Ernő Gereben (18 June 1907 – 16 May 1988) was a Hungarian–

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...

whose half-century career extended from the mid-1920s to the late 1970s. Born in Sopron, a Hungarian town at the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n border, Ernő Gereben used, until 1935, the German-language form of his name, Ernest (or Ernst) Grünfeld. In 1926, he tied for 1st–2nd in

Körmend Körmend ( sl, Kermendin, Prekmurje Slovene: ''Karmadén,'' ger, Kirment) is a town in Vas county , Western Hungary. Places of interest The town is especially well known for its castle which used to belong to the Batthyány family, one of the mo ...

. In 1928, he won in Šumperk. In 1930, he took 5th in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and tied for 7–8th in Győr. In 1932, he took 7th in

. In 1934, he tied for 5–7th in Sopron ( Rudolf Spielmann won). In 1934, he tied for 13–14th in Budapest (Maróczy Jubilee), which was won by

Erich Eliskases Erich Gottlieb Eliskases (15 February 1913 – 2 February 1997) was a chess player who represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition. In the late 1930s he was considered a potential contender for the World Championship. ...

. In 1935 he tied for 2nd–3rd with Albert Becker, behind László Szabó, in Tata-Tóváros. In 1936, he took 4th, behind Mieczysław Najdorf,

Lajos Steiner Lajos Steiner (14 June 1903, in Nagyvárad ( Oradea) – 22 April 1975, in Sydney) was a Hungarian–born Australian chess master. Steiner was one of four children of Bernat Steiner, a mathematics teacher, and his wife Cecilia,(née Schwarz) ...

and

Endre Steiner Endre (Andreas) Steiner (27 June 1901 – 29 December 1944) was a Hungarian chess player, born in Budapest. Endre Steiner played for Hungary in five official and one unofficial Chess Olympiads. * In 1927, he played at first reserve board at 1st ...

in Budapest. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Gereben played in several Hungarian Chess Championships. In 1947, he won team gold medal and individual silver medal at sixth board in the 2nd Balkan Games in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

. In 1947, he took 7th in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

(2nd Schlechter Memorial; Szabó won). In 1948, he took 5th in Bad Gastein (

Erik Lundin Erik Ruben Lundin (2 July 1904 – 5 December 1988) was a Swedish chess master. In 1928, he won in Oslo, took 5th in Helsingborg, tied for 2nd-3rd in Stockholm (''Quadrangular'', Richard Réti won). In 1929, he took 2nd in Göteborg (Nordic Che ...

won). In 1951, he won in Sopot. In 1952, he took 15th in Budapest ( Paul Keres won). Due to the Hungarian uprising in 1956, Gereben emigrated to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and began playing extensively in the west. In 1957, he took 2nd, behind

Gedeon Barcza Gedeon (Gideon) Barcza (August 21, 1911, in Kisújszállás – February 27, 1986, in Budapest) was a Hungarian chess grandmaster. He was eight-time chess champion of Hungary. Chess career In 1940, Barcza took third place, behind Max Euwe and ...

, in

San Benedetto del Tronto San Benedetto del Tronto is a city and ''comune'' in Marche, Italy. Part of an urban area with 100,000 inhabitants, it is one of the most densely populated areas along the Adriatic Sea coast. It is the most populated city in Province of Ascoli P ...

. In 1958/59, he took 3rd in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

. In 1959, he tied for 1st in Bognor Regis. In 1960, he tied for 4-5th in Zurich. In 1963/64, he tied for 1st-4th in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

. In 1967, he tied for 2nd-5th in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

(Master Tournament). In 1969, he took 4th in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

(Master Tournament). Gereben played four times in the Chess Olympiads; once for Hungary at first reserve board (+6 −3 =6) in the 11th Olympiad at Amsterdam 1954, and thrice for Switzerland; at third board (+5 −4 =7) at

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly sho ...

1970, at second reserve (+3 −5 =5) at

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

1972, and at first reserve board (+3 –3 =7) at

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

1974. He remained a keen player in his adopted country even into his seventies. The British Chess Magazine editor, Bernard Cafferty, described him as "a delightfully friendly personality, rather different to many of the continental masters of that time. Chess was fun for him, not just a way to make a living." Gereben was awarded the

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

(IM) title in 1950. He died in Switzerland in the year of his 81st birthday.

References

*British Chess Magazine - Obituary, July 1988.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gereben, Erno Hungarian chess players Swiss chess players Jewish chess players Chess International Masters Hungarian Jews Swiss Jews People from Sopron 1907 births 1988 deaths Place of death missing 20th-century chess players

Further reading

References

External links