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Arturo Pomar Salamanca (1 September 1931 – 26 May 2016) was a Spanish chess player. He was the first Spanish player to be awarded the title of grandmaster (GM), and was a seven time national champion.

The prodigy
Pomar was born in Palma de Mallorca and was known in his youth, as Arturito. Hailed as a chess prodigy, he was runner-up at the Championship of the Balearic Isles when he was 10 years old, and won the title the following year. World Champion Alexander Alekhine spent time in Spain and Portugal after World War II and took an interest in the young Pomar, even giving him a series of special chess lessons. A part of Alekhine’s 1946 book ‘’Legado!’’ was devoted to him. He played his first international tournament at Madrid in October 1943. Narrowly avoiding last place, he defeated Friedrich Saemisch, who was of grandmaster strength. Then, at just 13 years of age, he was able to draw a game against his esteemed teacher at a tournament in Gijón (1944). The game itself was an exciting "back and forth" affair, with Pomar outplaying the World Champion in the endgame phase and reaching a theoretically won position. However, inexact play allowed Alekhine to draw, in a game that lasted over 70 moves. Alekhine won the event and Pomar finished fifth.

His precocious talent caused chess writers to speak of him in the same breath as celebrated child prodigies Morphy, Capablanca, Reshevsky and Fischer. In his home country, he became quite famous, appearing in radio interviews and on film. , but as his career progressed, he never quite fulfilled the early promise.

Spain's first grandmaster
Pomar's best results in international competition probably occurred at the Madrid Zonal of 1960, where he shared first place with Gligoric, Donner and Portisch; at Torremolinos 1961 (first with Gligoric); Malaga 1964 (first, ahead of Portisch); Palma de Mallorca 1966 (second, after Tal, ahead of Portisch); and at Malaga 1971 (first) His success in 1960 qualified him for a place at the Stockholm Interzonal tournament of 1962, where he finished 11th= (Fischer won). This was as close as he got to mounting a challenge for the world title.

He was awarded the International Master title in 1950 and became Spain's first grandmaster in 1962.

Pomar was Spanish champion seven times (1946, 1950, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, and 1966), and Sub-Champion four times (1951, 1956, 1964, and 1969), a record not surpassed until 2010, by Miguel Illescas.

A prolific tournament player
Close to the end of the war, he tied for fourth/fifth in Madrid 1945 (Alekhine won); took fourth in Gijón 1945 (Antonio Rico won); and shared third place in Almeria 1945 (F. López Núñez and Alekhine won).

Later, there were many international appearances, and his further results included sixth place at London 1946 (Herman Steiner won) and victory in a short match against Jacques Mieses (1½–½, also held in London). He tied for 12–13th at Barcelona 1946 (Miguel Najdorf won); tied for 15–16th at Mar del Plata 1949 (Hector Rossetto won); won at Santa Fe 1949; tied for second/third place, behind Paul Michel, at Rosario 1949; shared first at Paris 1949; tied for second/third at Gijon 1950; took 15th at Madrid 1951 (Lodewijk Prins won); took 14th at Bad Pyrmont 1951 (zonal); took 2nd at Hollywood 1952; tied for first/second at New Orleans 1954 (US Open); won at Gijón 1955; tied for second/third at Madrid 1957; won at Santander 1958; shared first with Francisco José Pérez at Madrid 1959.

Pomar finished in fifth place at the Enschede Zonal 1963 (Gligorić won); he took fourth at Málaga 1965 (Antonio Medina won); shared first with Alberic O'Kelly de Galway and Klaus Darga at Palma de Mallorca 1965; took second, behind Mikhail Botvinnik, at Amsterdam 1966 (IBM tournament); tied for 10–12th at Beverwijk 1967 (Boris Spassky won); took eighth at Palma de Mallorca 1968 (Viktor Korchnoi won); took 13th at Palma de Mallorca (Bent Larsen won); won at Málaga 1971, tied for 12–14th at Madrid 1973 (Anatoly Karpov won). He won at Alicante 1975 and ceased playing in serious events around 1985.

A team player
Pomar played for Spain at twelve consecutive Chess Olympiads, and won the individual bronze medal at Leipzig.

Full results:
 * In 1958, at first board in 13th Chess Olympiad in Munich (+5 –4 =8);
 * In 1960, at second board in 14th Chess Olympiad in Leipzig (+5 –0 =7);
 * In 1962, at first board in 15th Chess Olympiad in Varna (+6 –2 =8);
 * In 1964, at first board in 16th Chess Olympiad in Tel Aviv (+5 –2 =9);
 * In 1966, at first board in 17th Chess Olympiad in Havana (+5 –4 =7);
 * In 1968, at first board in 18th Chess Olympiad in Lugano (+4 –1 =10);
 * In 1970, at first board in 19th Chess Olympiad in Siegen (+3 –2 =11);
 * In 1972, at first board in 20th Chess Olympiad in Skopje (+5 –5 =7);
 * In 1974, at first board in 21st Chess Olympiad in Nice (+3 –6 =8);
 * In 1976, at first board in 22nd Chess Olympiad in Haifa (+2 –1 =8);
 * In 1978, at second board in 23rd Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires (+4 –3 =4);
 * In 1980, at third board in 24th Chess Olympiad in La Valletta (+2 –2 =6).

