Andor Lilienthal, last of ‘original’ chess grandmasters, dies in Hungary at 99
By The Associated Press (CP) – 13 minutes ago
BUDAPEST, Hungary — The Hungarian Chess Federation says Andor Lilienthal, one of 27 original grandmasters awarded the title in 1950, has died in Budapest at the age of 99.
Chess Federation communications director Zsuzsa Veroci says Lilienthal died Saturday at his home in Budapest after a long illness.
Lilienthal was born in Moscow of Hungarian parents on May 5, 1911. He moved to Budapest as a youngster with his mother and competed for Hungary in three Chess Olympiads in the 1930s.
He continued his career in the Soviet Union and later trained world champions Tigran Petrosian and Vasily Smyslov. He moved back to Budapest in 1976 where he remained active in the chess world until recently.
Lilienthal is survived by his wife, Olga. Funeral details were not available.
Source: AP
Hot and cold showers were not enough! what else did he need Susan! You knew the secret!
RIP GM Lilienthal
very sad, but living to 99 years old is a achievement in itself.
In individual games, he beat SEVEN World Champions!
How does one die “suddenly” after a “long illness” ?
Sadly, most players today know little if anything about him, but he was a giant. His scintillating brilliancy against Capablanca will live forever. He won tournament games against Lasker, Capablanca, Euwe, Botvinnik (twice), Smyslov (four times), and Vera Menchik. According to his biography, he also beat Alekhine “in a serious game,” but I haven’t seen that game. He was the last known living player to play Lasker, one of the very few to have played Capablanca or Alekhine, and one of five living players with a Morphy Number of 3. For a collection of his games I compiled, see http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1011505
I Highly advise anyone reading to check out the Excellent work of Canadas best GM ever. He wrote a beautiful article on this…I also..would suggest that you may really like his blog. Its awesome.
Mike Magnan
You can find it here.
This article is from “Older Posts:
http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com/
No other bad habits?
Lilienthal can still drive!
I looked through all the 27 original GMs biography and turned out he was the last one who lived. Smyslov was the next to last.
He was the oldest GM in our days and I guess in the history too.
RIP GM Lilienthal