Bojan Maksimovic

Overview

Bojan Maksimović is a Serbian chess grandmaster (GM) born on November 6, 2002, in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He represented the Bosnia and Herzegovina Chess Federation until transferring to the Serbian Chess Federation in early 2026. He was awarded the Grandmaster title by FIDE in 2025, having previously earned the FIDE Master (FM) title in 2017 and the International Master (IM) title in 2021. He achieved his career-high classical FIDE rating of 2536 in September 2025. Maksimović is a highly competitive tournament professional who has represented his country in the Chess Olympiad and qualified for the 2025 FIDE World Cup.

Biography & Major Career Milestones

Born in Banja Luka, Maksimović developed rapidly through the youth ranks of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In March 2017, at the age of 14 years, 6 months, and 9 days, he became the youngest FIDE Master in the history of Banja Luka. He followed this milestone in April 2021 by becoming the city's youngest International Master at the age of 18 years, 5 months, and 15 days.

Maksimović secured his Grandmaster title in 2025 by completing three required norms:

• First GM Norm: Earned at the 30th Croatian Team Championship (Prva B Liga) in Poreč, Croatia (September 23 – October 2, 2022), where he scored 6.5/9.
• Second GM Norm: Achieved at the Serbian First League in Bajina Bašta, Serbia (September 18–28, 2023), with an undefeated score of 8/11.
• Third GM Norm: Secured at the 23rd Chess Festival Città di Spilimbergo (Open Master) in Italy (August 9–15, 2025), where he scored 6.5/9 against a field containing eight grandmasters.

His tournament victories include winning the Uroš Dinić Memorial Rapid tournament in July 2024 on tiebreaks with a score of 7.5/9 and the 5th Jajce Open in February 2025, defeating grandmaster Danilo Milanović on tiebreaks. In July 2025, he tied for first place at the 5th Serbia Open Masters in Belgrade, finishing with 7/9 points alongside tournament winner Alexandr Predke.

At the FIDE World Cup 2025 in Goa, India, Maksimović qualified through an Olympiad zonal qualifier spot. In the first round, he pulled off a major upset by eliminating Turkish grandmaster Emre Can 1.5-0.5 in the rapid tiebreaks after drawing both classical games. He was eliminated in the second round by Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri. In January 2026, he officially transferred federations to represent Serbia.

Elite Team & Event Performance

• 45th Chess Olympiad (2024): Represented Bosnia and Herzegovina in Budapest, Hungary. He scored crucial individual wins, including a victory over Roberto Carlos Sanchez Alvarez.
• European Club Cup (2023): Played for his designated club, where he faced former World Champion Magnus Carlsen in a highly technical game.
• German Bundesliga (2024–2026): Represents SK Kirchweyhe in the top tier of the German Chess Bundesliga, maintaining a stable presence on the lower boards. His results include draws against elite players, such as GM Dinara Wagner in early 2026.

Playing Style, Material Tendencies & Endgame Profiling

Maksimović is a highly concrete, dynamic player of the computer-era generation. Rather than pursuing long, theoretical mainlines, he frequently opts for offbeat systems to bypass early preparation and force opponents into unfamiliar middlegame positions. He displays strong tactical calculation skills and is comfortable in sharp, asymmetrical positions.

His attacking flair is especially prominent in rapid and blitz controls. He excels in positions featuring opposite-colored bishops, where he prioritizes the initiative and king safety over nominal material deficits. In defensive situations, he relies on dense calculation to identify active resources rather than passive resistance. In queenless middlegames and late-stage endgames, Maksimović exhibits refined technical patience, often squeezing small structural or pawn advantages to secure conversions.

Opening Repertoire & Theoretical Move Orders

1. As White

Maksimović relies heavily on Queen's Pawn systems and offbeat lines to dictate the game's direction from move one.

His primary weapon against setups starting with 1...Nf6 is the Trompowsky Attack:

He is particularly fond of the aggressive Raptor Variation, which seeks early kingside space and avoids mainstream theoretical lines:

Against systems starting with 1...d5, he frequently transposes into the Torre Attack or Levitsky Attack structures, utilizing an early Bf4 or Bg5 combined with a quick Nf3:

In addition to 1.d4, Maksimović employs flank systems, including the King's Indian Attack and English Opening setups:

2. As Black

As Black, Maksimović blends solid positional frameworks with hypermodern, asymmetrical setups to generate counterplay.

Against 1.e4, his primary solid choice is the Caro-Kann Defense, where he often navigates toward the Tartakower Variation:

When seeking more dynamic, unbalanced play, he employs the Modern Defense:

He is also a frequent practitioner of the offbeat Norwegian Variation of the Modern Defense, which targets the center immediately:

Against 1.d4, he typically replies with Indian setups, keeping his defensive choices flexible based on the tournament situation.

Links

• FIDE: https://ratings.fide.com/profile/14408120
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bojan_Maksimovi%C4%87