Stefan (István, Stephan) Fazekas (23 March 1898,

Sátoraljaújhely Sátoraljaújhely (; archaic german: Neustadt am Zeltberg ; sk, Nové Mesto pod Šiatrom; yi, איהעל, Ihel, or ) is a town located in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county in northern Hungary along the Slovak border. It is east from the county ...

Zemplén County Zemplén ( hu, Zemplén, sk, Zemplín, german: Semplin, Semmlin, la, Zemplinum) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. The northern part of its territory is now situated in eastern Sl ...

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

– 3 May 1967,

Buckhurst Hill Buckhurst Hill is an affluent suburban town in the Epping Forest District, Epping Forest district of Essex, England. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and adjacent to the northern boundary of the London Borough of Redbridge. The area de ...

Essex, England Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

) was a Czechoslovak–British

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

master. Born in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, he lived in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1938, he emigrated to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1925, he tied for 8–9th in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

(

Richard Réti Richard Selig Réti (28 May 1889 – 6 June 1929) was an Austro-Hungarian, later Czechoslovakian, chess player, chess author, and composer of endgame studies. He was one of the principal proponents of hypermodernism in chess. With the exc ...

won). In 1926, he tied for 10–11th 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 ...

( Max Walter won). In 1929, he took 2nd in

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...

. In 1930, he tied for 3rd–4th in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

(

Salo Flohr Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr (November 21, 1908 – July 18, 1983) was a Czechoslovak and Soviet chess player and writer. He was among the first recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Flohr dominated many tournam ...

won). In 1931, he took 3rd in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

(Flohr won). In 1935, he tied for 2nd–4th in

Luhačovice Luhačovice (; german: Luhatschowitz) is a spa town in Zlín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,000 inhabitants. It is known for the largest spa in Moravia. The town centre with the spa infrastructure is well preser ...

( Karel Opočensky won). In 1936, he tied for 17–18th in

Poděbrady Poděbrady (; german: Podiebrad) is a spa town in Nymburk District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Elbe. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an u ...

(Flohr won). In 1940, he took 9th in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(

Harry Golombek Harry Golombek OBE (1 March 1911 – 7 January 1995) was a British chess player, chess author, and wartime codebreaker. He was three times British chess champion, in 1947, 1949, and 1955 and finished second in 1948. He was born in Lambeth t ...

and

Paul List Pawel M. List ( he, פאול ליסט, russian: Павел Лист; Odessa, 9 September 1887 – London? 1954) was a Russian Jewish chess player, who emigrated to Britain in 1937 but never took British citizenship. He was born in Odessa, Ukr ...

won). Dr Fazekas was British Champion in 1957, and is the oldest player ever to have won the title. In 1962–1964, he played in 4th

World Correspondence Chess Championship The World Correspondence Chess Championship determines the World Champion in correspondence chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest the title. The official World Correspondence Chess Championship is managed by the International Corre ...

(semifinal). Fazekas was awarded the IM title in 1953 and the IMC title in 1964.

References

1898 births 1967 deaths People from Sátoraljaújhely Hungarian Jews Hungarian chess players Slovak chess players British chess players Jewish chess players British people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Chess International Masters People from Buckhurst Hill 20th-century chess players {{England-chess-bio-stub