Gedeon Barcza (August 21, 1911 – February 27, 1986) was a Hungarian

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

grandmaster. He was eight-time chess champion of Hungary.

Chess career

In 1940, Barcza took third place, behind

Max Euwe Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 ...

and

Milan Vidmar Milan Vidmar (; 22 June 1885 – 9 October 1962) was a Slovenian electrical engineer, chess player, chess theorist, and writer. He was among the top dozen chess players in the world from 1910 to 1930 and in 1950, was among the inaugural recip ...

, at Maróczy Jubiläum in Budapest. In September 1942, he took sixth place at the first European Championship in Munich; the event was won by

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 ...

. In 1948, he took second place in

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

; the event was won by

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 ...

. In 1948, he tied for second/third place in Venice; the event was won by

Miguel Najdorf Miguel Najdorf ( ; born Mojsze Mendel Najdorf; 15 April 1910 – 4 July 1997) was a Polish-Argentine chess grandmaster. Originally from Poland, he was in Argentina when World War II began in 1939, and he stayed and settled there. He was a leadin ...

. In 1950, he tied for second/fourth place in Salzbrunn (Szczawno Zdrój); the event was won by

Paul Keres Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...

. In 1952, he took fifteenth place in Saltsjöbaden (interzonal). In 1957, he won in San Benedetto del Tronto. In 1961, he took third place in Vienna. In 1962, he tied for third/sixth place in Moscow. In 1962, he tied for fourteenth/fifteenth place in Stockholm (interzonal). Barcza Keres Oberhausen 1961-06-24

Barcza won the

Hungarian Chess Championship The inaugural Hungarian Chess Championship was held in the city of Győr in 1906. Initially, there was no governing body responsible for its organisation, until the formation of the Hungarian Chess Federation. The HCF first appeared in 1911, but fa ...

eight times (1942, 1943, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1957, and 1966). He played for the Hungarian team in seven

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 ...

(1952, 1954, 1956,1958, 1960, 1962, and 1968). Barcza was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1954.

Legacy

Barcza is remembered for the opening 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3, known as the

Barcza System The Barcza System is a chess opening system played by White, comprising the moves Nf3, g3, Bg2 and 0-0, regarded as non-committal moves whilst Black exposes their intention. It is named after the Hungarian grandmaster Gedeon Barcza who employed t ...

Harry Golombek Harold "Harry" Golombek OBE (1 March 1911 – 7 January 1995) was a British chess player, chess author, and wartime codebreaker. He was three times British chess champion, in 1947, 1949, and 1955 and finished second in 1948. Biography He was ...

once said of Barcza, "He is a most versatile player in the openings. He plays g2–g3 sometimes on the first, sometimes on the second, sometimes on the third, and sometimes not until the fourth move."

Notable games

*Gedeon Barcza vs. Harry Golombek, Sweden izt (18) 1952, Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System (E14), . *Gedeon Barcza vs. Lodewijk Prins, Sweden izt (14) 1952,

Zukertort Opening The Zukertort Opening is a chess opening named after Johannes Zukertort that begins with the move: : 1. Nf3 Sometimes the name "Réti Opening" is used for the opening move 1.Nf3, although most sources define the Réti more narrowly as the seq ...

: Queen Pawn Defense (A06), . *Gedeon Barcza vs. Robert James Fischer, Zurich 1959, Formation:

King's Indian Attack The King's Indian Attack (or KIA) is a chess opening where White adopts the setup more commonly seen being played by Black in the King's Indian Defence. The King's Indian Attack is characterised by the following moves: the central pawns are de ...

(A07), ½–½.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barcza, Gideon 1911 births 1986 deaths Burials at Kerepesi Cemetery People from Kisújszállás Chess Grandmasters Chess Olympiad competitors 20th-century Hungarian chess players 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen Hungarian chess players

Chess career

Legacy

Notable games

See also

References

External links