Géza Füster (February 19, 1910 – December 30, 1990) was a Hungarian-Canadian

chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...

. A winner of the Hungarian championship, he later represented Canada at

Chess Olympiads 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 ...

and at an interzonal tournament for the world chess championship.

Biography

Born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Füster won the first of his many Budapest championships in 1936. During World War II, he played in several strong tournaments. In 1941, he won the Hungarian Championship. In 1941, he took 4th, behind

Jan Foltys Jan Foltys (13 October 1908 – 11 March 1952) was a Czech chess International Master. Biography Foltys was born on 13 October 1908 in Svinov. In 1933, he tied for 8-12th in Mnichovo Hradiště (13th Czech championships). In 1933, he tied for ...

, Jozsef Szily and Ludovit Potuček, at a tournament in Trenčianske Teplice. In September 1941, he took 11th out of 16 competitors at Munich with 6.5/15, but drew his game with World Champion

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine. He disliked when Russians sometimes pronounced the of as , , which he regarded as a Yiddish distortion of his name, and insisted that the correct Russian pronunciation was . (March 24, 1946) was a Russian ...

. The event was won by

Gösta Stoltz Gösta Stoltz (May 9, 1904 – July 25, 1963) was a Swedish chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster. Stoltz won the Swedish championships at Halmstad 1951, Hålland 1952, and Örebro 1953. He was awarded the International Master title in 1950, and t ...

. In September 1942, he tied for 3rd-5th in Munich (München B, Qualification Tournament). In 1943, he took 2nd, behind

Gedeon Barcza Gedeon Barcza (August 21, 1911 – February 27, 1986) was a Hungarian chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster. He was eight-time Hungarian Chess Championship, chess champion of Hungary. Chess career In 1940, Barcza took third place, behind Max E ...

, in Diosgyör (Hungarian championship). In 1943, he won in Kolozsvár. In 1943-44, he won the Hungarian correspondence championship. After the war, he defected. He planned to cross the border at East Berlin with

Pal Benko Pal Charles Benko (; July 15, 1928 – August 25, 2019) was a Hungarian and American chess grandmaster, author, and composer of endgame studies and chess problems. Early life Benko was born on July 15, 1928, in Amiens, France, where his ...

. Füster made it across the border, but Benko was apprehended and sent to prison for nearly three years. Fuster made it to Canada in 1953, settling in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Füster's first success in his new land was winning the Toronto City Championship in 1954; he repeated in 1955, 1956, 1962, 1969, and 1971 (shared). Füster played in many Canadian championships. In 1955, he took 6th in Ottawa (Closed

Canadian Chess Championship This is the list of all the winners of the Canadian Chess Championship, often referred to as the Canadian Closed Championship to distinguish it from the annual Canadian Open tournament. The winner of the Canadian Closed advances to the World Cup st ...

). In 1955, he was Canadian Speed Champion. In 1957, he won the U.S. Speed Championship. He took 2nd, behind

Povilas Vaitonis Povilas (Paul) Vaitonis (1911-1983) was a Lithuanian–Canadian chess master. He was a five-time Lithuanian champion and was twice Canadian champion. He also represented Lithuania and later Canada at Chess Olympiads. Chess career Vaitonis pl ...

, in the 1957 Closed Canadian Championship at Vancouver. Füster replaced Vaitonis (who declined to go) at the 1958 Interzonal in Portorož, finishing in last place. Füster also represented Canada in two

in 1958 at Munich (8.5/14 on board 4; (+5 =7 -2)), and in 1970 at Siegen (+1 =1 -4) as second reserve. He was awarded the

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 ...

title in 1969, following his strong 3rd-place finish at the Closed Canadian Chess Championship, held at Pointe-Claire. Füster was a fixture at the YMCA Chess Club and later the Toronto Chess Club. He was a lover of speed chess, very generous with advice and encouragement to young players, and beloved for his aphorisms. When an opponent played a dubious move he would always say: "When a player is weak I say: 'Will you come again to play tomorrow?'"''Chess Canada'', Tribute to Geza Fuster, by Ian Findlay, February 1991 He died at Toronto in 1990.

References

External links

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Geza Fuster player profile at ChessbaseMikhail Tal vs. Geza Fuster, Portorož 1958
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuster, Geza 1910 births 1990 deaths Chess players from Budapest Canadian chess players Chess International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors Hungarian defectors Hungarian emigrants to Canada Chess players from Toronto 20th-century Hungarian chess players 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen Hungarian chess players