1952, 1953, 1957, 1961, 1962, and 1969). The following year, Olafsson became the Scandinavian Champion and also won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship.
He rose to international prominence at the 1955–56 Hastings Chess Congress, where he shared first place with Viktor Korchnoi. Arriving late and without a hotel reservation, he spent his first night in a Hastings police station cell—courtesy of a sympathetic officer.
Olafsson qualified for the 1958–60 World Championship cycle, finishing joint 5th at the Portorož Interzonal, which earned him the Grandmaster title—making him the first Icelander to do so—and a place in the 1959 Candidates Tournament.
This was the peak of his playing career. Playing at the top, he defeated Bobby Fischer, Tigran Petrosian and Mikhail Tal—each on two occasions—establishing himself among the world’s elite. At the 1959 Candidates tournament in Yugoslavia, he famously defeated Tigran Petrosian in front of a crowd of 5,000 spectators, who – according to Harry Golombek – celebrated by carrying him on their shoulders afterwards.
In 1976 Olafsson shared first place with Ljubomir Ljubojevic at the prestigious Wijk aan Zee tournament. He was a runner-up at the event in 1971, sharing second place with Gligoric, Petrosian and Ivkov. Olafsson represented Iceland in eight Chess Olympiads between 1952 and 1980.
In 1980, while serving as FIDE President, Olafsson defeated reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov at the Clarin Tournament in Buenos Aires. The victory earned him membership in the so-called “Mikhail Chigorin Club”—players who beat a sitting world champion but never became one themselves.
Although Fridrik Olafsson never secured the World Chess Championship title, he frequently stood atop the global chess podiums—not as a player, but as the President of FIDE. In 1978, at the Congress in Buenos Aires, he defeated Narciso Rabell Mendez and Svetozar Gligorić to become the fourth president of the world governing body of chess, succeeding Max Euwe.
During his mandate as President, Olafsson focused on securing more commercial sponsorship for FIDE and improving relations between the Soviets and the rest of the chess world. He also oversaw the controversial 1981 World Championship match between Viktor Korchnoi and Karpov.
In the 1982 election, Olafsson lost to Florencio Campomanes.
Though best known for his chess achievements, Olafsson’s professional background was in law. Before FIDE, he worked at the Icelandic Ministry of Justice. Afterwards, he served as Secretary-General of the Icelandic Parliament.
In January, he celebrated his 90th birthday, at which he was joined by the active FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich.
Olafsson will be remembered as the man who put Iceland on the global chess map—well before the 1972 Fischer–Spassky match—and helped FIDE grow in stature during a pivotal era.