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Andras Adorjan

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ANDRAS ADORJAN (born Mar-31-1950, died May-11-2023, 73 years old) Hungary PRONUNCIATION: [what is this?] In 1969–70, András Adorján (ne Jocha) secured the title of European Junior Champion at the 'Niemeyer Tournament' in Groningen, and in 1969 at Stockholm, he finished runner-up in the World Junior Chess Championship to Anatoly Karpov. Qualification as an International Master came in 1970 and as a Grandmaster in 1973. The latter was also the year that Adorján won (jointly) his first Hungarian Championship, going on to a further (this time outright) victory in 1984. He was also an International Arbiter (1994). Other tournament successes (finishing either first or joint first) included Varna 1972, Osijek 1978, Budapest 1982, Gjovik 1983, Esbjerg 1985 and New York Open 1987. In an interview, Adorján recounts the story of his telephoned invitation to Luhacovice in 1973; he enquired—"Is there a GM norm on offer?", to which came the answer "Yes". Adorján's next question—"When does it start?" was met with the reply "Half an hour ago". He also went on to win that tournament. At the Riga Interzonal of 1979, Adorján finished joint third and qualified for the World Championship Candidates Tournament via tiebreaks, after drawing a match (+1 −1 =2) with fellow Hungarian Zoltán Ribli. At the Candidates he lost his quarter-final match to Robert Hübner. In team chess, Adorján compiled an excellent record. Competing at the Chess Olympiad of 1978, he helped Hungary to capture the gold medal from the Soviet team, which had convincingly won the event twelve consecutive times from 1952 through 1974. Adorján's further participation in 1984, 1986 and 1988 contributed to a top five finish on each occasion. Compatriots Lajos Portisch, Ribli and Gyula Sax were also at the peak of their playing strength during this period. Adorján has also worked over the years, sometimes secretly, as a second to Garry Kasparov and to Peter Leko, helping them to prepare for important World Championship matches. He was known as a leading expert on the Grünfeld Defence, which has been favored by both Kasparov and Leko. Adorján took violent exception to the commonly held view that White begins the game with a slight advantage, and Black must strive for equality. In an influential series of books and articles, he advanced the thesis that Black is OK! His books on this theme included Black is OK! (1988), Black is O.K. in Rare Openings (1998), Black is Still OK! (2004), Black is OK Forever! (2005), and Black is Back! What's White's Advantage Anyway? (2016). Wikipedia article: András Adorján Last updated: 2025-04-05 15:01:18

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page 1 of 68; games 1-25 of 1,690  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Szabo vs Adorjan 0-1 27 1963 Budapest C89 Ruy Lopez, Marshall 2. E Varnusz vs Adorjan   1-0 28 1966 Hungarian Championship E60 King's Indian Defense 3. Adorjan vs J Pogats   ½-½ 16 1966 Hungarian Championship B27 Sicilian 4. T Besztercsenyi vs Adorjan   0-1 71 1966 Hungarian Championship C85 Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation Doubly Deferred (DERLD) 5. Adorjan vs Csom 0-1 45 1966 Hungarian Championship B00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening 6. P Dely vs Adorjan   ½-½ 25 1966 Hungarian Championship A16 English 7. Adorjan vs L Sapi   ½-½ 23 1966 Hungarian Championship B09 Pirc, Austrian Attack 8. K Honfi vs Adorjan 0-1 69 1966 Hungarian Championship E60 King's Indian Defense 9. Adorjan vs J Hajtun   ½-½ 17 1966 Hungarian Championship B43 Sicilian, Kan, 5.Nc3 10. J Flesch vs Adorjan   ½-½ 19 1966 Hungarian Championship E60 King's Indian Defense 11. Adorjan vs L M Kovacs   ½-½ 34 1966 Hungarian Championship C85 Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation Doubly Deferred (DERLD) 12. L Prelovszky vs Adorjan   ½-½ 75 1966 Hungarian Championship C90 Ruy Lopez, Closed 13. Adorjan vs Barcza   ½-½ 20 1966 Hungarian Championship B10 Caro-Kann 14. J Tompa vs Adorjan   ½-½ 26 1966 Hungarian Championship C90 Ruy Lopez, Closed 15. Adorjan vs G Kluger 1-0 47 1966 Hungarian Championship C45 Scotch Game 16. I Polgar vs Adorjan   ½-½ 54 1966 Hungarian Championship A38 English, Symmetrical 17. Adorjan vs G Szilagyi   1-0 30 1966 Hungarian Championship B56 Sicilian 18. E Haag vs Adorjan   ½-½ 29 1966 Hungarian Championship C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed 19. Adorjan vs F Portisch   0-1 27 1966 Hungarian Championship C18 French, Winawer 20. Adorjan vs B Kurajica 1-0 21 1967 YUG B43 Sicilian, Kan, 5.Nc3 21. Adorjan vs Sveshnikov 0-1 32 1967 Hungary - Russia B33 Sicilian 22. Sveshnikov vs Adorjan   1-0 20 1967 Hungary - Russia C45 Scotch Game 23. Adorjan vs H Dudek 1-0 26 1967 Niemeyer Juniors Preliminary B89 Sicilian 24. L Tate vs Adorjan 0-1 24 1967 Niemeyer Juniors Preliminary D81 Grunfeld, Russian Variation 25. Adorjan vs Karpov ½-½ 10 1967 Niemeyer Juniors Preliminary C69 Ruy Lopez, Exchange, Gligoric Variation  page 1 of 68; games 1-25 of 1,690

