Lovuschka: (continuation of previous posting)
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Then end of August a newspaper notice! Canada revised its immigration laws and I was eligible to apply. On Nov.22 I received an invitation to the Consulate in Paris and after five long years of struggle I had a visa to leave good old Europe. I arrived in Toronto on Dec.27. Reading in the chess column of The Star that the city championship will start in the Toronto C.C, I joined and entered the tournament. I finished only 5th in the final group. The Ontario Championship was held as a 6 round Swiss over the Easter weekend. Despite a couple of not well-played games, in the final round I had to face Frank Anderson, the Canadian Champion. I had White and so the opportunity to employ my pet variation of English that I developed already in the early thirties. It took him as a complete surprise and he got in great time trouble. I won. Even so I was only second but this got me to play for Toronto in team matches Board 2 . A few years later I met Anderson again, but same variation earned me only a draw.
In 1953 I joined the German Club "Harmonie" and we won twice the Team
Championship in which 5 ethnic clubs took part and even in the team of the Toronto C.C. were only two players born in Canada. Between 1957 and 1960 I ceased playing chess. With my wife we took over a variety store that allowed no free time.
In those days chess tournaments were mainly 6-round weekend Swiss events which did not suit me at all. I usually won my games in the first round, then being by nature a "lark", next day I felt sleepy and lost. The third day was better and very often I wound up with a 4-2 score.
I succeeded to win a YMCA tournament that was played on several weekends. In 1963 in the Metropolitan Championship I defeated again Geza Fuster, winning the title and the trophy. Two years later in the same event I won my games vs. all four of the higher rated players, but drew against the two lower rated, and practically throwing away the last in a
silly Caro-Kann vs .Kegel.
In one Labour Day six-round Swiss I managed to stay in the fore-front and to face Vranesic in the last round. Needing only half a point, he offered a draw after the 7th move which I gladly accepted, hardly able to keep open my eyes. In a Swiss I made 2nd!
From here on I started slipping and my results got worse and worse. In 1967 I was invited to play in a correspondence chess match vs. Denmark. From then on I continued to play C.C Soon I abandoned OTB altogether and played only in CCCA tournaments. Consequently I won four championships and finished 2nd 8 times. I started to play in international tournaments too, soon exclusively. After fulfilling a first norm and thereafter the second, in 1988 I was awarded by the ICCF the title of International Correspondence Master.
In the mid nineties Mr. Cleeve gave me a chance to fight in a tournament for the GM title, but it was once again my old habit that after reaching advantageous positions I became careless and let it slip away. By the end of the year 2000 all my postal games were running out and I thought I could not finish any new ones started at my age. Incidentally, I read an article in the Toronto Star about computer courses for seniors. Oh,
could that be possible? Instead of those courses I bought a PC, got two lessons by my vendor's son, acquired a couple of books and I was on. After purchasing a chess program I started to play email tournaments. At first in the CCCA, then in international organizations. I advanced in ratings, and was invited to more prestigious tournaments.
Two years ago in June, after recovering from a severe four week dry cough, I felt that the time has finally come "even for me" to give it all up . At my 100th birthday several chess magazines ( Hungarian, German, British ) brought articles about my chess career. The chess columnist of the Hungarian-Serbian sportjournal claimed in it that I am the
oldest active chess player in the world.
