Lajos Portisch
Lajos Portisch, achtfacher WM-Kandidat aus Ungarn, feiert heute seinen 85. Geburtstag. Ein Glückwunsch von FIDE-Generalsekretär Emil Sutovsky, veröffentlicht auf der FIDE-Seite:
Lajos Portisch, a renowned Hungarian grandmaster, has turned 85 today.
Portisch is not just an outstanding grandmaster who has participated in the Candidates eight times (both matches and tournaments). Lajos is more than a player who has been in the world's top ten for a quarter of a century; he is more than a unique fighter capable of defeating three world champions in the same tournament.
Portisch is a symbol, a brand, a role model. One may not have Tal's creativity, not be a brilliant intuitive player like Karpov, not burn himself out in every game like Korchnoi, but one can still be consistently at the top through hard work, determination and a strong personality.
Photo: Koch, Eric / Anefo
He has been called the Hungarian Botvinnik. Although this comparison is not a hundred per cent correct (Mikhail Moiseevich cited his game played with Portisch in 1968 as an argument against it), they have much in common.
An analyst of the highest level, who created entire opening concepts, solid, strategically thinking, ruthless to himself, Portisch has always epitomized a fundamental approach to chess. It is hard to call him a player or an athlete - Lajos has always been more like a scholar. And when I read about how "Portisch had prepared this improvement in the quiet of his home laboratory," it was a real laboratory I imagined. Portisch's aristocratism, exceptional strength, and scientific approach to chess made him one of the most respected players in all corners of the globe - despite his somewhat dry style.
Photo: gahetna.nl
Portisch feared no one, and although fallen short compared to the greatest, he has always been an undaunted fighter - Lajos led his team to Olympic gold in 1978 and shared first place in 1980. He deserved full credit for Hungary's being a true chess country all these years.
Lajos played at the highest level in his 40s and 50s. In 1987 he qualified for the Candidates for the last time in his career. Six years later in 1993, Portisch was very close again, even though he was 56 years old and battled with Gelfand, Ivanchuk, Anand, Kamsky and Kramnik (to whom he lost a decisive game for a qualifying spot).
The Hungarian Grandmaster kept up his remarkable strength until the end of the nineties, but after turning sixty, he drastically reduced his participation in tournaments, devoting most of his time to music. Interestingly, during our meetings, we talked more often about singing rather than chess. We have different repertoires, but he spoke about his beloved Schubert and how to sing it properly so passionately that it became clear how much that subject meant to him.
Photo: olimpia.hu/
So twenty years flew by - the years dominated by music - just like Smyslov's and Gligoric's lives at this age.
However, even on the threshold of his eightieth birthday, Portisch played in tournaments very confidently, not the least bit embarrassed that most of his opponents were half a century younger. And when Lajos was already in his ninth decade, he put forward his candidacy for the captain of the Hungarian national team and took it very personally when this position was not given to him.
I haven't spoken to him for a long time, but back in 2019, Lajos was still actively following events in the chess world, commenting knowledgeably and not without a pinch of salt. We always talked with him in Russian, which Portisch speaks as brilliantly as English and German.
Photo: ChessBase
Lajos is a fascinating character, and those who paint him as a "cold fish" are wrong. Even though, Portisch played into that image sometimes.
I wish the Hungarian Grandmaster many more years and a creative tone. And thank you, Maestro, for your contribution to chess!
Ungarn und seine Schach-Sphinx: Erst wackelten die Sowjets, dann fielen sie
Portisch in Amsterdam 1971, eine Fotosammlung:
https://boudewijnhuijgens.getarchive.net/amp/topics/lajos+portisch+in+1971?page=1
https://www.europe-echecs.com/art/portisch-vs-larsen-1972-8768.html
Mit schwarzem Ledersack und unbestechlichem Blick saß er vor dem Brett: Lajos Portisch, der "Botwinnik Ungarns", war kein Lautsprecher des Schachs, aber einer seiner beständigsten Giganten. Sechs bis sieben Stunden täglich widmete er dem Studium des Spiels, fast klösterlich, ganz in der Tradition der alten sowjetischen Schule.
