Milan Vidmar

Chessmetrics Ranking: World number four for 21 months between 1917-1923

Tournament Career: Winner of six super-tournaments:

Winner of Vienna Chess Tournament 1918, Berlin Chess Tournament 1918, Hastings International Chess Congress 1925/1926

and a few others…

Chess Olympiads: Without major successes

What earned him this:

Vidmar was one of the best players in the world in the 1910s and 1920s, yet he was always an amateur chess player and never a professional. He was a trained electrical engineer and even became the rector of the university in his native Ljubljana. Chess was essentially a “side job” to his academic activities, and given his successes, it was certainly a profitable hobby.

Vidmar is one of those players who never reached the very top, but on the other hand, he certainly did not lack consistency. He first appeared in the world top ten in 1908, and for the last time in 1933, at nearly fifty years old. In 1950, when FIDE introduced the grandmaster title, Vidmar was naturally one of the first recipients.

It is worth mentioning that Vidmar – by then already in his sixties – was the chief arbiter of the 1948 World Championship, where Botvinnik won the title.

Why he isn’t higher:

Being essentially an amateur, Vidmar might have missed the opportunity to compete for titles in the biggest tournaments or directly for the world championship title. Although he won super-tournaments and added many second, third, and other high placements, he was never considered a legitimate world championship contender. His consistent placement in the world top ten somewhat reminds me of Czech tennis player Tomáš Berdych.

Vidmar represented Yugoslavia in two Olympiads but never achieved medal glory.

Best Games:

Akiba Rubinstein vs Milan Vidmar

Berlin 1918