Erich Eliskases
Encyclopedia
Erich Gottlieb Eliskases (February 15, 1913 – February 2, 1997) was a chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

 Grandmaster of the 1930s and 1940s, who represented Austria, Germany and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 in international competition.

Born in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

, Austro-Hungarian Empire, he learned chess at the age of twelve and quickly displayed an aptitude for the game, winning the Schlechter chess club championship in his first year at the club, aged just fourteen. At fifteen, he was the Tyrolean Champion and at sixteen, joint winner of the Austrian Championship
Austrian Chess Championship
The Austrian Chess Championship is held by the Austrian Chess Federation .For its Correspondence chess subdivision, see ICCF Austria.-Unofficial Championships:-Official Championships:...

.

His college education in Innsbruck and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 centred on business studies; it was chess, though, that captured his imagination and he had exceptional results at the Olympiads
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...

 of 1930, 1933 and 1935. After the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....

 of March 1938, he won the German national championship
German Chess Championship
The German Chess Championship has been played since 1861, and determines the national champion.Prior to 1880 three different federations organized chess activities in Germany: the Westdeutscher Schachbund , the Norddeutscher Schachbund and the Mitteldeutscher Schachbund . Each one organized its...

 at Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen is a spa town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Bad Oeynhausen is located on the banks of the Weser river, which runs along the eastern edges of the town. Bad Oeynhausen has the world's highest carbonated, thermal saltwater fountain,...

 in 1938 and 1939. He played under the German flag at the 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad
8th Chess Olympiad
The 8th Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , comprised an 'open' tournament, as well as a Women's World Championship contest...

, during which World War II began, when Eliskases (along with many other players) decided to stay in Argentina (and for a while in Brazil) rather than return to the scene of the conflict. Brazilian authorities threatened to intern and expel Eliskases as they had severed all links with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

. Some Brazilian chess enthusiasts helped Eliskases avoid that fate by hiring him as a chess teacher. After some years in the wilderness, when he struggled to make a living, he eventually became a naturalised Argentine citizen and represented his new country at the Olympiads of 1952, 1958, 1960 and 1964.

FIDE awarded Eliskases the titles of International Master and Grandmaster in 1950 and 1952, respectively. He had many fine tournament results, including outright or joint first place at Budapest 1934 (the Hungarian Championship
Hungarian Chess Championship
The inaugural Hungarian Chess Championship was held in the city of Győr in 1906. Initially, there was no governing body responsible for its organisation, until the formation of the Hungarian Chess Federation. The HCF first appeared in 1911, but failed to establish itself properly until 1923...

), Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...

 1934, Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

 1935, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 1937, Noordwijk
Noordwijk
Noordwijk is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 51.53 km² and had a population of 24,707 in May 2006....

 1938 (his greatest success, ahead of Euwe
Max Euwe
Machgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...

 and Keres
Paul Keres
Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....

), Krefeld
Krefeld
Krefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...

 1938, Bad Harzburg
Bad Harzburg
Bad Harzburg is a town in central Germany, in the Goslar district of Lower Saxony. It lies on the northern edge of the Harz mountains and is a recognised saltwater spa and climatic health resort.- Location :...

 1939, Bad Elster
Bad Elster
Bad Elster is a spa town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It lies on the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic in the Elster gebirge hills. It is situated on the river Weiße Elster, and is protected from extremes of temperature by the surrounding wooded...

 1939, Vienna 1939, São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 1941, São Paulo 1947, Mar del Plata 1948, Punta del Este
Punta del Este
Punta del Este is a resort town on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. It is located on the intersection of Route 10 with Route 39, directly southeast of the department capital Maldonado and about east of Montevideo...

 1951 and Córdoba
Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...

 1959. His victory in Noordwijk began a streak of eight consecutive tournaments in which he was undefeated.

He won matches against Efim Bogoljubov (1939) and Rudolf Spielmann
Rudolf Spielmann
Rudolf Spielmann was an Austrian-Jewish chess player of the romantic school, and chess writer.-Career:He was a lawyer but never worked as one....

