Sürengiin Möömöö (Mongolian: Сүрэнгийн Мөөмөө) was a Mongolian linguist and chess player. He was born in 1930 in Khyargas, Uvs,[1] and died on 7 July 2021 due to illness.[2]
Sürengiin Möömöö graduated from the National University of Mongolia in 1957 with a degree in Mongolian language, literature and linguistics. He then began a teaching career at that university which lasted over 50 years,[3] becoming an associate professor in 1982 and a full professor in 1995.[2] He obtained a Candidate of Sciences degree for his pioneering studies of Mongolian phonetics[4] at Leningrad State University in 1970,[3] and a Doctor of Science degree from the Humboldt University of Berlin in 1984 for his dissertation on Mongolian dialectology.[5] He taught at the University of Warsaw from 1969 to 1973 and was a visiting professor at Osaka University from 1978 to 1980.[3]
In 1982, Möömöö co-authored a book on Mongolian dialects with his student Yümjiriin Mönkh-Amgalan.[3] He edited Damdinsüren and Osor's 1983 Mongolian Orthographic Dictionary (Mongolian: Монгол үсгийн дүрмийн толь),[6][7] the standard source for Mongolian Cyrillic orthography until 2018.[8][9] He was a member of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences,[3] and was awarded the Order of the Polar Star in 2003,[2] and the title of Honoured Teacher of Mongolia by President Nambaryn Enkhbayar in 2008.[10]
Sürengiin Möömöö competed in several editions of the Mongolian Chess Championship. He finished second at the 1955 championship, won it in 1958, and finished third in 1961.[1]
In the first international chess tournament held in Mongolia (Ulan Bator 1956, won by Heinz Liebert), Möömöö finished in seventh place with 9/15, making the best score among the Mongolian participants.[1][11] He tied for third with Andor Lilienthal in a tournament held in Tashkent in 1959, which was won by Alexander Grushevsky.[12] In 1960, he played a match for the West Asian subzonal (a qualifying stage for the 1963 World Chess Championship) held in Madras, losing 1–3 to Manuel Aaron.[13]
Möömöö played for Mongolia in three Chess Olympiads:[14]
Möömöö also represented Mongolia three times in the World Student Team Chess Championships:[15]
Möömöö competed in the inaugural World Senior Chess Championship held in Bad Wörishofen in 1991, where he scored 6.5/11 and finished in a tie for 23rd place.[16][17]