The chess world mourns the passing of Yugoslav-Slovene Grandmaster Bruno Parma, who departed this life at the age of 84.
Born in Ljubljana in 1941, then part of Italian-occupied Slovenia, Parma learned chess during his school years. His early career was marked by significant success in youth competitions. As a high school student, he secured second place at the 1959 World Junior Championship at the age of 17. Two years later, Parma won the World Junior Championship outright in The Hague, Netherlands, earning the International Master title.
Parma was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1963 following his success at the Beverwijk tournament, becoming the third Slovenian to achieve this distinction.
Among his most notable international results were a second-place finish in San Juan, Puerto Rico (1969), behind Boris Spassky, and shared first place with Georgi Tringov in Vršac (1973).
A regular participant in the highly competitive Yugoslav Championships for over two decades, Parma never captured the national title but achieved a shared third-place finish in Čatežske Toplice (1968), behind co-winners Svetozar Gligorić and Borislav Ivkov.
Parma represented Yugoslavia at eight Chess Olympiads (1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1978, and 1980), contributing to four team silver and two team bronze medals. He also played for Yugoslavia in nine USSR vs. Yugoslavia matches held throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
After retiring from competitive play in the late 1980s, Parma transitioned to coaching. He served as a selector for both the Yugoslav national team and the inaugural Slovenian national team, helping to foster the development of future generations of players in post-independence Slovenia.
FIDE expresses its deepest condolences to Bruno Parma’s family, friends, and loved ones.