Oscar Panno celebrated his 90^th birthday on Monday. This makes the Argentine grandmaster one of the oldest in his profession. In the list of the oldest living chess grandmasters, compiled by Stefan Löffler in his chess calendar (Source: Chess Calendar 2024, p. 139, updated), Panno ranks sixth.

Oscar Panno was born on 17 March 1935 in Buenos Aires. At the age of six, he learned the rules of chess from his father and played chess with his father and older brother on rainy days. Then he discovered a chess column by Roberto Grau in one of his father's magazines, played through his first games, and solved problems. In his grandfather's library, he found three textbooks by Bogoljubow, the contents of which further advanced the young Panno. At the age of 12, Panno and his brother joined the Club Atlético River Plate, initially to go swimming. However, the club also had a chess room which fascinated the youngster. While his brother turned more towards football, Panno, in his own words, became "chess addicted".

At 18, Panno won his first Argentine national championship in 1953. He won the title again in 1975 (with Najdorf), 1985 and 1992.

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In 1953, the FIDE U20 World Championship was held for the second time in history. It took place in Copenhagen. Panno won the title ahead of Klaus Darga, who scored the same number of points. The success attracted great attention in chess-loving Argentina, as it was the country's first world title in chess.

Panno with his second Bolbochan, 1953

Two years later, the now 20-year-old Oscar Panno celebrated another great success. At the Interzonal Tournament in Gothenburg in 1955, Panno finished third behind David Bronstein and Paul Keres, qualifying for the 1956 Candidates Tournament in Amsterdam. Among ten participants, Panno only managed to finish second-to-last. The winner was Vasily Smyslov.

The Candidates 1956, from left: Miroslav Filip, Vasily Smyslov, Paul Keres, Herman Pilnik, David Bronstein, Efim Geller, Boris Spassky, Tigran Petrosian, Oscar Panno, László Szabó | Photo: Herbert Behrens / Anefo

In 1958, 1970, 1973, and again in 1976, Panno participated in Interzonal tournaments.

In 1957 and 1969, Panno won the South American Championships. In 1958, he became Pan-American Champion.

During his engineering studies from 1958 to 1962, Panno largely withdrew from tournament chess. After completing his studies, he worked in his profession for several years, occasionally playing in tournaments. From 1968, Panno focused more on chess again and won tournaments in Buenos Aires (1968) and Palma de Mallorca (1971 and 1972).

In 1978, Oscar Panno was one of Viktor Korchnoi's seconds in his World Championship match against Karpov in Baguio City.

Panno against Timman, Amsterdam, 1977 | Photo: Rob Bogaerts / Anefo

Throughout his career, Panno represented Argentina at eleven Chess Olympiads between 1954 and 1992, winning team silver in 1954 and bronze in 1958 and 1962. At the 1958 Chess Olympiad, Panno won an individual bronze medal on his board, and in 1966 in Havana, he won an individual gold medal on board two.

In 1971 and 1985, Panno won the gold medal with the Argentine team at the Pan-American Championships.

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Following his active career as a player, Oscar Panno worked as a chess teacher and trainer in several chess clubs, including the Villa Martelli Chess Circle, the River Plate Athletic Club, and at the "Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires".

Photo: Carlos Illardo

For his achievements, Panno received many awards. In 1980, the Konex Foundation awarded him a Merit Diploma as one of the most outstanding chess players in Argentine history. In July 2006, the Buenos Aires Parliament named him an "Outstanding Personality of Argentine Culture".

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, at the age of 85, the grandmaster launched his YouTube channel, where he offered free live lessons every Saturday.

Two opening variations of the King's Indian Defence bear Panno's name, both associated with the development of the knight via c6 – in the Sämisch Variation and the Fianchetto Variation.

Links

• Oscar Panno: "Chess is cruel"
• Levon Aronian and Oscar Panno in joint masterclass
• Argentina's silver generation