Peter Biyiasas(born November 19, 1950) is a Canadianchess grandmaster.[1][2][3][4]He was Canadian champion in 1972 and 1975, represented Canada with success on four Olympiad teams, and played in twoInterzonals.He moved to the United States in 1979, settling inCalifornia.He retired from competitive play in the mid-1980s to work as a computer programmer. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was a frequent training partner ofBobby Fischer,who stayed at his home inSan Franciscofor extended periods.[5]
| Peter Biyiasas | |
|---|---|
 Biyiasas at theWijk an Zee Tournament,1980 | |
| Country | Canada (until 1979) United States (since 1979) |
| Born | November 19, 1950(age74) Athens,Greece |
| Title | Grandmaster(1978) |
| FIDErating | 2450(December 2024) |
| Peak rating | 2485 (January 1979) |
Early years
editBorn in Athens, Greece, Biyiasis moved to Canada as a young boy, and grew up inWinnipegandVancouver.[6]He won the first of his fourBritish Columbiachess championships in 1968; he would repeat in 1969, 1971, and 1972.[7]He played in the 1969 ClosedCanadian Chess ChampionshipatPointe Claire,and finished in the middle of the field;Duncan Suttleswon.[8]Biyiasas was of National Master strength by this time. He represented Canada as second reserve on its bronze medal-winning team at the 1971 World Students' Olympiad inMayagüez,Puerto Rico, where he scored 5/7 (+4 −1 =2).[9]He graduated from theUniversity of British Columbiain 1972 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. He won the first of his three British Columbia Open titles in 1972, and repeated in 1976 and 1978.
Canadian Champion, International Master
editBiyiasas won the Zonal Closed Canadian Championship,Toronto1972, with 12/17, half a point ahead ofLawrence DayandGeorge Kuprejanov.[10][11]For this, he earned theInternational Mastertitle, as did Day and Kuprejanov. It marked an enormous leap in class for him in just one year, from second reserve on the Canadian student team to national champion.
Biyiasas tied for 1st–4th places atNorristown1973 at 7½/11, along withKenneth Rogoff,Bruno Parma,andHermann Pilnik.[12][13]He struggled in his first super-strong tournament, the 1973 PetropolisInterzonal,with 6½/17, for 15th place;Henrique Meckingwon.[14][15]But he stayed on in Brazil for theSão Pauloevent, and placed respectably with 6½/13.[16]Biyiasas won the British Columbia Diamond Jubilee Open in 1973,[17]and repeated in 1974 and 1976.
He notched a strong third place at the 1974Pan American Chess Championshipin Winnipeg with 11/15;Walter Brownewon. He tied withKim Commonsfor the American Open title in 1974.[18]He repeated as Canadian champion in the Zonal atCalgary1975 with 12/15, half a point ahead ofKevin Spraggett.[19]This earned him another Interzonal chance at Manila 1976, where he finished with 6/19 for 17th place; Mecking won again.[20]
Medals in Olympiads
editBiyiasas made four appearances for Canada in chessOlympiadcompetition. He won board medals on three occasions, including a silver and two bronzes, scored (+28 −7 =18) overall, for 70 per cent, and helped Canada to some of its best-ever team finishes in 1976 (8th) and 1978 (11th).[21]
- 1972 Skopjeboard 4: 11½/15 (+8 −0 =7), bronze medal;
- 1974 Niceboard 2: 9½/17 (+7 −5 =5);
- 1976 Haifa board 1: 7½/10 (+6 −1 =3); bronze medal;
- 1978 Buenos Airesboard 2: 9/12 (+7 −1 =4); silver medal.
