Laszlo Szabo Signed (3 results)

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. One page typed letter on Laszlo Szabo's letterhead, dated 2 November 1975, signed with ink note at the bottom. Quarto (11 1/2" x 8 1/4") The letter is in response to a request from Mrs Hochberg for information regarding Laszlo's past which he responds to including working with concentration camp refugees. Låszló Szabó was a Hungarian chess player. He was awarded the title of International Grandmaster in 1950, when it was instituted by FIDE. At the outbreak of war, Szabó was attached to a Forced Labour Unit and was later captured by Russian troops who held him as a prisoner of war. After the war, he returned to chess and played many major international events. He finished fifth at Groningen 1946, a tournament which included Mikhail Botvinnik, Max Euwe, Vasily Smyslov, Miguel Najdorf, Isaac Boleslavsky and Alexander Kotov. At the SaltsjÜbaden Interzonal of 1948, he finished second to David Bronstein and took outright first place at Hastings 1947/48, Budapest 1948 and Hastings 1949/50. A share of fifth place at both the SaltsjÜbaden 1952 Interzonal and the Gothenburg Interzonal of 1955, meant that each of his Interzonal finishes had been strong enough to merit him a place in the corresponding Candidates Tournament. It was at his third and final Candidates, held in Amsterdam in 1956, that Szabó made his most promising bid for a World Championship title challenge. He tied for third place with Bronstein, Efim Geller, Tigran Petrosian and Boris Spassky, behind Smyslov and Paul Keres. Szabó was the best player in Hungary for nearly 20 years (eventually being succeeded by Lajos Portisch around 1963/64.) Chessmetrics, which attempts to rank players, suggests that Szabo was sixth in the world in 1946. His family donated Szabó's entire chess library and his papers to the Cleveland Public Library John G. White Chess and Checkers Collection. The John G. White Collection of Chess and Checkers is the largest chess library in the world (32,568 volumes of books and serials, including 6,359 volumes of bound periodicals.) Carol Hochberg was the wife of Burt Hochberg (1933-2006) .  He was an expert on chess and other games and puzzles. He authored and edited many books on chess, and served as editor of both Chess Life (from December 1966 until October 1979 inclusive), and GAMES magazine. Hochberg has been the longest-serving editor in the history of Chess Life magazine. Condition: Signed at the bottom page. Edge wear with some tears, mainly at the head else very good. Signed by Author(s).

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. (10 1/2" x 6 3/4") original score sheet in Laszlo Szabo's hand with score on both sides and signed on the verso by both contestants Laszlo Szabo and Mark Taimanov. Played July 2 Round 8, Queen's Gambit Declined: Ragozin Defense. Alekhine Variation , 56 moves, of the tournament which was won by Szabo. This tournament to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the May Revolution took place in the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Medicine. The best of East and West shared first place, while Argentinian masters Guimard and Rossetto gained the GM title. Nineteen contestants vied for the honors. Shared first place was Viktor Korchnoi and Samuel Reshevsky with a score of 13. In sole third Laszlo Szabo a point behind with a score of 12. Larry Melvyn Evans, Carlos Enrique Guimard, Hector Decio Rossetto and Mark Taimanov tied for fourth at eleven. Fridrik Olafsson and Wolfgang Unzicker a hlaf point behind shared eighth. In sole ninth was Svetozar Gligoric with 10 points. Pal Benko and Wolfgang Uhlmann shared tenth with scores of 9. In eleventh a four way tie Robert James Fischer, Ludek Pachman, Bernardo Wexler and Borislav Ivkov at 8.5. László Szabó was a Hungarian chess player. Born in Budapest, Szabó burst onto the international chess scene in 1935, at the age of 18, winning the first of Hungarian Championships, an international tournament in Tatatóváros, and was selected to represent his country at the Warsaw Chess Olympiad. It is thought that the young Szabó studied under Géza Maróczy, then a patriarchal figure in Hungarian chess who had previously trained future world champions, Max Euwe and Vera Menchik. Mark Evgenievich Taimanov was one of the leading Soviet and Russian chess players, among the world's top 20 players from 1946 to 1971. A prolific chess author, Taimanov was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 1952 and in 1956 won the USSR Chess Championship. Condition: The sheet is slightly browned, punched and has minor signs of wear else very good. Signed by Author(s).

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. One sheet signed by the participants and tournament arbitrator. Quarto (11 1/2" x 8") single sheet hand written. The 19th Hungarian Chess Championship was held in Budapest starting on February 23 through March 21, 1964. The contest drew 20 players with the following results. First was captured by Lajos Portisch with a score of 14.5 one point ahead of second place finisher, Laszlo Szabo. Clear third was Levente Lengyel with 13. Janos Flesch finished 4th with 12.5. Fifth and sixth was shared with Gyozo V Forintos and Laszlo Barczay each with 11.5. Karoly Honfi and Istvan Bilek shared seventh and eight with 10.5. Sole ninth was Jozsef Szily at 9.5. Jozsef Pogats, Tenth through twelfth was Gyula Kluger, Istvan Csom and Peter Szilagyi each with a score of 9, followed by Ervin Haag a half point behind. Laszlo Sapi and Josef Hajtun each claimed 8 points. At 6.5 Jeno Kapu and Endre Gasztonyi bought up the tail end with Laszlo Prelovszky (4.5) and Roland Sallay (4) closing out the contest. Condition: Signed by all the participants. Center fold crease, some staining and age toning else very good.