Helgi Dam Ziska

Helgi Dam Ziska (born 27 July 1990 in Tórshavn^[1]) is a Faroese chess Grandmaster. ^[2] He is the first Faroese player to qualify for the Grandmaster title. Ziska is the top ranked and the highest ever rated player from his country,^[3][4] and has been rated number one amongst Faroese chess players since the age of 16.^[5] He has competed at the Chess Olympiad since 2006, representing the Faroe Islands.^[6]

Helgi Dam Ziska
Helgi Dam Ziska, 2009
Country	Faroe Islands
Born	(1990-07-27) 27 July 1990 (age 34) Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Title	Grandmaster (2017)
FIDE rating	2543 (November 2024)
Peak rating	2555 (December 2016)

Chess career

Helgi Dam Ziska was awarded the title International Master (IM) by FIDE in 2007. He achieved the norms required for the title at the Politiken Cup in July 2005, the Reykjavik Open in March 2006, and the Hogeschool Zeeland Tournament in June 2006.^[7]

In 2006 he competed at the Chess Olympiad for the first time.^[5] In 2013, Ziska gained his first norm required for the GM title at the Riga Technical University Open 2013.^[8] At the same competition in Riga, he won the blitz event (Tournament D) with a score of 9.5/11 points.^[9]

Ziska has won the Faroese championship several times.^[10][11][12] Ziska won the Nordic Junior Chess Championship in 2006 for boys born in 1989 and 1990.^[13] In 2007 he took bronze and in 2008 he took silver together with Høgni Egilstoft Nielsen at the Nordic Junior Chess Championship.^[14] In 2009 he became Nordic Junior Champion in the oldest age group at the competition which was held in Ziska's hometown Tórshavn that year.^[15] In 2010 Anatoly Karpov visited the Faroe Islands, and on that occasion Ziska won against him in fast chess, but also lost against him.^[16]

Ziska finished second at the Copenhagen Chess Challenge in 2012^[17] and 2014.^[18] He was second at the 2013 Danish Chess Championship, behind Davor Palo.^[19]

In April 2016 Ziska won the 2nd European Small Nations Individual Chess Championship in Luxembourg City to qualify to participate at the Chess World Cup 2017.^[20]

Honour

• 2006 - Sportsman of the Year 2006 in The Faroe Islands^[5]

References

1. Di Felice, Gino (16 January 2018). Chess International Titleholders, 1950-2016. McFarland. p. 366. ISBN 9781476633619. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
2. Hansen, Jóannes (12 September 2016). "Helgi er stórmeistari!!" (in Faroese). in.fo. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
3. Frederiksen, Leivur (29 August 2016). "Vangamyndin: Helgi Dam Ziska" (in Faroese). Kringvarp Føroya. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
4. "Helgi hevur vunnið GM norm" (in Faroese). in.fo. 10 August 2013. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
5. "Helgi Dam Ziska Sportsman of the Year 2006 in The Faroe Islands". World Chess Federation. 5 January 2007. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
6. Nielsen, Jóanis (2 September 2016). "Talv OL: Føroyar vunnu fyrsta dystin". jn.fo (in Faroese). Archived from the original on 6 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
7. "Title Applications - 1st quarter Presidential Board, 27-28 January 2007, Antalya, Turkey". FIDE. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
8. Crowther, Mark (12 August 2013). "Riga Technical University Open 2013". The Week in Chess. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
9. "GM Bartosz Socko lifts the trophy in Riga". Chessdom. 12 August 2013. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
10. "Talv: Helgi Dam Ziska er nýggjur føroyameistari". vev.fo (in Faroese). Kringvarp Føroya. 22 March 2008. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
11. "Helgi Dam Ziska vann FM í snartalvi" (in Faroese). Kringvarp Føroya. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
12. "Helgi vann FM í snartelving við fullum stigatali!" (in Faroese). Faroechess.com. 27 December 2015. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
13. Pedersen, Steffen (20 February 2006). "To danske nordiske mestre" (in Danish). Dansk Skak Union. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
14. "Unglingar telva NM í Havn" (in Faroese). Tórshavnar Kommuna. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
15. "Helgi vann" (in Faroese). Tórshavnar Kommuna. 14 February 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
16. "Helgi vann á Karpov!" (in Faroese). Faroechess.com. 25 July 2010. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
17. Skovgaard, Tom (7 May 2012). "Copenhagen Chess Challenge 2012" (in Danish). Københavns Skak Union. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
18. "Jens Ove Fries-Nielsen winner of Copenhagen Chess Challenge". Chessdom. 20 May 2014. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
19. Vestergaard, Thomas (31 March 2013). "Davor Palo danmarksmester". Dansk Skak Union. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
20. "IM Helgi Dam Ziska wins European Small Nations Chess Championship". Chessdom. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.