A setback
Pomar suffered at least two nervous breakdowns while attending tournaments. At Marianske Lazne in 1965, he completed nine of his fifteen games to finish with a share of last place. At Dundee 1967, he withdrew with less than half of his games completed, and his score was cancelled. Although he made a good recovery, his later play and results were affected by the experience. Times journalist Harry Golombek refers to an incident at Palma de Mallorca 1971, when Pomar was winning against Bent Larsen, but went astray and suffered the ignominy of being checkmated by an advancing pawn.

Later life
In later life, he was many times a guest of honour, especially at the Chess Olympiad of Calvia, held in 2004 on his birth island. In 2016, FIDE recognized his contribution to chess history with a special prize, following a proposal of the ACP

He died in Barcelona, on 26 May 2016, after a long illness.

Top players
FIDE top 10 by Elo rating - January 1977


 * 1) Anatoly Karpov  2690
 * 2) Viktor Korchnoi Stateless 2645
 * 3) Tigran Petrosian  2645
 * 4) Henrique Mecking 🇧🇷 2635
 * 5) Lajos Portisch 🇭🇺 2625
 * 6) Lev Polugaevsky  2620
 * 7) Vlastimil Hort 🇨🇿 2620
 * 8) Mikhail Tal  2620
 * 9) Bent Larsen  2615
 * 10) Ljubomir Ljubojevic  2615

