José Sanz Aguado (20 November 1907 – 14 December 1969) was a Spanish

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 ...

player and

Spanish Chess Championship The Spanish Chess Championship is contested annually under the auspices of the Federación Española de Ajedrez (FEDA), the Sport governing body, governing body of chess in Spain, to determine the nation's chess champion. The first official champion ...

winner (1943).

Biography

In the 1930s José Sanz Aguado was one of the strongest chess players in Spain. José Sanz Aguado played for Spain in the

Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...

: * In 1931, at reserve board in the

4th Chess Olympiad The 4th Chess Olympiad ( cz, 4. Šachová olympiáda), organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female playe ...

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 ...

(+3, =1, -11). He fought in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

and lost his leg in battle. After the war he was forced to move to France but later returned to his homeland. In 1943, José Sanz Aguado won the

after victory in his match against

Ramón Rey Ardid Ramón Rey Ardid (20 December 1903, Zaragoza – 21 January 1988) was a Spanish chess master. He was Spanish champion from 1929 to 1942. He was a psychiatrist and professor at the Zaragoza University. In 1924, he played for Spain in first unoffi ...

- 5½:4½ (+4, =3, -3). José Sanz Aguado participated in several international tournaments and two radio matches with Argentina (1946, 1948). He participated in the International Tournament of Gijón in 1946 and 1949; achieving the ninth and tenth ranks respectively. José Sanz Aguado was also known as a chess journalist. He was the founder and first editor of the magazine ''El ajedrez español''. From 1934 to 1936 twenty three issues came out, after which the magazine was closed. José Sanz Aguado revived the magazine in 1955. He released two chess books: * ''Campeonatos de España de ajedrez, 1944-1945'', editorial Dossat, Madrid, año 1945. * ''Morphy, la estrella fugaz'', editorial Ricardo Aguilera, Madrid, año 1957.

Notable game

José Sanz Aguado was widely known for his spectacular combination in a game against Martín Ortueta, played in 1933. Martín Ortueta — José Sanz Aguado, ''Madrid, 1933'' 1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 Bb4 6. Bd2 0–0 7. Nf3 f6 8. d4 c5 9. Nb5 fe 10. de Rxf4 11. c3 Re4+ 12. Be2 Ba5 13. 0–0 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Rxe5 15. Bf4 Rf5 16. Bd3 Rf6 17. Qc2 h6 18. Ne5 Nd7 19. Bxf6 Nxf6 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. Rf1 Qe7 22. Bh7+ Kh8 23. Qg6 Bd7 24. Rf7 Qg5 25. Qxg5 hg 26. Rxd7 Kxh7 27. Rxb7 Bb6 28. c4 dc 29. Nc3 Rd8 30. h3 Rd2 31. Na4 (look diagram). 31... Rxb2!! 32. Nxb2 c3 33. Rxb6 c4!! 34. Rb4 a5!! 35. Nxc4 c2. White resigns.

References

External links

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José Sanz Aguado
chess games at 365chess.com 1907 births 1969 deaths People from Baix Llobregat Sportspeople from the Province of Barcelona Spanish chess players Chess Olympiad competitors Spanish chess writers 20th-century chess players {{Spain-chess-bio-stub