Miguel Najdorf

Miguel Najdorf was a Polish-Argentine chess grandmaster who lived from 1910 to 1997, relocating from Poland to Argentina during World War II and becoming one of the strongest players in the world through the 1940s and 1950s. He is best known for developing the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense, one of the most widely played chess openings, and for setting a world record for simultaneous blindfold chess, playing 45 opponents at once in 1947, a mark that stood until 2011. He received the Grandmaster title in 1950, reached a peak rating of 2540 in 1972, and competed in multiple Chess Olympiads representing first Poland and later Argentina, winning eleven Olympic medals over his career.