Mato Damjanović (23 November 1927 – 14 January 2011) was a Yugoslav / Croatian chess Grandmaster. Formerly a mechanical engineering student and journalist, he held the title of International Master since 1957 and became an International Grandmaster in 1964. In addition to his achievements, he's known for his exceptional contributions to the field of Chess Informant's Encyclopedia of Chess Openings.
Damjanović was born in Vinkovci, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (modern-day Croatia). He had played on several Yugoslav Chess Championship and Interzonal tournaments for which he earned his grandmaster title. His progress towards the grandmaster title was interrupted when he found himself obliged to do soldier service and suffered a serious mustard gas accident.
He participated in many international competitions, where he emerged victorious in numerous occasions. In 1962, he won the Reggio Emilia chess tournament and in 1967 he emerged joint winner in Zagreb alongside Vlastimil Hort. He also has multiple victories in the Zonal tournaments and shared the 1st place with Wolfgang Uhlmann at the Capablanca Memorial in Havana.
Despite his global success, he was most prominent in Yugoslavia where he won several national team championships and two individual championships. He played ten times in Chess Olympiads (1956–1978) representing Yugoslavia, earning two team silver medals, two team bronze, and an individual gold.
Mato Damjanović was noted for being a fighting chess player who pursued the full point until the very end in each game. He was also highly regarded as a journalist within the chess world. He passed away in 2011.