In the 1960s and 1970s, Franz Stoppel was one of the leading Austrian chess players. He won three bronze medals in the Austrian Chess Championship: 1965, 1967, and 1977. In 1969, in Athens, Franz Stoppel participated in the World Chess Championship European Zonal Tournament, where he shared 13th–15th place.[2]
Franz Stoppel played for Austria in the Chess Olympiads:[3]
- In 1966, at the third board in the 17th Chess Olympiad in Havana (+5, =6, -5),
- In 1968, at the third board in the 18th Chess Olympiad in Lugano (+3, =7, -2),
- In 1974, at the second reserve board in the 21st Chess Olympiad in Nice (+4, =7, -0),
- In 1978, at the third board in the 23rd Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires (+2, =5, -3).
Franz Stoppel played for Austria in the European Team Chess Championship preliminaries:[4]
- In 1970, at the fifth board in the 4th European Team Chess Championship preliminaries (+1, =4, -0),
- In 1980, at the fourth board in the 7th European Team Chess Championship preliminaries (+0, =1, -2).
Franz Stoppel played for Austria in the Clare Benedict Cup:[5]
- In 1968, at the second board in the 15th Clare Benedict Cup in Bad Aibling (+0, =2, -2),
- In 1973, at the reserve board in the 20th Clare Benedict Cup in Gstaad (+0, =1, -2),
- In 1977, at the third board in the 22nd Clare Benedict Cup in Copenhagen (+2, =2, -2),
- In 1979, at the fourth board in the 23rd Clare Benedict Cup in Cleveland (+0, =6, -0).
Franz Stoppel played for Austria in the Men's Chess Mitropa Cup:[6]
- In 1976, at the fourth board in the 1st Chess Mitropa Cup in Innsbruck (+3, =0, -0), winning an individual gold medal,
- In 1977, at the second board in the 2nd Chess Mitropa Cup in Bad Kohlgrub (+2, =3, -0), winning a team gold medal,
- In 1981, at the first board in the 6th Chess Mitropa Cup in Luxembourg (+0, =6, -0),
- In 1982, at the third board in the 7th Chess Mitropa Cup in Bourgoin-Jallieu (+1, =4, -1), winning a team bronze medal.
