GM Zenon Franco Ocampos, the primary Paraguayan grandmaster and a legendary writer and chess coach, has handed away on the age of 68. He died in a hospital in Vigo, Spain on Tuesday, October 1 after struggling a coronary heart assault.
Franco was born within the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion on Could 12, 1956, however his household was pressured to maneuver to Buenos Aires, Argentina because of political repression. That is the place Franco’s chess profession started, although he was in a position to return to Paraguay to win the nationwide championship in 1976. That very same yr, he performed his first of 11 Olympiads (10 for Paraguay and one for Spain in 1998), in Haifa, Israel.
Franco gained the Pan-American Championship in 1981, and on the January 1982 FIDE score listing he ranked a career-best 67th. That very same yr, nonetheless an international master, he performed the Olympiad in Lucerne, Switzerland and gained the person gold medal on board one with a rating of 11/13. He would repeat that feat and take particular person gold within the 1990 Olympiad in Novi Unhappy, Yugoslavia, this time with 9/12.
One in all his college students, present Spanish Workforce Captain IM David Martinez, recounts within the Spanish tribute video above how thirteenth World Chess Champion GM Garry Kasparov, who took particular person bronze on board two in 1982, complained in regards to the system that rewarded medals primarily based on proportion rating (and never, for instance, efficiency score). Kasparov wrote that any member of the Soviet staff may have overwhelmed Franco and different gold medalists in a simultaneous show—to which Martinez says the Paraguayan star laughingly agreed. Martinez notes he had “an incredible humorousness and a unprecedented love of chess.”
Franco was no slouch on the board, nevertheless. His first recreation in that 1982 Olympiad was towards world number-three GM Viktor Korchnoi, by then representing the host nation, Switzerland. Franco made a draw with the black items, and it was Korchnoi who was objectively in bother at factors throughout the recreation.
In 1990, Franco grew to become Paraguay’s first grandmaster, with 4 gamers since following in his footsteps.
Within the early 90s, Franco additionally moved to Spain, the place he lived together with his spouse, Cuban-Spanish WIM Yudania Hernandez in Ponteareas, Galicia. He by no means give up taking part in chess—his final rated recreation was in April of this yr—however he switched to different features of the sport, together with teaching a few of the prime Spanish gamers. His star pupil was GM Francisco “Paco” Vallejo, whom he helped climb from worldwide grasp into the world’s top-40.
Franco additionally grew to become a prolific writer, publishing 38 books in seven languages. These included a “Transfer by Transfer” sequence, that includes nice video games by a few of the world’s finest recognized chess gamers: Paul Morphy, Emanuel Lasker, GM Akiba Rubinstein, GM Paul Keres, GM Boris Spassky, and GM Viswanathan Anand. Martinez notes that Franco adopted the identical method in his books as in his teaching, continually asking the reader/pupil, “What would you play now?”
In addition to writing books, Franco labored as a commentator, as an example on the Leon Masters, and was a prolific columnist. Paraguayan newspaper ABC Colour was planning to publish Franco’s 725th column on Wednesday, however as a substitute looked back on his life and career.
We lengthen our deepest sympathies to Franco’s spouse, household, and associates. Could he relaxation in peace.
