Henri Grob

Henri Grob vs. Willem Muhring (Hastings, 1947-48)

Henri Grob (4 June 1904 – 5? July^[1] 1974) was a Swiss chess player, artist and painter. He pioneered eccentric chess openings, such as 1.g4 (book Angriff g2–g4, Zurich 1942), sometimes known as Grob's Attack. He was awarded the title of International Master in 1950 at its inauguration.

Chess career

Notable tournaments

Grob was considered as a leading Swiss player from the 1930s to 1950s and was invited to many prestigious closed tournaments. In 1926, he tied for 10-12th in Meran (Edgar Colle won). In 1932, he tied for 9-12th in Bern (Alexander Alekhine won). In 1934, he tied for 13-14th in Zürich 1934 (Alekhine won). In 1935, he took 3rd, behind Flohr and Koltanowski, in Barcelona, took 3rd in Rosas (Flohr won), and took 10th in Bad Nauheim (Bogoljubow won). In 1936, he took 10th in Dresden (Alekhine won), tied for 3rd-4th in Reus, and took 2nd, behind Erik Lundin, in Ostend.

In 1937, Grob won as first on tie-break, 1st-3rd with Reuben Fine and Paul Keres in Ostend (beating Keres and Fine, both elite players and joint winners of the AVRO tournament in 1938).

In 1939, he took 9th in Stuttgart (Europa Turnier; Bogoljubow won).^[2] In 1947, he tied for 2nd-3rd, behind Savielly Tartakower in Baarn, and took 5th in Venice (Tartakower won). In 1947/48 he tied for 2nd-4th, behind László Szabó, in Hastings. In 1948, he took 8th in Venice (Miguel Najdorf won). In 1949/50 he took 4th in Lucerne (Blau won). In 1951, he took 10th in Bad Pyrmont (zonal; Svetozar Gligorić won). He participated in the International Chess Tournament of Gijón (1950) obtaining the 6th place.^[3]

Representing Switzerland

Grob represented Switzerland in Chess Olympiads.

In 1927, at fourth board in 1st Chess Olympiad in London (+2 –5 =7);
In 1935, at second board in 6th Chess Olympiad in Warsaw (+2 –8 =5);
In 1936, at third board in 3rd unofficial Chess Olympiad in Munich (+4 –7 =6);
In 1952, at first board in 10th Chess Olympiad in Helsinki (+6 –6 =1).

He also played for Switzerland in some friendly matches.

In 1950, he lost to Carlos Guimard 0,5 : 1,5 in Zurich (SUI – ARG);
In 1951, he drew with Eugenio Szabados 1 : 1 in Venice (SUI – ITA);
In 1952, he drew with Rudolf Teschner 1 : 1 in Lucerne (SUI – FRG);
In 1955, he won against Weichselbaumer 1 : 0 in Zurich (SUI – Saar).^[4]

Notable matches

Grob's matches included the following games against notable masters:

In 1933, he lost to Salo Flohr (+1 –4 =1)
In 1934, he won against Jacques Mieses (+4 –1 =1)
In 1935, he lost to Lajos Steiner (+1 –3 =0)
In 1937, he drew with George Koltanowski (+1 –1 =2)
In 1947, he lost to Max Euwe (+0 –5 =1)
In 1948, he lost to Miguel Najdorf (+1 –5 =0)
In 1949, he lost to Efim Bogoljubow (+2 –4 =1)
In 1950, he lost to Lodewijk Prins (+1 –4 =1).^[5]

Swiss Chess Championship

He was Swiss champion twice, in 1939 and 1951.

Correspondence chess

Between 1946 and 1972, Grob played 3,614 correspondence chess games. He won 2,703, lost 430, and drew 481 games. All of the games were played against readers of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, a leading Swiss newspaper.

Grob's Attack

Grob gives his name to Grob's Attack, an unconventional chess opening featuring the move 1.g4. Grob analysed the opening extensively and used it often in his correspondence games in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. This opening is classified under the code A00 ("irregular openings" or "uncommon openings") in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings. The opening is generally shunned by skilled players, as results tend to be poor for white. ^[6]^[7]

References

^ '3 July' according to Gaige, '9 July' according to Golombek, '4 June' according to Mundo del Ajedrez November 1974, p. 318.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-02-21. Retrieved 2007-07-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Mendez, Pedro; Mendez, Luis (2019). The Gijón International Chess Tournaments. McFarland. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-4766-7659-3.
^ OlimpBase :: the encyclopaedia of team chess
^ Litmanowicz, Władysław & Giżycki, Jerzy (1986, 1987). Szachy od A do Z. Wydawnictwo Sport i Turystyka Warszawa. ISBN 83-217-2481-7 (1. A-M), ISBN 83-217-2745-X (2. N-Z)
^ Benjamin, Joel; Schiller, Eric (1987). Unorthodox openings. New York: Collier Books. p. 75. ISBN 0-02-016590-0.
^ Watson, John L. (2010). Mastering the chess openings. London: Gambit Publications. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-906454-19-7.

External links

Henri Grob player profile and games at Chessgames.com

[1] '3 July' according to Gaige, '9 July' according to Golombek, '4 June' according to Mundo del Ajedrez November 1974, p. 318.

[2] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-02-21. Retrieved 2007-07-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[3] Mendez, Pedro; Mendez, Luis (2019). The Gijón International Chess Tournaments. McFarland. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-4766-7659-3.

[4] OlimpBase :: the encyclopaedia of team chess

[5] Litmanowicz, Władysław & Giżycki, Jerzy (1986, 1987). Szachy od A do Z. Wydawnictwo Sport i Turystyka Warszawa. ISBN 83-217-2481-7 (1. A-M), ISBN 83-217-2745-X (2. N-Z)

[6] Benjamin, Joel; Schiller, Eric (1987). Unorthodox openings. New York: Collier Books. p. 75. ISBN 0-02-016590-0.

[7] Watson, John L. (2010). Mastering the chess openings. London: Gambit Publications. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-906454-19-7.

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