Gyula Breyer
Encyclopedia
Gyula Breyer was a Hungarian
chess
player. He was a leading member of the hypermodern
school of chess theory, which favored controlling the center with pressure from the flanks.
Breyer was born in Budapest
. In 1912 he won the Hungarian championship
in Temesvar. He had a plus record against Max Euwe
(later world champion). He beat Euwe with the black pieces in Vienna
in 1921:
1.e4 Nc6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d4 e5 4.dxe5 Nxe5 5.f4 Nc6 6.e5 Ng8 7.Bc4 d6 8.Nf3 Bg4 9.O-O Qd7 10.Qe1 O-O-O 11.Ng5 dxe5 12.Kh1 f6 13.Nf7 Na5 14.Nxd8 Nxc4 15.Qe4 Nd6 16.Qb4 Be7 17.fxe5 fxe5 18.Nxb7 Nxb7 19.Rf8+ Bxf8 20.Qxf8+ Qd8 21.Qxg7 Nf6 22.Bg5 Rg8 23.Qh6 Rg6 24.Qh4 Nd6 25.Rf1 Nf5 26.Qxg4 Nxg4 27.Bxd8 Nge3 28.Rf3 Kxd8 29.h3 Rg3 30.Rxg3 Nxg3+ 0-1
Breyer is also recognized for the Breyer Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Qf3), a variation of the King's Gambit
. The Breyer Variation in the Ruy Lopez
involves Black re-routing his queen's knight to d7 for increased flexibility (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7). This line became fashionable in the 1960s, and a favourite of ex-world champion Boris Spassky
. He was also an early adopter of the Slav Defense
(1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6) at a time when the Queen's Gambit Declined
was Black's most common response to the Queen's Gambit
. It is possible that Breyer was one of the Slavs who contributed to the defense's name.
Breyer died in Bratislava
of a heart attack. He was buried in Bratislava and after exhumation in 1987, was reburied in the Kerepesi Cemetery
in Budapest
.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
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...
player. He was a leading member of the hypermodern
Hypermodernism (chess)
Hypermodernism is a school of chess that emerged after World War I. It featured challenges on the chess ideologies presented by central European masters, such as on Wilhelm Steinitz’ approach to the centre. It also challenged in particular the dogmatic rules set down by Siegbert Tarrasch...
school of chess theory, which favored controlling the center with pressure from the flanks.
Breyer was born in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. In 1912 he won 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...
in Temesvar. He had a plus record against 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...
(later world champion). He beat Euwe with the black pieces in 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...
in 1921:
1.e4 Nc6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d4 e5 4.dxe5 Nxe5 5.f4 Nc6 6.e5 Ng8 7.Bc4 d6 8.Nf3 Bg4 9.O-O Qd7 10.Qe1 O-O-O 11.Ng5 dxe5 12.Kh1 f6 13.Nf7 Na5 14.Nxd8 Nxc4 15.Qe4 Nd6 16.Qb4 Be7 17.fxe5 fxe5 18.Nxb7 Nxb7 19.Rf8+ Bxf8 20.Qxf8+ Qd8 21.Qxg7 Nf6 22.Bg5 Rg8 23.Qh6 Rg6 24.Qh4 Nd6 25.Rf1 Nf5 26.Qxg4 Nxg4 27.Bxd8 Nge3 28.Rf3 Kxd8 29.h3 Rg3 30.Rxg3 Nxg3+ 0-1
Breyer is also recognized for the Breyer Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Qf3), a variation of the King's Gambit
King's Gambit
The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:White offers a pawn to divert the Black e-pawn so as to build a strong centre with d2–d4...
. The Breyer Variation in the Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
involves Black re-routing his queen's knight to d7 for increased flexibility (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7). This line became fashionable in the 1960s, and a favourite of ex-world champion Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
. He was also an early adopter of the Slav Defense
Slav Defense
The Slav Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Slav is one of the primary defenses to the Queen's Gambit. Although it was analyzed as early as 1590, it was not until the 1920s that it started to be explored extensively...
(1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6) at a time when the 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...
was Black's most common response to the Queen's Gambit
Queen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves:The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analysed by masters such as Gioachino Greco in the seventeenth century...
. It is possible that Breyer was one of the Slavs who contributed to the defense's name.
Breyer died in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
of a heart attack. He was buried in Bratislava and after exhumation in 1987, was reburied in the Kerepesi Cemetery
Kerepesi Cemetery
Kerepesi Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Budapest...
in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
.