foto · Stefan64 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Portrait · GM
Velimir
Ivić
He reached round five of the World Cup at eighteen. His games show just how much active pieces can achieve.
Years
2002
Title
GM
City
Belgrade
FIDE ID
950122
Rating peak
2639 (June 2025)
Games in the archive
1
Velimir Ivic, born in Belgrade in 2002, reached the big stage early. His grandmaster title was confirmed in 2020, and the following year he reached round five of the World Cup.
We follow his progress through encounters from the 2021 and 2023 World Cups.
At the 2021 World Cup, eighteen-year-old Ivić met Dmitry Andreikin, the 2013 finalist, in round four. Two classical draws took the match to a tiebreak. Ivić has White in the game shown here.
Velimir Ivić - Dmitry Andreikin · World Cup 2021, Krasnaya Polyana (round 4, tie-break), 2021.07.24
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Ivic–Andreikin, World Cup 2021, rapid tiebreak: opposite-side castling and a bishop, rook and h-pawn working together in the final attack.
At the 2021 World Cup, eighteen-year-old Ivic faced Dmitry Andreikin, the 2013 runner-up, in round four. Two draws in classical chess took the match to rapid tiebreaks.
In this win with White, the kings castle on opposite sides. That often lets pawns advance towards the opposing king without exposing their own. Ivic uses that opportunity to start his kingside play.
The queen exchange brings no relief here. After 32.Bxg7, White’s bishop and rook support the h-pawn, which reaches h6 on the next move. Andreikin resigns.
Ivic won the match and advanced to round five, where Vladimir Fedoseev stopped his run. Look closely at the final position: White threatens to move the bishop off g7, clearing the way for the rook to reach that square with mate.
Two years later, at the 2023 World Cup in Baku, Ivić faced Turkey’s Ediz Gurel in round one. Again, we follow a game in which he has White.
Velimir Ivić - Ediz Gurel · World Cup 2023, Baku (round 1), 2023.08.01
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Ivic–Gurel, World Cup 2023: follow the knight through d5 and b6 to c8, where it captures a rook.
Two years later, at the 2023 World Cup in Baku, Ivic met Ediz Gurel in round one. Again there is a Sicilian Defence and White castles queenside, but this time a knight takes the leading role.
You do not need to know the opening to follow one useful idea: how White finds squares from which his pieces can attack their opponents.
Ivic’s knight reaches d5, a useful central square from which it helps put pressure on Black’s position. Later it jumps to b6 and captures the rook on c8. White wins the exchange: a rook for a minor piece.
After the queens come off, Ivic keeps playing actively. His knight returns to the action, this time through d6 to f5. Its whole journey through the game is worth following.
Ivic was also part of the Serbian team that won European team gold in Budva in 2023 and finished fifth at the 2024 Budapest Olympiad. He earned individual gold among the reserves in Budva and bronze in Budapest.
Next time you replay one of his games, try a small exercise: choose a piece and follow it from its starting square to the place where it becomes most useful. In these two wins, the bishop and knight have particularly interesting journeys.