Karl Robatsch
Encyclopedia
Karl Robatsch was a leading Austria
n chess player
and a noted botanist.
He moved to Graz
at the age of 17 to become a student and often frequented the mountainside café, a popular meeting place for chess players. As he already had a recognisable chess talent, he joined a local club 'SK Gemeinde' (Municipal chess club) and quickly advanced to master standard.
s and one European Team Championship
. Up until his last Olympiad in 1994, he played first board on every occasion and returned some impressive results. At the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad, he astounded the chess world by scoring 84.4% and taking the board 1 gold medal, while still only an IM. This was also the year that he became Austrian champion
.
in 1961 (with Borislav Milic
) and achieved outright or shared second place at Kapfenberg
1955, Varna
1957, Utrecht
1961 and Beverwijk 1962
. At Halle
in 1963, a zonal qualifying tournament for the world championship, he finished with a creditable tie for third (after Lajos Portisch
and Bent Larsen
, level with Borislav Ivkov
).
Later, he took a share of second place at Venice
1969, and placed third at Olot
1972, Costa Brava
1973 and Vienna
1979. He continued to play to a good standard into the late 1990s.
in favour of an early challenge in the centre with e5. An alternative configuration, with which he drew
with ex-world champion Max Euwe
, involved playing an early c5 and d5. Other strategies employed by Black are likely to transpose to lines of the Pirc Defence
, King's Indian Defence
or Modern Benoni. Robatsch duly revived, developed and popularised the system and it became widely known as the 'Robatsch Defence' throughout the 1960s, 70s and even into the 1980s. The tenth edition of Modern Chess Openings
(1965) grouped the Pirc and Robatsch together as the "Pirc-Robatsch Defense". Although some opening books still reference it this way, a more common designation is Modern Defence. He was also known for his offbeat version of the Centre Counter, or Scandinavian Defence as it is now best known.
.
Karl Robatsch died in 2000, following a long fight with throat and stomach cancer.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n chess player
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...
and a noted botanist.
He moved to Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
at the age of 17 to become a student and often frequented the mountainside café, a popular meeting place for chess players. As he already had a recognisable chess talent, he joined a local club 'SK Gemeinde' (Municipal chess club) and quickly advanced to master standard.
A team player
Becoming an International Master in 1957 and a Grandmaster in 1961, Robatsch dedicated much of his life to serving Austrian chess, representing the nation at eleven Chess OlympiadChess 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...
s and one European Team Championship
European Team Championship
The European Team Championship is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9...
. Up until his last Olympiad in 1994, he played first board on every occasion and returned some impressive results. At the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad, he astounded the chess world by scoring 84.4% and taking the board 1 gold medal, while still only an IM. This was also the year that he became Austrian champion
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:...
.
Tournament record
While Robatsch played competitively over five decades, the high points of his international tournament career mostly occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was a winner at MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 1961 (with Borislav Milic
Borislav Milic
Borislav Milic was a Yugoslav Grandmaster of chess, and a chess writer, organizer, promoter, and administrator.-Introduction:...
) and achieved outright or shared second place at Kapfenberg
Kapfenberg
Kapfenberg is a city in Styria, Austria, near Bruck an der Mur. The town's landmark is Burg Oberkapfenberg. Main employer in the city of Kapfenberg was and still is the steel manufacturer Böhler....
1955, Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
1957, Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
1961 and Beverwijk 1962
Corus chess tournament
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament formerly called the Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands...
. At Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
in 1963, a zonal qualifying tournament for the world championship, he finished with a creditable tie for third (after Lajos Portisch
Lajos Portisch
Lajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...
and Bent Larsen
Bent Larsen
Jørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
, level with Borislav Ivkov
Borislav Ivkov
Borislav Ivkov is a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was the first ever World Junior Champion in 1951. He won the Yugoslav Championship in 1958 , 1963 and 1972. He was a World championship candidate in 1965, and played in four more Interzonal tournaments, in 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979...
).
Later, he took a share of second place at Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
1969, and placed third at Olot
Olot
Olot is the capital of the comarca of the Garrotxa, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.- Etymology :The etymology of Olot is not clear and there are several hypotheses...
1972, Costa Brava
Costa Brava
The Costa Brava is a coastal region of northeastern Catalonia, Spain, in the comarques of Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà and Selva, in the province of Girona. Costa is the Catalan and Spanish word for 'coast', and Brava means 'rugged' or 'wild'...
1973 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...
1979. He continued to play to a good standard into the late 1990s.
Style and contributions to opening theory
In terms of his playing abilities, he displayed a highly combinative style in his younger days and adopted a more positional approach later in life. His opening play was often punctuated with experimental moves and this led to some lively and historically important games. The system of opening moves commencing 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7, first seen in the 16th century, became a playground that Robatsch returned to time and time again when he had the black pieces. Following preparatory moves such as Nc6 or d6, Black characteristically delays the development of the kingside knightKnight (chess)
The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, one square from the corner...
in favour of an early challenge in the centre with e5. An alternative configuration, with which he drew
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
with ex-world champion 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...
, involved playing an early c5 and d5. Other strategies employed by Black are likely to transpose to lines of the Pirc Defence
Pirc Defence
The Pirc Defence |grandmasters]]), sometimes known as the Ufimtsev Defence or Yugoslav Defence, is a chess opening characterised by Black responding to 1.e4 with 1...d6 and 2...Nf6, followed by ...g6 and ...Bg7, while allowing White to establish an impressive-looking centre with pawns on d4 and e4...
, King's Indian Defence
King's Indian Defence
The King's Indian Defence is a common chess opening. It arises after the moves:Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6.The Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead, and is considered a separate opening...
or Modern Benoni. Robatsch duly revived, developed and popularised the system and it became widely known as the 'Robatsch Defence' throughout the 1960s, 70s and even into the 1980s. The tenth edition of Modern Chess Openings
Modern Chess Openings
Modern Chess Openings is an important reference book on the chess openings, first published in 1911 by the British players Richard Clewin Griffith and John Herbert White...
(1965) grouped the Pirc and Robatsch together as the "Pirc-Robatsch Defense". Although some opening books still reference it this way, a more common designation is Modern Defence. He was also known for his offbeat version of the Centre Counter, or Scandinavian Defence as it is now best known.
Parallel career
Robatsch may have hindered his further development as a chess player, by sharing his love of chess with a parallel career in botany. As an esteemed orchidologist, he was awarded the title of 'Professor' for his outstanding research work in the classification of different species and sub-species of orchidOrchidaceae
The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...
.
Karl Robatsch died in 2000, following a long fight with throat and stomach cancer.
Notable games
- M Euwe vs K Robatsch, Varna 1962, Modern Defense: Queen Pawn Fianchetto (B06), ½–½
- J Durao vs K Robatsch, Olympiad 1960, Modern Defense: Averbakh Variation (A42), 0-1