Leif Erlend Johannessen, better known as Leif Øgaard, is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster. He was awarded the International Master (IM) title in 1974, and the Grandmaster (GM) title in 1977 — the second Norwegian after Simen Agdestein to receive the latter.

Øgaard was born on 11 March 1953 in Trondheim, Norway. His accomplishments include winning the Norwegian Chess Championship three times: in 1974, 1975, and 1982. He was runner-up in 1976, 1977, 1988 and 1997. He has also participated in eleven Chess Olympiads from 1972 to 2002, and in 1974 and 1982 he played at the top board. His best result being in 1974 at Nice, when he scored 9/15.

Despite his successful career, he did not pursue chess as a full-time profession. Instead, he chose to work as a journalist for a Norwegian newspaper, Adresseavisen. Nonetheless, he has continued to play chess at a competitive level — at the age of 66, he won the Senior World Championship.