Miša Pap is a Croatian chess player who holds the title of International Grandmaster since 1983. Born on August 17, 1944, in Vukovar, Croatia, he started playing chess during his elementary school years and eventually climbed the ranks to become a respected figure in the chess world. He won the Yugoslav Junior Championship in 1965, the Zagreb Championship in 1974, and the championship of the University of Zagreb for three consecutive years from 1969 to 1971.
Throughout his career, Pap has participated in 13 Chess Olympiads, representing both Yugoslavia and Croatia. He also competed in numerous international tournaments including those in Zagreb, Montreal, and Buenos Aires. Some of his notable achievements include being a two-time winner of a closed tournament in Banja Vrucica in 1975 and 1976, and securing second runner-up in the tournament in Las Palmas in 1979.
In addition to his active chess career, Pap has been an established chess coach and theoretical author. He trained several successful chess players, including Ivan Sokolov, Predrag Nikolic, and Alisa Maric. His chess theories have been published in popular chess magazines, and he is recognized for his contribution to the Queen’s Gambit Accepted line. Pap has also served in various organizational roles within chess, such as a member of the arbitration commission of the Yugoslav Chess Federation and president of the Chess Club Zagreb.
Outside of chess, Pap holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and has authored several scientific papers. He worked as a professor at a Polytechnic school and as a computer engineer in Croatia.