Grandmaster Krum Ivanov Georgiev (Bulgarian Крум Иванов Георгиев) was Greek-born – both his parents were Greeks who had moved to Bulgaria after WWII.
Krum earned the International Master (IM) title in 1977 and the grandmaster (GM) title in 1988. He competed under the Bulgarian flag, but has also made history in Greece, as he had a dual citizenship. A key member of the Bulgarian National Team, he took part in Olympiads and Pan-European Championships and had competed in dozens of strong international tournaments.
In Greece he took part in many international tournaments and was an athlete of many Greek teams, such as: O.A.A. ‘Heraklion’, S.A. ‘Galaxias’ Thessaloniki’s, ‘Palamedes Evvoevs’, A.S. Papagou S.A. Corinthia ‘Argonautis’, Chess Communication Heraklion Attica, S.O. Katerinis and Panelinios G.S.
We were good friends since something around 1982, and he was a frequent visitor of my home in Athens. I also visited his home in Pazardzhik, where I had the pleasure of meeting his parents, somewhere around 1985.
Needless to say that Krum Georgiev spoke the Greek language quite well, and I still remember his answer when I was cursing for another lost chance to get a GM-nom, somewhere around the end of the 1980’s, when there were no more than 250 GM worldwide: "Do not worry my friend, Krum said, "one day everybody will be GM!"
Krum was modest, responsive and always positive. At the same time, he was an exceptional professional in his work and very strong on the chessboard. He was a great tactician and loved to play complicated games, full of extreme time troubles. But quite early he was diagnosed with several heart problems, and he had to try to avoid 'complicated' positions; a fact that ruined his promising career.
Rest in peace, Krum! We will always remember you!
The victory of Krum against Garry Kasparov at the Malta Olympics in 1980 is especially valuable!
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