Miguel Najdorf | |
|---|---|
 Miguel Najdorf in 1973 | |
| Full name | Mojsze Mendel Najdorf |
| Country | Poland (before 1940) Argentina (after 1940) |
| Born | (1910-04-15)15 April 1910 Grodzisk Mazowiecki,Poland,Russian Empire |
| Died | 4 July 1997(1997-07-04) (aged 87) Málaga, Spain |
| Title | Grandmaster (1950) |
| Peak rating | 2540 (July 1972) |
| Peak ranking | No. 42 (July 1972) |
Miguel Najdorf (/naɪdɔːrf/NY-dorf; bornMojsze Mendel Najdorf;[a] 15 April 1910 – 4 July 1997) was a Polish-Argentine chessgrandmaster. Originally from Poland, he was inArgentina when World War II began in 1939, and he stayed and settled there. He was a leading world player in the 1940s and 1950s, and is also known for theNajdorf Variation, one of the most popular chess openings.
Najdorf was tutored first byDawid Przepiórka, then bySavielly Tartakower, the latter of whom he always referred to as "my teacher".
At the beginning of his chess career, around 1930, Najdorf defeated a player believed to be named "Glücksberg" in a famous game often referred to as "ThePolish Immortal".[3] In 1930, he tied for 6th–7th at the Warsaw Championship, an event won byPaulino Frydman. In 1931, he took second in Warsaw, behind Frydman. In 1932, he tied for 9th–10th in Warsaw. In 1933, he won in Warsaw (Quadrangular). In January 1934, he finished second toRudolf Spielmann, in Warsaw. In summer 1934, he lost a match against Ored Karlin (+1–2=1). In 1934, he won the Warsaw championship. In 1935, he tied for 2nd–4th with Frydman andHenryk Friedman, behind Tartakower, in the 3rdPolish Chess Championship, held in Warsaw. Afterward, Najdorf won a match against Tartakower inToruń (+2–1=2). In 1936, he tied for first withLajos Steiner in theHungarian Championship. In 1937, he took third at the 4th Championship of Poland inJurata. In 1937, he won inRogaška Slatina (Rohitsch-Sauerbrunn). In 1938, he tied for 10th–12th inŁódź. In 1939, he took sixth inMargate, and won inWarsaw.[4]
Najdorf represented Poland in four pre-warChess Olympiads. In August 1935, he played third board in the6th Chess Olympiad in Warsaw (+9–2=6). In August 1936, he was second board in3rd unofficial Chess Olympiad organised by the German Chess Federation inMunich (+14–2=4). In June/July 1937, he played at second board in the7th Chess Olympiad inStockholm (+5–3=7).[5] In the1939 Olympiad, Najdorf played second board for Poland and achieved a score of +12−2=4, winning a gold pen and pencil set.[6]
During the8th Chess Olympiad inBuenos Aires in August/September 1939, World War II broke out. Najdorf was Jewish, as were two of his teammates, Tartakower and Frydman.[7] He decided to stay and settle inArgentina (as did many others). He became an Argentine citizen in 1944.[8]
His wife, daughter, parents and four siblings all were murdered inThe Holocaust. Najdorf later remarried (twice) and had two daughters.[8][9]
Najdorf set world records for simultaneousblindfold chess. He played a record 40 opponents in 1943, and increased the record to 45 in 1947. This record stood until 2011.[10]
He set these records in the hope that the news would be reported in Europe and his family would learn of his whereabouts,[8] but they had perished in concentration camps by the time the information arrived.[11]
In September 1939, after the Olympiad, Najdorf emerged as one of the top players in the chess world. He tied for first withPaul Keres at Buenos Aires (Círculo de Ajedrez); the two scored 8½/11. In 1941, he took second, afterGideon Ståhlberg atMar del Plata, with 12½/17. Later in 1941, he finished equal first with Ståhlberg at Buenos Aires, the two scoring 11/14. In 1942, he won at Mar del Plata, with 13½/17, ahead of Ståhlberg. In 1943, he was second at Mar del Plata, behind Stålhberg, scoring 10/13. In 1943, he won atRosario. In 1944, he won atLa Plata, with 13/16, ahead of Ståhlberg. In 1944, he tied for first withHermann Pilnik at Mar del Plata, with each scoring 12/15. In 1945, he won at Buenos Aires (Roberto Grau Memorial), with 10/12, ahead of Ståhlberg andCarlos Guimard. He took second place atViña del Mar 1945, with 10½/13, behind Guimard, then won Mar del Plata 1945 with 11/15, ahead of Ståhlberg, and repeated at Mar del Plata 1946 with 16/18, ahead of Guimard and Ståhlberg. He also won atRio de Janeiro 1946.[12]
After World War II ended, organized chess resumed in the international arena, particularly in war-stricken Europe. In 1946, Najdorf tied for 4th–5th withLászló Szabó atGroningen, with 11½/19; the event was won byMikhail Botvinnik. He then won atPrague, with (+9−1=3), ahead ofPetar Trifunović,Gösta Stoltz,Svetozar Gligorić, andJan Foltys. He also won atBarcelona 1946, with 11½/13, ahead ofDaniel Yanofsky. In 1947, he took second place at Buenos Aires/La Plata (Sextangular), with 6½/10, behind Ståhlberg, but ahead ofMax Euwe. In 1947, he won at Mar del Plata. In 1947, he finished second, afterErich Eliskases, atSão Paulo.
