Björgvin Víglundsson þaulreyndur skákmeistari og byggingaverkfræðingur er gestur Kristjáns Arnar Elíassonar í þessum þætti. Þeir félagar ræða sterkustu skákmeistara Íslands frá miðri síðustu öld og til dagsins í dag. Gervigreindarforritið ChatGPT-5 kemur mikið við sögu en til gamans, og með fyrirvara um staðreyndarvillur, ólíkar forsendur og aðgengi að upplýsingum, var það fengið til að meta 30 sterkustu skákmenn Íslands frá upphafi, sterkustu virku skákmenn landsins fyrir 1975, skákstíla og persónueiginleika þeirra bestu og margt fleira sem ekki náðist að fara yfir í þessum þætti (framhald síðar). Loks var gervigreindin beðin um að velja sér lag til að spila í lok þáttarins og komu nokkur lög til greina út frá þema þáttarins. Gervigreindin valdi lög eins og "One Night in Bangkok" með Murray Head og "The Queen´s Gambit" úr samnefndri kvikmynd með tónlist eftir Carlos Rafael Rivera. Síðarnefnda lagið er stefið sem spilað er í upphafi skákþáttanna og hið fyrra hefur verið spilað líklega tvisar eða þrisvar sinnum í þættinum áður. Lagið sem gervigreindin valdi að lokum var "Smooth Operator" með hinni seiðmögnuðu SADE en forritið metur lagið tilvalið fyrir yfirvegaða og rökrétta skákmenn!

Top Icelandic Players (Pre-1975)

1. Eggert Gilfer (1892–1960)
   • Seven-time Icelandic Champion (1918–1942) and stalwart first-board Olympiad participant.
2. Ásmundur Ásgeirsson (1906–1986)
   • Six-time Icelandic Champion between 1931 and 1946; Olympiad competitor.
3. Jón Guðmundsson (1904–1980)
   • Three-time national champion (1932, 1936–37), earned an individual gold medal in the 1939 Olympiad.
4. Baldur Möller (1914–1999)
   • Multiple Icelandic Champion (1938–1950) and two-time Nordic Champion (1948, 1950); played in Olympiads.
5. Ásmundur Ásgeirsson (listed above).
6. Guðmundur Guðmundsson (1918–1974)
   • Won the Icelandic Championship in 1954; represented Iceland in the 1954 Olympiad.
7. Freysteinn Þorbergsson (1931–1974)
   • 1960 Icelandic Champion, 1965 Nordic Champion, and key Olympiad team member until the early 1970s.
8. Friðrik Ólafsson (b. 1935)
   • Became Iceland’s first Grandmaster in 1958, later served as FIDE President (1978–1982). While more active after 1975, his rise began in the late 1950s and 1960s.
9. Bobby Fischer (1943–2008)
   • Though American by birth, Fischer’s 1972 World Championship win was held in Reykjavík, and he later settled in Iceland. His peak and influence overlap with the pre-1975 era of Icelandic chess history.

Expanding the List (9 More Notable Players)

While records are sparse, the following figures also contributed to Icelandic chess up to 1975:

1. Daniel Willard Fiske (1831–1904)
   • American ‘father of Icelandic chess’, founded Reykjavík Chess Club and promoted chess in early 1900s Iceland.

Top 30 Icelandic Chess Players – All Time (Best to Least)

With 5–15 sentence bios each for historical context.

1. Friðrik Ólafsson (1935–2025)

Iceland’s first Grandmaster (1958) and one of the top 15 players in the world at his peak. Won the Icelandic Championship six times, the Nordic Championship twice, and tied or won major international tournaments like Hastings 1955–56 and Wijk aan Zee 1976. Qualified for the 1959 Candidates Tournament, finishing 7th against the world’s best. Served as FIDE President (1978–82), the only president to beat a reigning World Champion (Karpov) in official play. His legacy is both competitive and diplomatic — he transformed Iceland’s chess profile from obscure to world-known.

2. Jóhann Hjartarson (b. 1963)

Six-time Icelandic Champion and two-time Nordic Champion. Reached the Candidates quarterfinal in 1988, beating Viktor Korchnoi before losing to Karpov. Peak FIDE rank No. 11 in January 1989 — the highest ever for an Icelander in the Elo era. Consistent Olympiad leader for Iceland from 1984 to the mid-2000s. One of only two Icelanders to have played in a Candidates knockout phase.

3. Jón Loftur Árnason (b. 1960)

World U-17 Champion (1977), GM since 1986, Icelandic Champion three times. Defeated Short, Korchnoi, Shirov, Adams, Vaganian, and Larsen, and drew with Tal, Petrosian, Smyslov, and Karpov. Instrumental in Iceland’s 5th-place Olympiad finish in 1986 and 6th in 1992. Known for deep positional understanding and resilience against elite opposition.

4. Guðmundur Sigurjónsson (b. 1947)

Second Icelandic GM (1975), three-time national champion, regular Olympiad top board. Tournament wins include Reykjavík 1970 and Brighton 1982, plus shared titles at Sant Feliu 1974 and Hastings 1974–75. Helped cement Iceland’s place as a serious chess nation in the 1970s.

5. Helgi Ólafsson (b. 1956)

GM (1985), six-time Icelandic Champion. Played more Olympiads than any other Icelander, often on Board 1. Ranked among the world’s top 50 in the late 1980s, with notable tournament wins in the Nordic circuit and strong results in Dortmund and Copenhagen. Prolific author and long-time director of the Icelandic Chess School, mentoring generations of players.

6. Héðinn Steingrímsson (b. 1975)

World U-12 Champion (1987), youngest Icelandic Champion at age 15 (1990), three-time national champion. Won Reykjavik Open 2009. Known for sharp, tactical play and endurance in classical formats. Maintained top-level presence for over 30 years.

7. Margeir Pétursson (b. 1960)

GM (1986), Icelandic Champion twice, Nordic Champion (1987). Winner of Hastings Premier 1986. Played in Interzonals 1985 and 1990, and in the 1998 FIDE World Championship. Balanced competitive chess with a successful career in finance.

8. Hannes Hlífar Stefánsson (b. 1972)

Record 11-time Icelandic Champion. World U-16 Champion (1987). Less visible internationally but a domestic powerhouse for three decades.

9. Helgi Áss Grétarsson (b. 1977)

World U-20 Champion (1994), Icelandic Champion twice (2018, 2024). GM at 17, among the strongest Icelanders of the 1990s and 2000s. Also active in politics.

10. Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson (b. 1993)

GM (2013), peak rating 2603, multiple Olympiad appearances. Currently Iceland’s top-rated active player. Strong in open tournaments and blitz formats.

11. Henrik Danielsen (b. 1966)

GM (1996), Danish-born but switched to Iceland in 2005. Icelandic Champion 2009. Known for creative opening play (“Polar Bear” system).

12. Baldur Möller (1914–1999)

Pre-GM era champion — won Icelandic title seven times between 1938 and 1950, Nordic Champion twice. Laid early foundations for Icelandic chess in the mid-20th century.

13. Guðmundur Kjartansson (b. 1988)

GM (2021), three-time Icelandic Champion (2014, 2017, 2020). Consistent top-five national player over the last decade.

14. Jón Viktor Gunnarsson (b. 1982)

GM, frequent Olympiad representative. Known for solid positional play.

15. Þröstur Thorhallsson (b. 1969)

GM (1996), long career at high national level. Frequent Olympiad competitor.

16. Bragi Thorfinnsson (b. 1981)

GM (2018), strong national league competitor. Notable for balancing chess with full-ti...