Izidor Gross (25 July 1866 – 1942) was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

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 ...

master and

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term al ...

Background

Gross was born into a Jewish family in Kislőd,

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

on 25 July 1866. In 1891 he settled in

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

, Croatia where he served as a hazzan at Karlovac Synagogue. Apart from work at the Karlovac Jewish community, Gross was an avid chess master and notable writer about

chess problems A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle created by the composer using chess pieces on a chessboard, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White i ...

and the game itself. He is one of the founders of the Karlovac chess club in 1908 and Croatian chess federation in 1912. Gross published articles about chess problems in various domestic - foreign magazines and newspapers. In 1909 he published a book Šahovska abeceda (''Chess alphabet''). He composed direct mates, with some incursions in helpmates. Gross organized in Karlovac, in 1912, first international chess tournament in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. As a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

Gross was arrested and deported to

Jasenovac concentration camp Jasenovac () was a concentration camp, concentration and extermination camp established in the Jasenovac, Sisak-Moslavina County, village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia durin ...

where he was killed in 1942 during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, together with his son Herman and daughter in law Julia.

Works

* ''Rochade und Notation bei Ibn Esra'', Druck von T. Schatzky, Breslau (1900) * ''Povijest šaha'', Knjigotiskara M. Fogina, Karlovac (1912) * ''Problemi Karlovačkog medunarodnog šahovskog turnira'', Knjigotiskara Dragutina Hauptfelda, Karlovac (1913) * ''Šahovska abeceda'', Knjižara St. Kugli, Zagreb (1923) * ''150 izabranih problema'', Knjigotiskara M. Fogina, Karlovac (1936) * ''Humorističke crtice iz jevrejskog života'', Knjigotiskara M. Fogina, Karlovac (1938)

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Izidor 1860 births 1942 deaths People from Veszprém County Jewish chess players Hungarian Jews Jews from Austria-Hungary Croatian Austro-Hungarians Croatian people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Sportspeople from Karlovac Hazzans Croatian chess players Croatian civilians killed in World War II People who died in Jasenovac concentration camp Hungarian people executed in Nazi concentration camps Croatian people executed in Nazi concentration camps Croatian Jews who died in the Holocaust