Levente Vajda (born 13 February 1981) is a Romanian
chess grandmaster
Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally it h ...
, earning his title in 2001.
Biography
From an early age, Vajda was a permanent representative of Romania at the
World Youth Chess Championship
The World Youth Chess Championship is a FIDE-organized worldwide chess competition for boys and girls under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. Twelve world champions are crowned every year. Since 2015, the event has been split into "World Cade ...
s. In 1993, 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 ...
, he won bronze medal in the under-12 age group; a year later, he repeated this success in
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
in the under-14 age group. In 1997, in
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
Levente Vajda won gold medal in under-16 age group, and he won another bronze medal in 1998 in
Oropesa del Mar
Oropesa del Mar ( ca-valencia, Orpesa) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Plana Alta in the Valencian Community
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain ...
in the under-18 age group. In 1994, in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, he ranked second in the European Youth Rapid Chess Championship.
From the late 1990s, he was one of the leading Romanian chess players. He has won five individual
Romanian Chess Championship The Romanian Chess Championship became a yearly event in 1946, and was held irregularly earlier. A series of national eliminating contests are played to select a 20-player field for the men's final. The women's final consists of 16 players.
Men's w ...
s medals: four silver (1998, 2002, 2004, 2012) and bronze (2003).
Vajda has achieved many successes at international chess tournaments, including winning or sharing first place eleven times in cyclical Grandmaster tournaments ''First Saturday'' 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 ...
(in 2000–2007). In 1996, he achieved the same result in
Balatonberény, and in 1998 he won in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
. In 2002, Levente Vajda finished first in the ''Europe Nagymesterverseny'' tournament in Budapest. In 2004, he won tournaments in
Balatonlelle
Balatonlelle is a resort town located in Hungary on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, about 35 km west of Siófok. It is known for its numerous tourist attractions, some of those being a 3 km long beach, an aqua park, a go-cart course, and an ...
and
Göd
Göd () is a small city in Pest County, Hungary.
Location
The city is northeast of Budapest.
Economy
Göd has a thriving tourist trade. It has a thermal spa open almost 365 days a year with water rich in minerals.
Along the M2 motorway
Göd ...
, while the following year Levente Vajda triumphed in
Victor Ciocâltea
Victor Ciocâltea (January 16, 1932 – September 10, 1983) was a Romanian chess player. He was awarded the International Master title in 1957 and the International Grandmaster title in 1978. Among his notable games is the one at the 15th Ch ...
memorial in Bucharest. In 2006, he took first place in
Fourmies and
Eforie
Eforie (; historical names (for Eforie Sud): ''Băile Movilă'', ''Carmen-Sylva'', ''Vasile Roaită'') is a town and a holiday resort on the Black Sea shore, in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is located about 14 kilometers south ...
, while in 2007 he triumphed in Balatonlelle.
He played for Romania 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 ...
s:
* In 1998, at second reserve board in the
33rd Chess Olympiad in
Elista
Elista (russian: Элиста́, (common during the Soviet era) or (most common pronunciation used after 1992 and in Kalmykia itself);"Большой энциклопедический словарь", под ред. А. М. Прохорова. ...
(+2, =0, -1),
* In 2002, at first reserve board in the
35th Chess Olympiad in
Bled
Bled (; german: Veldes,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146. in older sources also ''Feldes'') is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper C ...
(+4, =4, -2),
* In 2006, at first reserve board in the
37th Chess Olympiad
The 37th Chess Olympiad ( it, Le 37° Olimpiadi degli scacchi), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as we ...
in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
(+5, =2, -4),
* In 2008, at reserve board in the
38th Chess Olympiad
The 38th Chess Olympiad (german: Die 38. Schacholympiade), organized by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place from 12 to 25 November 2008 in Dresden, ...
in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
(+5, =1, -3),
* In 2012, at fourth board in the
40th Chess Olympiad
The 40th Chess Olympiad ( tr, 40. Satranç Olimpiyatı), organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place in Istan ...
in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
(+6, =3, -1),
* In 2014, at reserve board in the
41st Chess Olympiad
The 41st Chess Olympiad ( no, Den 41. Sjakkolympiade), organised by the FIDE, Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took pla ...
in
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies ...
(+2, =4, -1),
* In 2018, at fourth board in the
43rd Chess Olympiad
The 43rd Chess Olympiad ( ka, 43-ე საჭადრაკო ოლიმპიადა, ''43-e sach’adrak’o olimp’iada''; also known as the Batumi Chess Olympiad), organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and c ...
in
Batumi
Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...
(+5, =1, -2).
Vajda played for Romania in the
European Team Chess Championship
The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...
:
* In 2011, at third board in the 18th European Team Chess Championship in
Porto Carras Porto Carras (Greek: Πόρτο Καρράς), known as Porto Carras Grand Resort, is one of northern Greece's largest and most famous hotels and holiday resorts. It is located on Sithonia, Chalkidiki peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. It is about 120 ...
(+4, =2, -2).
In 1996, he was awarded the FIDE
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, and in 2001 he received the FIDE
Grandmaster (GM) title. Levente is the brother of
Woman Grandmaster
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 ...
(WGM)
Szidonia Vajda
Szidónia Lázárné Vajda (née Vajda; born 20 January 1979) is a Romanian- Hungarian chess player with the FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She won the women's Hungarian Chess Championship in 2004 and 2015. ...
(born 1979).
Vajda streams on
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
as GM_Trankuilizer. He competes in mini-tournaments on
Lichess
Lichess (; ) is a free and open-source Internet chess server run by a non-profit organization of the same name. Users of the site can play online chess anonymously and optionally register an account to play rated games. Lichess is ad-free and al ...
as Trankuilizer.
References
External links
*
*
*
1981 births
Living people
People from Odorheiu Secuiesc
Romanian chess players
Chess grandmasters
Chess Olympiad competitors
Romanian people of Hungarian descent
{{Romania-bio-stub