Grandmaster
editBiyiasas made an excellent tied 3rd–4th atNew York City1977 with 8½/14, asLeonid ShamkovichandAndrew Soltiswon.[22]In the Canadian Zonal, Toronto 1978, he finished 2nd with 10/15, asJean Hébertwon.[23]He earned theGrandmastertitle in 1978 (making him Canada's third grandmaster afterAbe YanofskyandDuncan Suttles) for his strong performances at the GHI International Open (New York 1978),Lone Pine(1978), and theHaifaOlympiad.[1][24][25]
Biyiasas scored 7½/14 atHastings1978–79 to tie for 7th–10th places, asUlf Anderssonwon.[26]He won the 1979Paul KeresMemorial tournament in Vancouver.[27]He emigrated to the US in 1979, working inSan Jose,California as an IBM computer programmer. Biyiasas scored 6½/15 at Hastings 1979–80 for 13th place, as Andersson won again.[28]One of his strongest career results came in a very strong field atWijk aan Zee1980, where he made 7½/13 to tie for 4th–6th places, as Browne andYasser Seirawanwon.[29]He scored an excellent equal 2nd place atZrenjanin1980. He played in theUnited States Chess Championshipat Greenville 1980, finishing just below 50 per cent.[30]
Biyiasas won a number of tournaments in the San Francisco area while visiting and after moving there.[6]These included four titles in the Carroll Capps Memorial (1981, 1982, 1983, and 1985),[31]and four titles in the Arthur Stamer Memorial (1978, 1979, 1982, and 1984); the events were organized by the Mechanics Institute Chess Room. He also won the Northern California Championship in 1983.[32]
During a four-month period in 1981, Biyiasis played 17 five-minute games with Bobby Fischer, who was staying in his apartment at the time. Fischer, although he had been absent from competitive play for nine years, won all of them. Biyiasas said that he didn't think Fischer had lost anything in form, despite the layoff.[5]
Chess style
editBiyiasis's formation was influenced in the late 1960s when he joined a group of young masters mentored byElod Macskasy.[33]He generally favoured unusual openings, staying away from mainlineSiciliansafter opening with 1.e4. Biyiasis tended towardsKing's Indian Attackformations, and aimed to get play into complex maneuvering channels.[34]"At his best, he is mathematically thorough," wrote the chess columnist Vic Arcega. "At his worst, he is a 'great escape artist' and has won 'impossible' games."[35]
Biyiasas retired from competitive chess in the mid-1980s.
In 2002, he was inducted into the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame.[36]
He was married toRuth Haring,aWoman International Masterwith whom he had three children.[37][38]
Notable chess games
edit- Peter Biyiasas vs Werner Hug, Petropolis Interzonal 1973, Sicilian Defence (B40), 1–0A very attractive miniature.
- Peter Biyiasas vs Efim Geller, Petropolis Interzonal 1973, Sicilian Defence, Moscow / Rossolimo Variation (B52), 1–0The young Canadian knocks off one of the world's top players.
- Peter Biyiasas vs Mato Damjanovic, Lone Pine 1975, Sicilian Defence / King's Indian Attack (B30), 1–0Typical Biyiasas win with an unusual opening and plenty of maneuvering.
- Peter Biyiasas vs Kevin Spraggett, Canadian Zonal Championship, Calgary 1975, Sicilian Defence / King's Indian Attack (B40), 1–0The key game which decided the tournament, between the top two finishers.
- Peter Biyiasas vs Eugenio Torre, Manila Interzonal 1976, King's Indian Defence, Sämisch Variation (E81), 1–0Broadening his opening repertoire.
- Stefano Tatai vs Peter Biyiasas, Haifa Olympiad 1976, Ruy Lopez, Fianchetto / Smyslov Defence (C60), 0–1Another unusual opening brings success.
- Jonathan Speelman vs Peter Biyiasas, Lone Pine 1978, English Opening, Great Snake (A10), 0–1Experimental but successful.
- Peter Biyiasas vs Evgeni Vasiukov, Hastings 1978–79, King's Indian Attack (A07), 1–0A strong Soviet GM learns to respect the eccentric style of Biyiasas.
- Peter Biyiasas vs Jan Timman, Wijk aan Zee 1980, Sicilian Defence, Moscow / Rossolimo Variation (B50), 1–0Timman was one of the highest-rated players in the world for 20 years.
- Peter Biyiasas vs Lev Alburt, Lone Pine 1981, Zukertort Opening (A00), 1–0Another patient strategical grind.
References
edit- ^abDay, Lawrence (July 8, 2008)."Peter Biyiasis".The Canadian Encyclopedia.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"Peter Biyiasis at seventy"(PDF).BCCF E-mail Bulletin.No. 403. 2020.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^Golombek, Harry, ed. (1977).Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess.Crown Publishers.ISBN9780517531464.RetrievedMarch 23,2023.
