The Most Famous
CHESS PLAYERS from Croatia
This page contains a list of the greatest Croatian Chess Players. The pantheon dataset contains 461 Chess Players, 2 of which were born in Croatia. This makes Croatia the birth place of the 38th most number of Chess Players behind Peru, and Vietnam.
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Croatian Chess Players of all time. This list of famous Croatian Chess Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Mišo Cebalo (1945 - 2022)
With an HPI of 58.44, Mišo Cebalo is the most famous Croatian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.
Mišo Cebalo (6 February 1945 – 2 September 2022) was a Croatian chess Grandmaster. He won the 19th World Senior Chess Championship at Condino 2009. In 2011 he was awarded the title of FIDE Senior Trainer.
2. Petar Trifunović (1910 - 1980)
With an HPI of 54.89, Petar Trifunović is the 2nd most famous Croatian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Petar Trifunović (31 August 1910 – 8 December 1980) was a Yugoslav and Serbian chess player, who was awarded the international grandmaster title, and was a five-time Yugoslav champion.
3. Ognjen Cvitan (b. 1961)
With an HPI of 46.31, Ognjen Cvitan is the 3rd most famous Croatian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.
Ognjen Cvitan (born 10 October 1961) is a Croatian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1987. He had earned the title of International Master by winning the 1981 World Junior Championship. Cvitan was born in Šibenik (then Yugoslavia). He made his debut for Yugoslavia's C team at the 1990 Chess Olympiad, held in Novi Sad, recording a plus score on board one. At the Manila Olympiad of 1992, he played on the second reserve board for Croatia and earned an individual gold medal. Cvitan competed in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2002, where he was knocked out in the first round by Alexander Lastin. He took first places, either outright or shared, in a number of tournaments. In the late 1980s, these included Wolfsberg 1986, Prague 1987, Pula 1987 and 1988, Mendrisio 1987, 1988 and 1989, San Bernardino 1987, Belgrade 1987, Geneva 1988, Bela Crkva 1988, Oberwart 1988, Chiasso 1989, and Vrsac 1989. The 1990s were almost as fruitful for him, his first place tally including Cannes 1990 and 1996, Dubrovnik 1990, Bad Ragaz 1992, Forli 1993, Basel 1999 and Zurich 1999. Into the new millennium, he has registered victories at Zadar 2001, Oberwart 2001, Rijeka 2001 and Bizovac 2002. In 2011, he was awarded the title of FIDE Trainer.
4. Ivan Šarić (b. 1990)
With an HPI of 35.68, Ivan Šarić is the 4th most famous Croatian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Ivan Šarić (Croatian pronunciation: [ǐʋan ʃǎːritɕ]; born 17 August 1990) is a Croatian chess grandmaster. He earned his IM title in 2007, and his GM title in 2008. He won the Under-18 European Youth Chess Championship in 2007, and the Under-18 World Youth Chess Championship in 2008. In 2018 he won the European Individual Chess Championship in Batumi with a score of 8.5/11 points. He has also won the Croatian Chess Championship in 2009 and 2013, and holds a notable victory over Magnus Carlsen, achieved at the 2014 Chess Olympiad.
5. Duško Pavasovič (b. 1976)
With an HPI of 34.30, Duško Pavasovič is the 5th most famous Croatian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.
Duško Pavasovič (born 15 October 1976) is a Slovenian chess player. He holds the title of Grandmaster, which FIDE awarded him in 1999. Pavasovič was born in Split, Croatia (then Yugoslavia), and later took Slovenian citizenship. He won the Slovenian Championships of 1999 and 2006. Pavasovič took the national champion title again in 2007, when he won the Vidmar Memorial in Ljubljana. In the same year he finished fourth in the European Individual Chess Championship with a performance rating of 2765. Pavasovič played for the Slovenian national team in the Chess Olympiad, European Team Chess Championship and Mitropa Cup. Pavosavič, alongside fellow Slovenian grandmaster Luka Lenič, also co-founded the company Kings of Games and created the mobile chess game Chess Universe.
People
Pantheon has 5 people classified as Croatian chess players born between 1910 and 1990. Of these 5, 3 (60.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Croatian chess players include Ognjen Cvitan, Ivan Šarić, and Duško Pavasovič. The most famous deceased Croatian chess players include Mišo Cebalo, and Petar Trifunović. As of April 2024, 3 new Croatian chess players have been added to Pantheon including Ognjen Cvitan, Ivan Šarić, and Duško Pavasovič.
Living Croatian Chess Players
Go to all Rankings
Ognjen Cvitan
1961 - Present
HPI: 46.31
Ivan Šarić
1990 - Present
HPI: 35.68
Duško Pavasovič
1976 - Present
HPI: 34.30
Deceased Croatian Chess Players
Go to all RankingsNewly Added Croatian Chess Players (2025)
Go to all RankingsOgnjen Cvitan
1961 - Present
HPI: 46.31
Ivan Šarić
1990 - Present
HPI: 35.68
Duško Pavasovič
1976 - Present
HPI: 34.30