Chess news in brief

 * The Candidates cycles progress to the latter stages. At one quarter-final, Viktor Korchnoi defeats Tigran Petrosian 6½-5½, in what is a tense encounter fuelled by a bitter rivalry. It is the first serious face-off between a Soviet player and a dissident, and Petrosian has regularly been one of Korchnoi's main detractors. The 'stateless' Korchnoi follows up with an easy 8½-4½ win over Lev Polugaevsky in Evian, to qualify for the final. Meanwhile, Boris Spassky is fortunate to defeat Vlastimil Hort 8½-7½ in a close contest, but is relatively untroubled in his Geneva based semi-final, beating Lajos Portisch 8½-6½. The final, held in Belgrade between Korchnoi and Spassky, proves to be very controversial. Spassky begins disastrously and then recovers when he leaves Korchnoi alone centre-stage for long periods, analysing instead from a remote part of the stage, where he can observe the demonstration board. The tactic causes an acrimonious dispute to develop, as it is unclear whether this is permitted by the rules. Korchnoi eventually triumphs by 10½-7½ and awaits a match for the world championship against Anatoly Karpov. In the Women's event, the teenage Maia Chiburdanidze and Alla Kushnir make it to the final, where the winner will challenge Nona Gaprindashvili for the women's title.
 * At some of the year's major tournaments, Karpov is in dominant form, winning at Las Palmas with 13½/15, from Bent Larsen (11/15) and Jan Timman (10/15); at Bad Lauterberg (12/15); and at Tilburg (8/11), where the first Interpolis sponsored event is given Category 14 status.
 * There is success for Bent Larsen at Geneva, when his 8½/13 tops Ulf Andersson's score by a half point. He wins again at Ljubliana/Portoroz with 9½/13, ahead of Vlastimil Hort and Vladimir Savon (both 9/13).
 * Mikhail Tal (11/15) outscores Oleg Romanishin (10/15) at the Keres Memorial in Tallinn, but can only share the spoils with him at the strong Leningrad tournament, when both score a winning 11½/17. Leningrad is a minor failure for Karpov, who takes fourth place. Tal also takes top spot at the Chigorin Memorial (Sochi), winning with 11/15, ahead of Efim Geller and Alexei Suetin, both 10/15.
 * The finals of the European Team Chess Championship are played in Moscow. The USSR run out easy winners with 41½/56, followed by Hungary (31/56) and Yugoslavia (30/56).
 * Relative newcomers Josif Dorfman and Boris Gulko share the 45th USSR Championship with 9½/15, edging out Petrosian and Polugaevsky by a half point. The First League final is a victory for Gennady Kuzmin with 11½/17, ahead of Vladimir Tukmakov on 11/17 and Boris Gulko and Karen Grigorian on 10½/17
 * Tony Miles enjoys a very productive summer, winning three successive tournaments at Lanzarote, Amsterdam (IBM) and Biel. He rounds things off with an impressive second place at Tilburg, behind Karpov, but ahead of Vlastimil Hort, Robert Huebner, Lubomir Kavalek and Jan Timman.
 * The annual Wijk aan Zee tournament is a victory for Efim Geller and Gennady Sosonko (both 8/11), ahead of Jan Timman on 7½/11.
 * It's a fine year for Icelander Jon Arnason, as he wins the World Cadet Championship and the full Icelandic national championship; an impressive feat for a sixteen-year-old. Another promising young talent is Artur Yusupov, who wins the World Junior Championship. Yusupov had first to win a pre-qualifier to determine the Soviet representative, a contest that included the rapidly improving youngster, Garry Kasparov.
 * Vlastimil Hort wins at Polanica Zdroj, the Rubinstein Memorial, with 12/17, ahead of Gennady Kuzmin (11/17) and Boris Gulko (10½/17). He is also victorious at Stip, scoring 9½/13, ahead of Borislav Ivkov and Miguel Quinteros (both 8½/13).
 * Wolfgang Uhlmann eclipses his higher rated opponents at Vrbas, scoring 8/11. A point behind are Svetozar Gligoric, Zoltan Ribli and Gyula Sax.
 * At Decin, Vladimir Tukmakov wins comfortably with 11½/15, a clear distance ahead of Vlastimil Hort, Lev Alburt and Wolfgang Uhlmann (all 10/15). The tournament doubles as the Czech Championship and so the title goes to Hort.
 * David Bronstein wins at Budapest with 11/16, ahead of Aivars Gipslis and Gyula Sax (both 10/16). Women’s world champion Nona Gaprindashvili withdraws after five rounds on an even score. There is a shock result at Lone Pine, when Gaprindashvili shares first place with Yuri Balashov, Oscar Panno and Dragutin Sahovic. Her performance easily surpasses the GM norm criteria and is hailed as a giant leap forward for women's chess.
 * In the USA, a chess first occurs at the Minnesota Open in Minneapolis, when computer program Chess 4.5, running on a CDC 170 computer, wins the tournament. It is held to be the first time that a non-human has won a regular chess tournament. Later, the upgraded Chess 4.6 wins the second World Computer Chess Championship, ahead of Duchess (USA) and Kaissa (USSR), which are tied in the runner-up spot.
 * Walter Browne cements his top standing in the USA with a third successive win of the national championship at Mentmore, Ohio.
 * The number of chess federations affiliated to FIDE continues to rise and passes the 100 mark. Several others remain interested and President Max Euwe predicts a rosy future for chess around the world.
 * Amongst the newly titled grandmasters are Lev Alburt, Larry Christiansen, Roman Dzindzichashvili, Michael Stean and Evgeny Sveshnikov.
 * A third series of BBC TV’s ‘The Master Game’ is commissioned as a collaboration with German Network NDR. The programme boasts an international line-up including Karpov and Larsen.
 * It is a big year for Raymond Keene, A Grandmaster of just one year’s standing, he wins at Alicante, draws a game with world champion Anatoly Karpov and gets hired to join Korchnoi’s team of seconds for his world championship campaign. Fellow Englishman Michael Stean joins him on the team.

Births

 * Alexander Morozevich, Russian GM, world championship contender – July 18
 * Bartlomiej Macieja, Polish GM, former national champion – October 4
 * Zoltan Gyimesi, Hungarian GM, former EU individual champion – March 31
 * Emil Sutovsky, Israeli GM, former World junior champion – September 19
 * Evgeniy Najer, Russian GM, former winner U.S. Open and World Open – June 22
 * Dimitri Tyomkin, Canadian GM, former European junior champion - March 25
 * Jonathan Rowson, Scottish GM, former British and Canadian Open champion – April 18
 * Ivan Ivanisevic, Serbian GM, former national champion - November 23
 * Vadim Malakhatko Belgian-Ukrainian GM, Olympiad medal winner - March 22
 * Christian Bauer, French GM, former national champion – January 11
 * Robert Kempinski, Polish GM, European youth champion in three age groups – July 11
 * Helgi Gretarsson, Icelandic GM, former world junior champion – February 18
 * Abhijit Kunte, Indian GM, Former British champion - March 3
 * Viorel Iordachescu, Moldovan GM, regular member of national team - April 20
 * Li Shilong, Chinese GM, winner of the Pichay Cup – August 10
 * Martha Fierro, Ecuadorian IM and WGM, Olympiad player and trainer – September 6

Deaths

 * Isaac Boleslavsky, Soviet-Ukrainian GM, world championship contender – February 15
 * Ivan Rohacek, Czech player, many times the national champion – November 22
 * Frantisek Zita, Czech IM and Olympiad medallist – October 1
 * Anthony Santasiere, American player, writer and journalist – January 13
 * Newell Banks, American player and champion of checkers (draughts) – February 17
 * Paul Michel, German-Argentinian IM, Olympiad medallist – September 14