In 1948, Najdorf placed second at New York City with 6/9, two points behindReuben Fine. He tied for 4th–5th withHéctor Rossetto at Mar del Plata, with 10/17, behind Eliskases, Ståhlberg, and Medina Garcia. Najdorf won at Mar del Plata 1948 with 14/17, ahead of Ståhlberg (13½), Eliskases (12), and Euwe (10½). He was second at Buenos Aires 1948, with 8/10, behind Ståhlberg. Najdorf won atVenice 1948, with 11½/13, ahead ofGedeon Barcza, Esteban Canal, and Euwe. In 1949, he tied for first with Ståhlberg at Buenos Aires. In 1950, he won atAmsterdam, with 15/19, ahead ofSamuel Reshevsky (14), Ståhlberg (13½), Gligorić (12),Vasja Pirc (12), and Euwe (11½). He also won at Bled in 1950.[13]
Although not a full-time chess professional (for many years he worked in theinsurance business, selling life insurance),[9] Najdorf was one of the world's leading chess players in the 1940s and 1950s.
Najdorf's string of successes from 1939 to 1947 had raised him into the ranks of the world's top players. According toChessmetrics, he was ranked second in the world from mid 1947 to mid 1949.[14] Based on his results, there was talk of inviting him to the1948 World Championship tournament, but in the end he was not invited. He had won an ostensible qualifying tournament at Prague by a margin of 1½ points.[15] There was a view in some quarters that Prague had been a rather weak tournament, so Najdorf's accomplishment was downplayed. Najdorf stated in a 1947 interview:
I believe that I am inferior to none of the players who are to participate in the next world championship, Botvinnik, Fine, Reshevsky, Keres, Euwe. ... None of these have a better record than I. I have played much less than they have, admittedly, but I am satisfied with my results.[15]
Pressure from the Soviet Chess Federation, perhaps pushed by Botvinnik, may have been responsible for keeping Najdorf out.[9]
In 1950,FIDE made him one of the inauguralInternational Grandmasters. In the same year he played atBudapest in theCandidates Tournament to select a challenger for theWorld Chess Championship 1951, and finished fifth. Three years later, in the1953 Candidates Tournament, he finished equal sixth. He never succeeded in qualifying for the Candidates again. He did come close in the next cycle, narrowly failing to qualify from the1955 Interzonal, held atGothenburg, Sweden.[16]
Najdorf won important tournaments such asMar del Plata (1961) andHavana (1962). He also played in bothPiatigorsky Cup tournaments, held in 1963 and 1966. Just before his 60th birthday, he participated in the 1970USSR vs. Rest of the World match, achieving an even score against the former world championMikhail Tal.
Najdorf's lively personality made him a great favorite among chess fans, as he displayed an aptitude for witty sayings, in the manner of his mentor Tartakower. An example: commenting on his opponent at the 1970 USSR vs. Rest of the World match, he remarked, "When [then-World Champion Boris]Spassky offers you a piece, you might as well resign then and there. But when Tal offers you a piece, you would do well to keep playing, because then he might offer you another, and then another, and then ... who knows?"
Najdorf remained active in chess to the end of his life. He won theSouth African Open in 1976[17] and at age 69, he tied for second place in a very strong field atBuenos Aires 1979, with 8/13, behind winnerBent Larsen (11/13), though ahead of former world championsTigran Petrosian andBoris Spassky. At Buenos Aires 1988, he made a score of 8½/15 for fourth place at age 78. The next year in the 1989Argentine Chess Championship, with several other GMs in the field, he tied for 4th–6th places, with 10/17. His last national championship was in 1991 at age 81, where he finished with a minus score. Najdorf was an exceptional blitz (five-minute) player, remaining a strong player into his 80s.
