Asztalos, Lajos (1889-1956)

Asztalos, Lajos

CHESS PLAYER (HUNGARY)

BORN 29 Jul 1889, Pécs - DIED 1 Nov 1956, Budapest
CAUSE OF DEATH gas poisoning
GRAVE LOCATION Budapest: Kerepesi cemetery (33/3-1-18)

Lajos Asztalos was the son of the lawyer János Asztalos and and Ilona Gaál. He studied at the University of Budapes where he obtained a school teacher's certificate in Greek and Latin. In 1912 be became a Hungarian chess master and in the same year he was elected secretary of the Budapest Chess Society. He won the Hungarian chess championship in Debrecen in 1913. He became a professor of philosophy and languages and because of his teaching obligations his possibilities to play in tournaments were limited. However, he came 5th in Mannheim in 1914 and 4th in Vienna in 1917. In 1918 he became the secretary of the Hungarian Imperial Chess Association.

After the First World War he lived in Serbia from 1920. There he taught at middle schools in several cities. He was also a member of the Yugoslav chess team during the official chess Olympiads in 1927 and 1931 and during the unofficial Olympiads in 1926 and 1936. In 1931 he took 2nd place in Bled where Alekhine won. In 1942 he returned to Hungary. In 1949 he became an international chess master. During his chess career he played against Reti, Spielmann, Breyer and Tarrasch. He was the president of the Hungarian Chess Federation from 1949 to 1955. From 1949 to 1956 he was also a member of the board of the FIDE. He died in 1956 of gas poisoning in Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution against the Soviet-Union.

Images

The grave of Lajos Asztalos at the Kerepesi Cemetery, Budapest.
Picture by Androom (20 Aug 2002)