Andor Lilienthal Outstanding Hungarian-Soviet chess player, coach, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1948). Date of Birth: 05.05.1911 Country: Hungary

Andor Lilienthal - A Biography

Andor Lilienthal was a prominent Hungarian-Soviet chess player, coach, and Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1948). He was an International Grandmaster and participated in the Candidates Tournament for the World Championship (1950). Lilienthal was also a journalist.

Born in Russia in a family constantly on the move, Lilienthal's mother was a singer and his father was an electrician and racing driver. Due to their travels, Lilienthal and his older sister Margaret were born in Russia. In December 1913, Lilienthal and his family moved to Budapest, his mother's homeland. Unfortunately, his father was unable to return home and was interned in Russia and sent to Orenburg, resulting in the family being separated. Lilienthal's mother lost her voice due to the stress, and to support the family, she had to work as a seamstress. The family struggled with hunger, and Lilienthal was even sent to an orphanage. As a young boy, he worked as a farmhand for a priest, doing all the manual labor in exchange for food.

Lilienthal attended a school for the poor, but financial difficulties forced him to drop out and become an apprentice tailor. At the age of 15, he received his diploma as a master tailor. However, he was unable to find work in his trade and struggled to make ends meet. In 1929, he traveled to Vienna, where his father was living. It was there that he met José Raúl Capablanca during a simultaneous exhibition game.

Lilienthal developed a passion for chess at the age of 16 and soon displayed exceptional abilities. At the age of 19, he participated in international tournaments, finishing 4th-5th in Paris in 1930 and winning in Štubnianske Teplice, Czechoslovakia, ahead of well-known chess players such as Pirc and Flohr. This tournament is connected to one of Lilienthal's comical memories of his youth. During the tournament, Lilienthal boasted to Flohr that he could swim across the hotel pool underwater. Flohr immediately proposed a bet, and Lilienthal agreed, ready to undress and swim. However, Flohr clarified that Lilienthal had to do it in a suit. Much to the amazement of the audience, Lilienthal dived into the pool and swam 50 meters underwater in a suit. The hotel administration, pleased with the unexpected publicity, bought Lilienthal a new and expensive suit as a prize, along with a suitcase full of laundry, which turned out to be a considerable reward before the end of the tournament.

In 1933, Lilienthal achieved his best individual result at the 5th "Tournament of Nations" (10 out of 13) and tied for 2nd-3rd place with Alekhine in Hastings (1933/34). In 1934, he won an international tournament in Ujpest, Hungary, ahead of players such as Pirc, Flohr, Grünfeld, Ståhlberg, Vidmar, and Tartakower. He also shared 2nd-3rd place in Budapest and 1st-3rd place in Barcelona. The following year, Lilienthal tied for 5th-6th place with Botvinnik in Hastings, where he achieved a sensational victory with a queen sacrifice against José Raúl Capablanca.

In 1935 and 1936, Lilienthal participated in the 2nd and 3rd Moscow International Tournaments, finishing 8th-10th and 4th, respectively. He also represented Hungary in the "Tournament of Nations" in 1935 and 1937.

In 1939, Lilienthal moved to the USSR and married a Russian beauty named Evgenia. This marriage has an interesting story behind it. During an international tournament in Moscow, Lilienthal saw a beautiful blonde in the lobby and jokingly told one of the tournament organizers, V. Eremeev, that if he wasn't introduced to that woman, he would withdraw from the tournament. They were introduced, and they lived happily together for many years.

After Evgenia's death, Lilienthal married two more Russian women, Lyudmila in 1976 and Olga in 1987.

In 1940, Lilienthal became the Moscow Champion and, together with Igor Bondarevsky, won the 12th USSR Championship, surpassing Smyslov, Keres, Boleslavsky, and Botvinnik.

Lilienthal continued to participate in major tournaments and achieved notable results throughout the 1940s and early 1950s. He represented the Soviet Union in international matches against the United States, Great Britain, Prague, and Budapest.

In the 1950s, Lilienthal became a coach for Tigran Petrosian and Vasily Smyslov, contributing to their rise to the top of the chess world. Lilienthal was highly respected and loved by all Soviet chess players and women.

Lilienthal's passion for chess started in Budapest, where he visited chess cafes and observed the best chess players in the city. He watched and learned from them.

Lilienthal was a talented combination player and a grandmaster of attack. He spent his youth in Budapest, when chess champions such as José Raúl Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe, and Aron Nimzowitsch were at the peak of their fame. Lilienthal also had the opportunity to compete against the legendary Emanuel Lasker before he retired from chess.

At the age of 18, Lilienthal had his first encounter with Capablanca. The world champion was giving a simultaneous exhibition, and what surprised Lilienthal the most was that there were more women in the audience than men. According to Lilienthal, Capablanca was the only chess player in the world who attracted such a specific audience.

Lilienthal's career as a professional chess player started after his successful performances in local tournaments. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, participated in tournaments, and conducted simultaneous exhibitions.

In Paris, Lilienthal met Alexander Alekhine and unexpectedly won a match against him in just four "easy" games. Although surprised, the World Champion wanted to continue the match. However, Lilienthal, as he recalls with a smile, declined the offer, thus preserving his advantage over Alexander Alekhine.

Lilienthal achieved great successes and unexpected defeats throughout his chess career. He often displayed a high level of play but lacked consistency.

In 1939, Lilienthal acquired Soviet citizenship and found himself in what he called the "chess El Dorado." He was impressed by the recognition of chess as an educational factor and the tremendous scale of the chess movement in the USSR.

Winning the Moscow Championship turned out to be as challenging as winning a major international tournament. Leading the championship, Lilienthal faced a relatively unknown red-haired young player in the final round, holding a half-point lead. However, he failed to secure a draw. As Lilienthal admits, he was so devastated that he cried for the first and only time in his life after a defeat. Little did he know that his opponent, Vasily Smyslov, would become the future World Champion. The lesson learned, Lilienthal won the next Moscow Championship, defeating his previous opponent.

In 1976, at his mother's request, Lilienthal returned to Hungary. He continued his coaching work and wrote a book titled "My Life in Chess," which was published in Budapest in 1985. The book mainly consists of Lilienthal's games and serves as a creative account of his eventful chess life.

For his contributions to chess, Lilienthal was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor in 1957.