 (thrice, in 1932, 1936 and 1937).

Towards the end of the 1930s, along with Keres and Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...

, Eliskases was regarded as a potential contender for a World Championship
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....

 encounter with Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...

. Indeed, Alekhine spoke out in favour of a match with the Austrian, who had acted as a second during his successful attempt to regain the title from Max Euwe in 1937.

However, Eliskases' defection to South America was badly timed, as documentary evidence later showed that the Nazi regime had scheduled him a 1941 match with the World Champion, but due to circumstances, had subsequently abandoned the idea. In terms of his credentials for such a contest, he was one of very few masters and certainly the only Austrian to have beaten three world champions (Capablanca, Euwe and Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...

). Indeed, he had a plus score against Euwe (3-2),http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?pid=10706&pid2=13360 and even scores against Capablanca (2-2)http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?pid=47544&pid2=13360 and Fischer (1-1).http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?pid=13360&pid2=19233 Eliskases' critics may have pointed to the impressive credentials of Keres, his main rival, but the Estonian too had twice fallen victim to Eliskases in tournament play.

He carried on playing through the 1950s, 60s and even into the 70s but his results were less convincing. He married the Argentinian María Esther Almeda in 1954 and had a son, Carlos Enrico. In 1976, he and his wife went back to the Austrian Tyrol, but the couple failed to settle and returned to Córdoba
Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...

.

Eliskases was also a strong correspondence
Correspondence chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon...

 player and his notes showed that he scored over 75 percent during his most active period.

He was considered an expert in the endgame—at Semmering
Semmering
For the town of the same name, see Semmering, Austria.Semmering is a mountain pass in the Eastern Northern Limestone Alps connecting Lower Austria and Styria, between which it forms a natural border.-Location:...

 1937, he outplayed and beat Capablanca in this phase, despite this being the forte of the Cuban ex-world champion. Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 grandmaster Hans Ree
Hans Ree
Hans Ree is a Dutch Grandmaster of chess and is a columnist and chess writer for the NRC Handelsblad. He contributes to the leading chess magazines New In Chess and ChessCafe.com...

 observes that Eliskases is one of only four players (Keres, Reshevsky
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...

 and Euwe being the others) to beat both Capablanca and Fischer.http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hans09.txt

Sample games

  • Max Euwe
    Max Euwe
    Machgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...

     – Eliskases, 1935

Queen's Gambit Declined
Queen's Gambit Declined
The Queen's Gambit Declined is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit:This is known as the Orthodox Line of the Queen's Gambit Declined...

: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Be7 (Orthodox defence) 5. e3 O-O 6. Nf3 h6 7. Bh4 Ne4 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. cxd5 Nxc3 10. bxc3 exd5 11. Qb3 Qd6 12. c4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 Nc6 14. Qc3 Bg4 15. O-O Bxf3 16. gxf3 Kh8  (Three years later at Noordwijk, Eliskases played 16... Rad8 against Euwe, beating him in 50 moves. See the game online)  17. Rab1 b6 18. Rfc1 Ne7 19. Ba6 c6 20.Q b4 Qf6 21. f4 g5 22. fxg5 Rg8 23. h4 hxg5 24. h5 g4 25. d5 g3 26. Qd4 gxf2+ 27. Kf1 Rg1+ 28. Ke2 Qxd4 29. exd4 Nxd5 30. Kxf2 Rg4 31. Rxc6 Rf4+ 32. Ke2 Rxd4 33. Rb2 Re8+ 34. Kf1 Ne3+ 35. Ke1 Nc2+ 36. Kf1 Rf4+ 37. Kg2 Rg8+ 38. Kh3 Nb4 39. Rxb4 Rxb4 40. Rc7 Rg5 41. Rxf7 Rxh5+ 42. Kg3 Ra5 (0–1)  This was the first of Eliskases' three wins (in five games) against Euwe, who became world champion the same year.  See the game online
  • Eliskases – José Raúl Capablanca
    José Raúl Capablanca
    José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...

