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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1904-06-04)4 June 1904 |
| Died | c. 5 July 1974(1974-07-05) (aged 70)[a] |
| Chess career | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Title | International Master (1950) |
Henri Grob (4 June 1904 – c. 5 July 1974[a]) was a Swiss chess player, artist, and painter. He was Swiss chess champion twice, and was awarded the title ofInternational Master in 1950 at its inauguration. Grob pioneeredeccentric chess openings, in particular 1.g4, about which he wrote a book (Angriff g2–g4, Zürich, 1942). The opening is today commonly known asGrob's Attack, and it is this opening that brought him fame within chess communities around the globe rather than his results in chess competitions.
Grob was considered a leading Swiss player from the 1930s to 1950s and was invited to many prestigiousclosed 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 inZürich 1934 (Alekhine won). In 1935, he took 3rd, behindSalo Flohr andGeorge 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, behindErik Lundin, in Ostend.
In 1937, Grob won as first on tie-break, 1st–3rd withReuben Fine andPaul Keres in Ostend (beating Keres and Fine, both elite players and joint winners of theAVRO tournament in 1938). In 1939, he took 9th in Stuttgart (Europa Turnier; Bogoljubow won).[2] In 1947, he tied for 2nd–3rd, behindSavielly Tartakower in Baarn, and took 5th in Venice (Tartakower won). In 1947/48, he tied for 2nd–4th, behindLászló Szabó, inHastings. In 1948, he took 8th in Venice (Miguel Najdorf won). In 1949/50, he took 4th in Lucerne (Max Blau won). In 1950, he took 6th in the International Chess Tournament of Gijón.[3] In 1951, he took 10th in Bad Pyrmont (zonal;Svetozar Gligorić won).
Grob represented Switzerland inChess Olympiads.
He also played for Switzerland in somefriendly matches.
Grob's matches included games against the following notable masters:
He wasSwiss champion twice, in 1939 and 1951.
Between 1946 and 1972, Grob played 3,614correspondence games. He won 2,703, lost 430, and drew 481 games. All of the games were played against readers of theNeue Zürcher Zeitung, a leading Swiss newspaper.
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 theNeue Zürcher Zeitung. This opening is classified under the code A00 ("irregular openings" or "uncommon openings") in theEncyclopedia of Chess Openings. The opening is generally shunned by skilled players, as results tend to be poor for White.[8][9]
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