Boris Kostić was a Serbian-Yugoslav chess player and grandmaster, born on 24 February 1887 in Vršac, Kingdom of Hungary and died on 3 November 1963 in Belgrade, Serbia. He was awarded the title of International Grandmaster, posthumously in 1950 by FIDE, the first Serbian chess player to be a grandmaster.
Kostić started playing chess at the age of 10 and gained prominence after his crucial victories in several competitions held from 1909 to 1912. He even played in St. Petersburg in 1914 against Alexander Alekhine, one of the greatest chess players in history, although he lost the competition.
One of his major achievements was winning in Trencianske Teplice in 1928. Additionally, he participated in various Chess Olympiads from 1927 to 1937.
His most notable feat was touring various continents to demonstrate and promote chess. He visited North and South America in 1913, covering 600 towns and playing around 6,000 games in 6 years. In Asia, he visited Japan in 1916 and gave an extensive number of blindfold exhibitions, winning hundreds of games.
He published numerous articles and books about chess tactics and strategies in Serbian and German. Several of his published books include "String of Pearls", "At Journey Around the World", and "Vademekum for Chess Friends".
After World War II, he became involved in chess politics and dedicated himself to teaching chess and organizing competitions in Yugoslavia. He led the Yugoslavian Chess Federation from 1949 until his retirement in 1962.
Boris Kostić's contribution to and impact on the world of chess is recognized with the Boris Kostić Memorial, a chess tournament that still takes place in Serbia in his honor.