    , Semmering 1937

Slav Defence: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 (Czech variation) Nbd7 7. Nxc4 Qc7 8. g3 e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Bf4 Nfd7 11. Bg2 f6 12. O-O Rd8 13. Qc1 Be6 14. Nxe5 Nxe5 15. a5 a6 16. Ne4 Bb4 17. Bd2 Qe7 18. Bxb4 Qxb4 19. Qc5 Qxc5 20. Nxc5 Bc8 21. Rfd1 Ke7 22. b3 Nf7 23. e4 Rd6 24. Rxd6 Kxd6 25. b4 Kc7 26. Rd1 Rd8 27. Rxd8 Nxd8 28. f4 b6 29. axb6+ Kxb6 30. Bf1 Ne6 31. Na4+ Kc7 32. Kf2 g5 33. Ke3 gxf4+ 34. gxf4 Ng7 35. Nc5 Ne6 36. Nxe6+ Bxe6 37. Kd4 Kb6 38. Bc4 Bg4 39. e5 fxe5+ 40. fxe5 h6 41. h4 Bh5 42. e6 Be8 43. Bd3 Kc7 44. Kc5 Bh5 45. Bh7 Bg4 46. e7 Kd7 47. Be4 Kxe7 48. Bxc6 Be2 49. Bb7 Kd7 50. Kb6 Kd6 51. Bxa6 Bf3 52. Ka5 Bc6 53. Bb5 Bf3 54. Bd3 Bc6 55. Bc2 Kc7 56. Ba4 Bf3 57. b5 Kb7 58. b6 Be2 59. Bc2 Bf3 60. Bd3 Bg2 61. Ba6+ Kc6 62. Bc8 Bf1 63. Bg4 Bd3 64. Bf3+ Kd6 65. Bb7 Be2 66. Ba6 Bf3 67. Bf1 Bb7 68. Bh3 Ke7 69. Kb5 Kd6 70. Bf5 Ke7 71. Kc5 Bg2 72. Bc8 Kd8 73. Ba6 Bf3 74. Kd6 Bg2 75. Bc4 Kc8 76. Bd5 Bf1 77. Ke6 Be2 78. Kf6 Kd7 79. Kg6 h5 80. Kg5 Kd6 81. Bf7 Kc6 82. Bxh5 (1–0)  See the game online
  • Eliskases – Bobby Fischer
    Bobby Fischer
    Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...

    , Buenos Aires 1960

Queen's Gambit Declined
Queen's Gambit Declined
The Queen's Gambit Declined is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit:This is known as the Orthodox Line of the Queen's Gambit Declined...

: 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 (Ragozin variation) 5. Qb3 Nc6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. e3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 O-O 10. O-O Qe7 11. Qc2 Bd6 12. Rad1 Kh8 13. a3 e5 14. Nd5 Qe8 15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Qxe5 17. f4 Qe8 18. e4 c6 19. Nc3 Bc7 20. Qe2 Be6 21. e5 Qe7 22. Ne4 Rad8 23. Kh1 Rfe8 24. Bxe6 Qxe6 25. Nc5 Qc8 26. Qh5 Rxd1 27. Rxd1 Rd8 28. h3 Kg8 29. Rxd8+ Qxd8 30. e6 Qe7 31. Qf5 b6 32. exf7 Qxf7 33. Qc8+ Kh7 34. Ne6 Bd6 35. g4 Qf6 36. Qd7 Qe7 37.Qxe7 Bxe7 38.Nd4 c5 39.Nc6 Bd6 40.Nxa7 c4 41.Nc8 Bc5 42.a4 Kg6 43.Kg2 Kf6 44.Kf3 Ke6 45. Ke4 Bf2 46. f5+ Kd7 47. Na7 Kd6 48. Nb5+ Kc5 49. Nc7 Bh4 50. Ne8 Kb4 51. Kd5 Be7 52. Nxg7 Bf6 53. Ne8 Bxb2 54. f6 Bxf6 55. Nxf6 c3 56. Nh5 Kxa4 57. Nf4 b5 58. Ne2 (1–0)  See the game online

External links

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