Joseph Noa (; 21 October 1856 – 1 June 1903) was a Hungarian chess master. Born in

Nagybecskerek Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city urban area has a population of 67,129 inh ...

, he was a judge by profession. Although an amateur he played in a number of tournaments throughout the 1880s and 1890s and defeated some of the famous players of his time. In 1880, he took 8th in Graz ( Adolf Schwarz, Miksa Weiss and Johannes von Minckwitz won). In 1881, he took 15th in Berlin (2nd DSB Congress;

Joseph Henry Blackburne Joseph Henry Blackburne (10 December 1841 – 1 September 1924) was a British chess player. Nicknamed "The Black Death", he dominated the British scene during the latter part of the 19th century. Blackburne learned the game at the relatively late ...

won). In 1882, he took 17th in Vienna (

Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was a Bohemian-Austrian, and later American, chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and c ...

and

Szymon Winawer Szymon Abramowicz Winawer (March 6, 1838 – November 29, 1919) was a Polish chess player who won the German Chess Championship in 1883. Tournament and match results At the Paris 1867 tournament held at the Café de la Régence, his first inte ...

won). In 1883, he took 11th in London (

Johannes Zukertort Johannes Hermann Zukertort (; 7 September 1842 – 20 June 1888) was a Polish-born British-German chess master. He was one of the leading world players for most of the 1870s and 1880s, but lost to Wilhelm Steinitz in the World Chess Championship ...

won). In 1885, he took 15th in Hamburg (4th DSB Congress;

Isidor Gunsberg Isidor Arthur Gunsberg (also spelled ''Günzberg'', ; 1 November 1854 – 2 May 1930) was a Hungarian chess player, best known for narrowly losing the 1891 World Chess Championship match to Wilhelm Steinitz. Biography Gunsberg began his caree ...

won). In 1887, he took 13th in Hamburg (5th DSB Congress;

George Henry Mackenzie George Henry Mackenzie (24 March 1837, in North Kessock, Scotland – 14 April 1891, in New York City) was a Scottish-born American chess master. Biography Mackenzie was educated mainly in Aberdeen, at the Aberdeen Grammar School and the Mar ...

won). In 1892, he tied for 14-15th in Dresden (7th DSB Congress;

Siegbert Tarrasch Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century. Life Tarrasch was born in Bresla ...

won). In 1896, he took 12th in Budapest (

Mikhail Chigorin Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin (also ''Tchigorin''; ; – ) was a Russian chess player. He played two World Championship matches against Wilhelm Steinitz, losing both times. The last great player of the Romantic chess style, he also served as a ma ...

and

Rudolf Charousek Rudolf Charousek (; 19 September 1873 – 18 April 1900) was a Czech born Hungarian chess player. One of the top ten players in the world during the 1890s, he had a short career, dying at the age of 26 from tuberculosis. Reuben Fine wrote of h ...

won). He died in Budapest in 1903. A variation of the

Nimzo-Indian Defence The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nc3 Bb4 Other move orders, such as 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d4 Bb4, are also feasible. In the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'', the Nimzo-Indian ...

, 4. Qc2 d5, is often referred to as the Noa variation. However, there are no known games of Josef Noa or any other Noa playing this variation.

References

1856 births 1903 deaths Hungarian chess players Jewish chess players Hungarian Jews 19th-century chess players Chess players from Austria-Hungary {{hungary-chess-bio-stub