Najdorf regarded Capablanca and Fischer as the greatest players of all time.[9]
Najdorf played eleven times for Argentina in Chess Olympiads from 1950 to 1976. He played first board in the9th Chess Olympiad at Dubrovnik 1950 (+8–0=6), as well as atHelsinki 1952 (+11–2=3),Amsterdam 1954,Moscow 1956,Leipzig 1960,Varna 1962,Havana 1966,Lugano 1968,Siegen 1970, andHaifa 1976. Only during the Olympiad atNice 1974, he played on third board.
Najdorf took eleven Olympic medals: seven for teams Poland and Argentina (four silver, three bronze), and four individuals (gold in 1939, 1950, and 1952, as well as one silver in 1962).
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TheNajdorf Variation in theSicilian Defense, one of the most popular openings in modern chess, isnamed after him. Najdorf also made contributions to the theory and praxis of otheropenings such as theKing's Indian Defense. Najdorf was also a well-respected chess journalist, who had a popular column in theBuenos AiresClarín newspaper.
According to a biography by his younger daughter Liliana (b. 1952),[9] Mojsze Mendel ("Mikel") Najdorf was the oldest of five children (four sons and one daughter) of Jewish parents, Gdalik (Gedali) and Raisa (Rojza) Najdorf (née Rojza Rosklein[18]). When he was 14, he visited his school friend Ruben Fridelbaum's house, and his violinist father taught him chess. Mikel was immediately hooked, read books about the game, and was soon able to give his teacherrook odds.[9]
A musician friend introduced his fiancée Genia to Najdorf, but Najdorf and Genia fell in love, and Genia broke off her engagement and instead married Mikel. They had one daughter, Lusia. When Najdorf boarded the ship for the Buenos Aires Olympiad in 1939, Genia was ill withinfluenza, and chose not to accompany him. He arrived in Argentina on 21 August 1939. While the Olympiad was in progress, Najdorf's country was invaded and World War II began. Despite his best efforts, he never saw his family again. His parents, wife and baby daughter,[19] and all his known relatives and friends, were murdered inThe Holocaust including his father.[20] However, many years later, by chance he met a Polish immigrant in theNew York City Subway, who turned out to be a cousin.[9]
In 1944, Najdorf became a naturalized citizen of Argentina. He had studied Latin at college, so easily picked up Spanish. Najdorf spoke eight languages; in addition to his native Polish and adopted Spanish, he spoke English, Russian, Czech, Serbo-Croat, Dutch, and Yiddish.[9]
In April 1947, Najdorf met Adela ("Eta"), one of the youngest of three daughters of Russian Jewish immigrants Isaac and Esther Jusid. They were married after only a few weeks of courtship. Adela was 11 years younger than Najdorf. They had two daughters, Mirta (b. 1948) and Liliana (b. 1952), and a miscarried son in between. Liliana was long resentful of the fact that her father was abroad when she was born, and did not see her until she was four months old. She describes her father as a mixture of extremes: violent-tempered, but compassionate and loving, selfish at times but also generous to a fault, jovial and a bon vivant, but also sad because of the terrible losses of the Holocaust.[9]
Adela died on 21 August 1977, of an inoperable intestinal tumour. The family kept the diagnosis secret from her, while Najdorf consulted the best oncologists in the US to no avail.[9]
Not long after Adela died, Najdorf married again, to Rita, who had been a widow for 12 years. Najdorf had met Rita and her husband Jacobo, a socialist attorney and keen chess player, soon after he arrived in Argentina. They became close family friends. Rita and Jacobo had no children of their own, but had many nieces and nephews, and they treated the Najdorf daughters like nieces. The families would often get together, and the men would play and analyse chess and the women would talk. At one such gathering, when Liliana was 13, she saw Jacobo die suddenly at a chessboard. The widowed Rita became an even closer friend to Adela. After Adela died, Rita and Najdorf became a couple, which Miguel's daughters accepted without surprise and with relief.[9]
Rita later developedAlzheimer's disease, and Najdorf became physically frailer. In 1996, Najdorf had a serious heart attack inSeville, which required a pacemaker insert. Upon returning to Argentina, he learned that Rita had been hospitalized with anintestinal blockage. He went to the hospital, and she recognized him despite her Alzheimer's, and begged him to take her home, while he kissed her tenderly. Unexpectedly, she died the next day.[9]
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