Zoltan Sarosy (August 23, 1906 – June 19, 2017) was a Hungarian-Canadian professional chess master, he was born in Budapest and won numerous tournaments in his native country before immigrating to Toronto in the early 1950s.

Early life

Sarosy was born 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 ...

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 ...

, on August 23, 1906.

Tournaments

Sarosy won chess tournaments in several cities in Hungary including

Nagykanizsa Nagykanizsa (; hr, Velika Kaniža/Velika Kanjiža, or just ''Kaniža/Kanjiža''; german: Großkirchen, Groß-Kanizsa; it, Canissa; sl, Velika Kaniža; tr, Kanije), known colloquially as Kanizsa, is a medium-sized city in Zala County in southw ...

(1929),

Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the countr ...

(1932), and Budapest (1934). During

World War II 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 opposing ...

he won the Hungarian Master Candidates Tournament in 1943. After the war, following a period in a refugee camp in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, he moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1948. He drew a training match (2–2) with

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

Champion Henri Sapin in 1950 and then emigrated to Canada, arriving in Halifax and then settling in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. In Toronto he took up correspondence chess and was thrice Canadian Correspondence Champion (1967, 1972, 1981). In 2006 he was inducted into the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame. He was still actively playing chess at the age of 107.

Later life

At the end of World War II after having fled Hungary where he served as a military translator, and divorced his first wife after she refused to move to Canada. After divorcing his first wife, he married Hella Mällo (1930-1998), an Estonian immigrant, in Canada. On August 23, 2016, Sarosy became a supercentenarian, when he reached the age of 110 years, and at the time was the oldest known living man and fourth oldest known living person in Canada. Sarosy died on June 19, 2017, in Toronto, Canada.

References

Sources

* * Berry, Jonathan, "Chess", ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', December 30, 2006, pg. R17 * Berry, J. "Chess", ''The Globe and Mail'', September 16, 2006, pg. R25 * Berry, J. "Chess", ''The Globe and Mail'', April 14, 2007, pg. R25 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarosy, Zoltan 1906 births 2017 deaths Hungarian chess players Canadian chess players Canadian supercentenarians Sportspeople from Budapest People from the Kingdom of Hungary Canadian people of Hungarian descent Hungarian emigrants to Canada Men supercentenarians