Zoltán von Balla (31 August 1883,

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 ...

– 1 April 1945, Budapest) was a Hungarian

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 ...

champion. In 1904, Balla took 11th place in Coburg (14 DSB Congress, B tournament). In 1905, he took 10th place in Vienna. In 1906, he won the first Hungarian Championship in Győr. He shared the title with

Zsigmond Barász Zsigmond Barász (January 1878 – 28 May 1935, Budapest) was a Hungarian chess master. He took 2nd, behind Zoltán von Balla, at Győr in 1906 (the first Hungarian Championship) losing one match to him (0.5 : 2.5) there; took 9th at Budapest in ...

at Budapest in 1911. He won at Győr in 1911, took 18th place at Breslau in 1912 (18th DSB-Congress, Akiba Rubinstein and Oldřich Duras won), tied for 7th and 8th at Pistyan in 1912 (Rubinstein won), tied for 3rd and 4th at Temesvár in 1912, and tied for 4th and 5th at Budapest in 1913 ( Rudolf Spielmann won). In 1916, he took 2nd in Budapest. In 1918, he tied for 1st and 2nd in Budapest. In 1918, he tied for 6th and 7th in Kaschau (

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 1921, he took 5th in Budapest. In 1922, he tied for 12th and 13th in Pistyan (

Efim Bogoljubow Efim Bogoljubow ( or ), also known as Ewfim Dimitrijewitsch Bogoljubow, ( (); also Romanized ''Bogoljubov'', ''Bogolyubov''; uk, Юхим Дмитрович Боголюбов, Yukhym Dmytrovych Boholiubov; April 14, 1889 – June 18, 1952) ...

won). In 1924, he won in Budapest. In 1925, he took 3rd in Budapest. In 1928, he took 9th in Budapest (

José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. Capablanc ...

won). In 1935, Balla tied for 17th and 18th in

Tatatovaros Tata (german: Totis; la, Dotis) is a town in Komárom-Esztergom County, northwestern Hungary, northwest of the county town Tatabánya. Location Tata is located in the valley between the Gerecse Mountains and Vértes Mountains, some from B ...

( László Szabó won). In 1939, he tied for 1st and 2nd with László Szabó in Budapest (Dori Memorial). In 1940, he tied for 4th and 5th in Budapest (Maróczy Jubilaeum, Max Euwe won).Bad Elster 1940
He died in a traffic accident with a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

at the end of the

Second World War 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balla, Zoltan von 1883 births 1945 deaths Road incident deaths in Hungary Hungarian chess players Sportspeople from Budapest Hungarian civilians killed in World War II