Borislav Ivkov is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He was born on November 12, 1933 in Belgrade, Serbia (then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). He won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1951, and the following year he became a professional chess player. By 1955, he had attained the rank of International Master, and he became an International Grandmaster in 1957.
Ivkov won several prominent chess tournaments, including Mar del Plata in 1960, and earned shared first place at Hastings 1960/61. He also represented his country in 12 Chess Olympiads, winning a number of team and individual medals.
In the 1960s Ivkov beat world champions such as Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Tal among others. However, in the 1970s, his chess career started to decline. His best achievement in Interzonal competition was in 1962, where he tied for 4th-5th.
Ivkov has made contributions to Chess Informant and has written books on the game. He has also been active in the World Chess Federation (FIDE), and served as a member of the appeals committee for the World Chess Championship in 2006.
He passed away in Belgrade on 26th January 2023.