Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren was born in 1938 in Buyant Sum district, in Chovd Province (Chovd Aimag), in western Mongolia. After finishing school, he studied geology at the Polytechnic Institute of the State University of Mongolia. He initially worked at the State Geological Fund of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and later at the Central Geological Administration of Mongolia, the International Geological Expedition and Mogoy Gol Gold "EBE" JSC. Over the course of his career, Myagmarsuren became one of Mongolia's leading geologists. Myagmarsuren compiled extensive maps, catalogues and databases documenting Mongolia's mineral resources, fossil sites in his home country and water resources in various regions. Until 2003, Myagmarsuren was the chief engineer at the Mogoy Gol gold mine in Yeroo.
In recognition of his achievements as a geologist, the Mongolian government named Myagmarsuren "Chief Geologist of Mongolia". He also received numerous other awards and decorations.
Alongside his successful career as a geologist, Myagmarsuren was also one of his country's best chess players for decades. He won the national championship four times (in 1965 and three consecutive years, 1980, 1981 and 1982). Between 1960 and 1982, he represented Mongolia at several World Student Team Championships and ten Chess Olympiads.
At the 1960 Chess Olympiad in Leipzig, Myagmarsuren was the best player on board four (16.5 points, best performance) and won the individual gold medal.
In addition to his appearances at the World Student Team Championships, Chess Olympiads and several military championships, Myagmarsuren rarely competed in international individual tournaments. However, by winning the West Asian Zonal Tournament in 1966, he qualified for the 1967 Interzonal Tournament in Sousse, where he faced players from the very top of the world elite. He often had to acknowledge the superiority of the professionals, as in his famous game against Bobby Fischer.
As is well known, Bobby Fischer, angered by several organisational shortcomings, withdrew from the tournament prematurely and needed a third attempt in 1970–72 before finally becoming world champion.
Occasionally, however, Myagmarsuren also managed to defeat opponents who were stronger on paper.
Perhaps his best game was played against Bent Larsen at the 1970 Chess Olympiad in Siegen.
In 1967, FIDE awarded him the title of International Master.
In 2004, Myagmasuren still took part in the World Senior Championships, and in 2009 he competed in a tournament in Ulaanbaatar. After that, however, he is said to have continued playing blitz games regularly on the ICC online platform under the name "Shatar".
For his achievements in chess, Myagmarsuren received the title of "Honoured Master of Sports" in 1996. In 1999, on the occasion of FIDE's 75th anniversary, his name was entered in the "Golden Book of World Chess". In 2020, he received a FIDE stipend in recognition of his achievements as a player.
Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren died on 26 October 2026. He was 88 years old.
No other World Champion was more infamous both inside and outside the chess world than Bobby Fischer. On this DVD, a team of experts shows you the winning techniques and strategies employed by the 11th World Champion.
Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco delves into Fischer’s openings, and retraces the development of his repertoire. What variations did Fischer play, and what sources did he use to arm himself against the best Soviet players? Mihail Marin explains Fischer’s particular style and his special strategic talent in annotated games against Spassky, Taimanov and other greats. Karsten Müller is not just a leading international endgame expert, but also a true Fischer connoisseur.