- ^Divinsky, Nathan (1990).The Batsford Chess Encyclopedia.Batsford. p. 21.ISBN9780713462142.RetrievedAugust 17,2023.
- ^abNack, William (July 29, 1985)."Bobby Fischer".Sports Illustrated.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^abFauber, R.E. (1980)."Peter Biyiasis: Bay Area Bluebomber"(PDF).Chess Voice.Vol. 15, no. 3. p. 8.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"British Columbia Chess Federation - Provincial Champions".B.C. Chess Federation.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"59th Canadian Championship, Pointe Claire, 10 - 23 August 1969".bcchesshistory.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"18th World Student Team Chess Championship: Mayagüez 1971".Olimpbase.org.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^Lennon (photographer), Frank (June 26, 1972)."Peter Biyiasas, 21, a student at the University of British Columbia, studies a move before winning the Canadian Closed Chess Championship last night (photo caption)".Toronto Star.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^Wright, Stephen."1972 Canadian Championship"(PDF).BCCF Bulletin.No. 130.RetrievedAugust 7,2023.
- ^"Biyiasis shares lead in chess tournament".Daily Colonist (Victoria, BC).June 23, 1973.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"Norristown (1973)".chessgames.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^Kerr, Ray (February 24, 1973)."B.C. to pay chess tab".Daily Colonist (Victoria, BC).p. 15.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"World Chess Championship: 1973 Petropolis Interzonal Tournament".Mark-Weeks.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"Sao Paulo 1973".365chess.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"Diamond Jubilee Open Chess Tournament, Dec. 26-30, 1973"(PDF).Northwest Chess.February 1974. pp. 37–38, 41.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^Budd, Carl (February 1975)."10th American Open"(PDF).Chess Life & Review.pp. 74–75.RetrievedMarch 14,2023.
- ^"61st Canadian Chess championship: Calgary 1975".olimpbase.org.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"World Chess Championship: 1976 Manila Interzonal Tournament".mark-weeks.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"Chess Olympiads: Peter Biyiasas".olimpbase.org.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^Byrne, Robert (February 2, 1977)."Chess (column)".New York Times.pp. C22.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^Berry, Jonathan, ed. (1978).62nd Canadian Closed Chess Championship and Zonal Tournament, Toronto 1978.Chess Federation of Canada.
- ^Goichberg, Bill (October 1978)."GHI International Open: Titles and Norms"(PDF).Chess Life & Review.p. 550.RetrievedAugust 10,2023.
- ^"Lone Pine (1978)".chessgames.RetrievedMarch 10,2023.
- ^"Hastings, 1978-79".chessgames.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"4th Paul Keres Memorial: Open".bcchesshistory.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"Hastings, 1979-80".chessgames.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"Wijk aan Zee Hoogovens 1980".365chess.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"United States Championship Tournament (1980)".chessgames.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"Mechanics' Institute Chess Club Newsletter, no. 506".chessdryad.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^Goodall, K. Michael (1983)."Biyiasis wins Northern California championship"(PDF).Chess Voice.Vol. 15, no. 5.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^Berry, Jonathan (2005)."A Personal Remembrance"(PDF).British Columbia Chess Federation Bulletin.No. 74.RetrievedMarch 24,2023.
- ^Mar, Craig."The Talking Grandmaster".California Chess History Archives.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^Arcega, Vic (May 19, 1973). "Imaginative way to win war".The Albertan (Calgary).
- ^Cohen, David (January 15, 2020)."Peter Biyiasis".Canadian Chess Biographies.RetrievedMarch 14,2023.
- ^McLean, Dylan Loeb (December 3, 2018)."Ruth Haring, Top Chess Player Who Led Federation, Dies at 63".New York Times.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^See also:List of chess families
External links
edit- Peter Biyiasasrating card atFIDE
- Peter Biyiasasrating and tournament record atUS Chess Federation
- Peter BiyiasasFIDE rating history at OlimpBase.org
- Peter BiyiasasChess Olympiad record at OlimpBase.org
- Peter Biyiasasplayer profile and games atChessgames
- Peter Biyiasasbulleted player profile, Canadian Chess Hall of Fame
- Peter BiyiasisChessmetrics player profile
- Peter's PrinciplesTranscript of a 1979 lecture given by Biyiasis in Vancouver where he discusses three of his best games.
