Bruno Parma was born on 30 December 1941 in Ljubljana, which after the First World War had for a time been the capital of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In the year of Parma's birth, the city was occupied by Italy. After the Second World War, Ljubljana became part of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia.
During his school years, Parma's great chess talent already became evident. His first major international success was finishing in shared second to fourth place at the World Junior Championship in 1960 in Münchenstein (Switzerland). At the World Junior Championship in 1961 in The Hague, Parma won the title of World Junior Champion ahead of Florin Gheorghiu.
Bruno Parma won the Slovenian Championships in 1959 and 1961. At the 20th Yugoslav Championship in 1965 he shared second place with Svetozar Gligorić. At the 21st Yugoslav Championship, held later the same year, he again shared second place, this time with Borislav Ivkov. In 1968, Bruno Parma finished in shared third place together with Dragoljub Minić, Milan Matulović and Bojan Kurajica.
Over the course of his career, Bruno Parma took part in numerous international tournaments. Among his successes were victories at the Rubinstein Memorial in 1964, in Reggio Emilia in 1965 and again in Reggio Emilia in 1970; shared first place in Sarajevo in 1970 with Ljubomir Ljubojević; shared first place with Lubomír Kavalek in Netanya in 1971; shared first places at the Kostić Memorial in Vršac in 1973, in Maribor in 1977 and at the Sämisch Memorial in Kiel in 1978. He also recorded second places at the tournaments in Amsterdam in 1965 and Belgrade in 1967, shared second place at the Andersen Memorial in Büsum in 1968 behind Robert Hübner, second place in Solingen in 1968, shared second place in San Juan in 1969 behind Boris Spassky, and shared second place in Reykjavík in 1975 (Zonal Tournament).
Photo: MNSZS / Svetozar Busic
Bruno Parma was a very solid player whose games often ended in draws. Svetozar Gligorić therefore referred to him as the "peaceful Parma".
Of Parma's three games against Fischer, two ended in draws. At the Peace Tournament in Rovinj–Zagreb in 1970, however, he was defeated by the American genius.
Between 1962 and 1980, Bruno Parma represented Yugoslavia at eight Chess Olympiads, winning four silver medals (1962, 1964, 1968, 1974) and two bronze medals (1970, 1980).
In 1961, following his victory at the World Junior Championship, Bruno Parma was awarded the title of International Master. In 1963, he became the third Slovenian player to be awarded the Grandmaster title, after Milan Vidmar (1950) and Vasja Pirc (1953).
The Slovenian Chess Federation honoured Bruno Parma for his outstanding achievements in chess with the Vidmar Prize and the Bloudek Prize.
Bruno Parma lived to the age of 84.
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