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 Austrian 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 and tied for 7–8th in Győr. In 1932, he took 7th in Budapest. 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. 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, 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. In 1947, he took 7th in Vienna (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, in San Benedetto del Tronto. In 1958/59, he took 3rd in Hastings. 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 (Master Tournament). In 1969, he took 4th in Monte Carlo (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 1970, at second reserve (+3 −5 =5) at Skopje 1972, and at first reserve board (+3 –3 =7) at Nice 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 20th-century Swiss Jews People from Sopron 1907 births 1988 deaths Place of death missing 20th-century chess players

Further reading

References

External links