Seine Partie gegen Bent Larsen 1972 in San Antonio wurde zur besten des „Informator 14“ gewählt – bereits zum dritten Mal stand eine Partie von Portisch an der Spitze dieser Wertung. Er gewann gegen einen erkälteten, aber spielwütigen Larsen mit bestechender Klarheit, teilte daraufhin den Turniersieg mit Karpow und Petrosjan. Es war der Höhepunkt eines großen Jahres: Auch in Wijk aan Zee und Las Palmas hatte Portisch triumphiert.
Trotz solcher Erfolge blieb Portisch medial oft im Schatten. "Ich habe wenig Eindruck von Portisch", schrieb ein Reporter in San Antonio. "Vielleicht ist gerade das sein Eindruck: makellos, rücksichtsvoll, immer korrekt." Portisch hob den Hut, sang mit Barytonstimme in Bienne und zog sich nach Partien mit seinem Ledersack zurück. Darin: die Werkzeuge seines Denkens.
Schon 1966 hatte er mit einem Angriffssieg gegen Johannessen Aufsehen erregt, 1970 war er einziger Gewinner des legendären Matches UdSSR gegen den Rest der Welt. In der Nachfolge Fischers galt er für viele als der nächste Herausforderer. Er wurde es nie, aber er blieb ein Jahrzehnt lang Teil der Weltspitze.
Sein Stil war wie seine Erscheinung: sachlich, klar, fast streng. "Portisch ist geboren als Stratege", schrieb Varnusz. "Er spielte nie romantisch, sondern immer vernünftig." Genau das machte seine Partien so lehrreich – und seine Siege so schwer.
Selbst Fischer zollte Respekt: "Ich widme dem Schach so viel Zeit, dass andere mich für verrückt halten." Portisch tat es ihm gleich, nur leiser. Mit Disziplin, Haltung – und einer tiefen Liebe zum Spiel.
Aus dem Eröffnungslabor eines achtfachen WM-Kandidaten:
Klappentext:
Unpublished ideas and analysis from decades of elite-level chess
“A window into the secret lab of one of best analysts/strategists in chess.” – Miguel Ararat, Gainesville Chess Training
It’s major news when a legendary player reveals his opening secrets. And when he has rarely written about his games or preparation methods, and was famous for meticulous, ahead-of-his-time opening analysis, it makes it a true publishing event.
Yet that is what eight-time world championship candidate Lajos Portisch has done. In this book, he opens his extensive opening files and presents the most important games and unused novelties in the Ruy Lopez (or Spanish Game). He also explains the strategies and ideas behind these lines, and places the key games in their historical settings. Anecdotes abound, as do reflections on his key rivals, including Fischer, Karpov, Tal, Larsen and Smyslov.
This is also a thoroughly modern work. As well as drawing upon games from his own long career, Portisch includes important Ruy Lopez games by modern champions, including Anand and Carlsen, describing them from his own unique perspective. All analysis has been computer-verified, with Portisch’s hand-made variations standing up to scrutiny in most cases, but with the computer adding new and surprising twists. Thus we see how human creativity can remain a vital component in modern preparation.
Lajos Portisch is one of the greatest players of the modern era. An elite player from the 1960s to the 1990s, he qualified for the candidates eight times and was board 1 for the Hungary team that won olympic gold in 1978, ahead of the USSR. He is one of the 12 Hungarian ‘Sportsmen of the Nation’ – the country’s highest sporting honour.
“Written with love and passion” – Soloscacchi
“This book is particularly suitable for players who already have some knowledge of the Spanish Game, and want to deepen this further. Through the combination of analysis and experience, the reader gets the best of both worlds: namely the accuracy and sharpness of the machine and the intuitive, formable insight of the human being. All in all, a neat book” – Zyon Kollen, schaaksite-nl
“Portisch’s notes are absolutely delightful, combining personal reflections on his contemporaries with excellent analysis. Summing up, this is a fabulous book – fully accessible to club players and with sufficient depth to entice strong tournament players to enter its entertaining and instructive pages” – Sean Marsh, Chess Magazine
“Another super read from Gambit, written by the legendary Lajos Portisch, who had the nickname as the ‘Hungarian Botvinnik’. To see Portisch and his contemporaries of that time is a truly fascinating time trip. Readable and highly educative ... this is a great chess book!” – John Elburg, chessbooks-nl
“It is a great opportunity to read Portisch talking in first person, and making it easy for an amateur to understand the otherwise complex opening theory/evolution of the Ruy Lopez. Warmly recommended” – Miguel Ararat, Gainesville Chess Training