![]() ![]() He is also finishing a book he started decades earlier about chess and life. Like a lot of Calgarians Brebrich is spending time on the west coast in his retirement, where he has taught chess at the Richmond public library, and at a private school in the lower mainland. In 2019 he was convinced to return to competition in the "2019 Battle of Alberta" pitching Calgary players against Edmonton’s best, where he scored 1.5/2 points (a win and a draw). ![]() That's not for me anymore.”īrebrich might not keep score anymore but others do. I don't keep the score, like one to zero or whatever. “Now if I play, if I can make one small combination, that is beautiful, I enjoy that. “I stopped playing tournaments in 1986,” said Brebrich Instead, he seeks the beauty of a well-played board. While still in love with the game, Brebrich says he isn’t in it for the competition anymore. On his "Brebrich on Chess" television program, which aired weekly on Rogers's cable from 1972-1981 Brebrich introduced new players to the game and old players to new techniques. He left his real mark on the game in Alberta through mentoring you players, becoming the president of the Alberta Youth Chess Association, and teaching chess in schools from elementary through to being a lecturer at Mount Royal University (then Mount Royal College). He was also the Calgary Herald’s chess columnist beginning in 1978. On his "Brebrich on Chess" television program, which aired weekly on Rogers cable from 1972-1981 Brebrich introduced new players to the game and old players to new techniques. In western Canadian chess circles, Brebrich is perhaps best known as a teacher. ![]() "I wanted to break my own record in Calgary. “That happened in Edmonton, and I stopped at 575 because that was in Edmonton," said Brebrich. As a world record it stood for six years, but he still holds the Canadian record.īrebrich said he could have played even more games, In 1978 he set a world record by playing 575 simultaneous games scoring 533 wins, 27 draws and only 15 losses. As a world record it stood for six years, but he still holds the Canadian record. In 1978 he set a world record by playing 575 simultaneous games, scoring 533 wins, 27 draws and only 15 losses. For the next decade he popularized the game, playing simultaneous games against multiple players in malls and other public venues. Born in Croatia he arrived in Calgary in 1968, becoming president of the chess club a year later. So yeah, it was it was a great influence on me."īrebrich influenced generations of chess players in western Canada. "And turns out he was also an organizer, a promoter for virtually most of his adult life. "We all looked up to Branimir's abilities," said Sklenka. "I knew Branimir way back in the early 70s, when I started going to the Calgary chess club and Branimir at that time was a top player, (one of the) top two or three in Alberta," said Steve Sklenka, the past president of the Calgary Chess Club. Others are singing his praises as the octogenarian is awarded with his place in the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame. "Other people have to say that about you," said Brebrich. If you said you're a genius, you are not genius," he said. because I think if you say ‘I am smart’, that means you are not smart. In a game known for its huge egos - (Gary Kasparov), or mercurial tempers (Bobby Fischer), Brebrich is understated, and even-keeled. He is ranked as a chess master, and now is the first Albertan inducted into the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame. And to win by some beauty, not just pushing the pieces… not to be like ‘a wood-pusher,’" said Brebrich ( a ‘wood-pusher is a chess burn meaning someone who only knows how the pieces move, but they don’t understand the strategy, or beauty, of the game.)īrebrich is no wood-pusher. At 88 years old Branimir Brebrich is still a force to be reckoned with as he sits at a chess board. ![]()
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