Roberto Gabriel Grau (18 March 1900 – 12 April 1944) was an Argentine

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

master. He was born and died in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

Chess career

Grau played in many Argentine championships. In 1921/22, he tied for 3rd–4th (ARG-ch 1 Mayor;

Damian Reca Damián Miguel Reca (1894 – 4 May 1937 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine chess master. He was Argentine Champion in 1921, 1923, 1924, and 1925. In 1921, he won at Buenos Aires (1st ARG-ch) and won a match for the title against Benito Ville ...

won). In 1922, he tied for 2nd–3rd (ARG-ch 2;

Benito Villegas Benito Higinio Villegas (11 January 1877 – 27 April 1952) was an Argentine chess master. He was the first Champion of Club Argentino de Ajedrez in Buenos Aires in 1906–1907. After World War I, he won Argentine Chess Championship in 19 ...

won). In 1923/24, he tied for 2nd–4th (ARG-ch 3; Reca won). In 1924, he took 2nd, behind

Richard Réti Richard Selig Réti (28 May 1889 – 6 June 1929) was an Austro-Hungarian, later Czechoslovakian, chess player, chess author, and composer of endgame studies. He was one of the principal proponents of hypermodernism in chess. With the exce ...

(ARG-ch 4). In 1926, he won in Buenos Aires (ARG-ch 5) and won a match for the title against Reca (6–2). He was also Argentine Champion in 1927 and 1928. He won a match against Isaías Pleci (4–0) in 1929, lost matches to Pleci (3–5) in 1930, and

Carlos Guimard Carlos Enrique Guimard (6 April 1913 – 11 September 1998) was an Argentine chess Grandmaster. He was born in Santiago del Estero. His granddaughter Isabel Leonard is a celebrated mezzo-soprano. Biography Guimard was thrice Argentine Champ ...

(2–6) in 1937. Grau won again Argentine championships in 1934 and a match against Luis Piazzini (7.5–5.5) in 1935 (ARG-ch 13), in 1935 and a match against Jacobo Bolbochán (5–3) in 1936 (ARG-ch 14), in 1938 and a match against Guimard (7.5–5.5) in 1939 (ARG-ch 17). In tournaments, he won in 1921/22 at Montevideo (1st ''Torneo Sudamericano''). In 1923, he won in Buenos Aires. In 1924, he took 2nd, 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 Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. He served as ...

, in Paris. In 1925, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Reca, behind Luis Palau, in Montevideo. In 1928, he won in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

(1st it). In 1929, he won in Rosario. In 1930, he tied for 2nd-3rd in Buenos Aires ( Virgilio Fenoglio won). In 1930, he took 5th in Buenos Aires (Bolbochán won). In 1930, he took 15th in San Remo (

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...

won). In 1934, he took 2nd, behind Aaron Schwartzman, in Mar del Plata. In 1934/35, he took 5th in Buenos Aires (Piazzini won). In 1938, he tied for 5-6th in Montevideo (Carrasco), an event won by Alekhine. In 1939, he took 4th, behind Fenoglio, Guimard and

Julio Bolbochán Julio Bolbochán (Buenos Aires, 20 March 1920 – Caracas, 28 June 1996) was the Argentine chess champion in 1946 and 1948. He learned the game from his older brother, Jacobo Bolbochán, later an International Master. He represented Argentina ...

, in Rio de Janeiro. In 1939, he took 7th in Buenos Aires (

Miguel Najdorf Miguel Najdorf (born Mojsze Mendel Najdorf) (15 April 1910 – 4 July 1997) was a Polish–Argentinian 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 ...

and

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 fi ...

won). Grau played for Argentina in

Chess Olympiad 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 ...

s. * In 1924, at first board in

1st unofficial Chess Olympiad The 1st Team Chess Tournament was held together with the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, 12–20 July 1924, at the Hotel Majestic. Fifty-four players representing 18 countries were split into nine preliminary groups of six. The winner of each round ...

in Paris (W6 L3 D4); * In 1927, at first board in 1st Chess Olympiad in London (W2 L3 D10); * In 1928, at first reserve board in

2nd Chess Olympiad The 2nd Chess Olympiad ( nl, De 2e Schaakolympiade), organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between ...

in The Hague (W6 L3 D7); * In 1935, at first board in

6th Chess Olympiad The 6th Chess Olympiad ( pl, 6. Olimpiada szachowa), organized by the FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and (unofficial) women's tournament, a ...

in Warsaw (W6 L9 D4); * In 1937, at third board in

7th Chess Olympiad The 7th Chess Olympiad ( sv, Den 7:e Schackolympiad), organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and (unofficial) women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 31 and August 14, 1937, ...

in Stockholm (W8 L2 D5); * In 1939, at first board in

8th Chess Olympiad The 8th Chess Olympiad ( es, La 8a Olimpíada de ajedrez, link=no), organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), comprised an open tournament, as well as a Women's World Championship contest. The main team event took place betw ...

in Buenos Aires (W1 L5 D4). He was one of the original signatories in the formation of FIDE at Paris 1924 (

). FIDE History
/ref> He also wrote a four volume series on chess titled "Tratado General de Ajedrez" (General Treatise on Chess), first published in 1940. The opening line 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Bf5 3. Qb3 e5 is called the Grau gambit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grau, Roberto 1900 births 1944 deaths People from Buenos Aires Argentine chess players Argentine people of German descent Chess Olympiad competitors 20th-century chess players