Victor Ciocâltea was a Romanian chess Grandmaster who was born on January 16, 1932, and died on September 10, 1983. Ciocâltea started playing chess at the late age of 16. Despite this late start, he won the junior championship of Bucharest in 1950, and the adult championship in 1952. He represented Romania in eleven Chess Olympiads from 1952 to 1974 and once in the European Team Chess Championship of 1961.
He was recognized as an International Master (IM) in 1957 and an International Grandmaster (GM) in 1979 by International Chess Federation (FIDE).
He played against some notable chess players during his career such as World Champion Vasily Smyslov, to whom he lost in a tournament in 1961. He also defeated Robert James Fischer, who would later become World Champion in 1958, in the 2nd World Student Team Chess Championship at Varna.
Ciocâltea also played very important roles in team events where he helped Romania achieve great results in many important tournaments; such as the first prize in the Clare Benedict Cup five times. Their best result in the Chess Olympiad, third place, also came with a significant contribution from him.
He passed away while participating in a chess tournament in Manresa, Spain, on September 10, 1983.