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 7 OF 7 ·  Later Kibitzing> May-12-23    FSR: I'm sorry to learn of GM Adorjan's death. I have all of his books, and discussed his theories in my award-winning Wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First... Portisch in a foreword to one of Adorjan's books added the caveat that Black is indeed OK!, but only if he plays the right openings. Consistent with this, as Black I usually play openings where statistics show that Black is OK!, such as the Sicilian and the Nimzo-Indian, both of which score around 48-49%. But I have toyed with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4?!, which is tenable with best play but where White is playing for two results in his strongest line, namely 4.Qe2 Qe7 5.Qxe4 d6 6.d4 dxe5 7.dxe5! Nc6 8.Nc3! May-12-23    northernfox: <FSR> Your article referenced above is really excellent. Thanks for pointing it out. May-13-23    HeMateMe: Or, you could party like Tal and die at age 55. He used to come to the Leningrad Club in Brooklyn, <little Odessa>, the Russian neighborhood here and swim in vodka. Tal went out with his boots on and deserved to do it his way. May-14-23    Gottschalk: Sad news. He was a great GM. May-14-23    0ZeR0: Rest in peace, GM Andras Adorjan... a very fine player and writer. May-14-23    ASchultz: RIP. I remember reading his name in lots of chess magazines, then seeing him on YouTube clips of The Master Game. As for Adorjan puns, I'm pretty sure it's AD-or-Yan, but "adorin'/adoring seems good. May-15-23    wordfunph: rest in paradise, GM Adorjan. black will be forever ok. May-18-23    Hercdon: May Black be OK forever May-18-23    OhioChessFan: Andras' Adorjan Fans... seems like something should be there. May-18-23    MissScarlett: Let’s move on. Jun-09-23    Nf3em: <<May-15-23 wordfunph: rest in paradise, GM Adorjan. black will be forever ok.>> Hi wordfunph. Long time no hear. Como esta. Jun-09-23    Nf3em: RIP GM Andras Adorjan. Black is OK eternally. Jan-22-25    Nosnibor: No mention here of his joint victory in The Open Championship,"Chess" Festival,Teeside, 1973. His Co-winner was L.Alster. They both secured 8.5 points from 11 games in a strong International event. He had an excellent win against David Parr who finished equal third. I intend to submit some of these games in due course. Apr-05-25    stone free or die: <Tab> has a post on the Bistro saying that he went by the name <Jocha> when he was younger. Not sure the when's or why's of it... Biographer Bistro (kibitz #31975) Apr-05-25    Stonehenge: Thought that was common knowledge. Apr-05-25    stone free or die: Probably, but not for me. Seems standard issue good practice to mention alternate names in the bio, especially if games were played under that name. Also - see the confusion about why he changed his name over on the Bistro. The bio could also be used to set the record right. Apr-05-25    Olavi: Absolutely, Jocha is correct. I can't give you the details right now (his mother's name?), but I am positive. Apr-05-25    Alan McGowan: Various online references, including ChessBase, say that he adopted his mother's maiden surname when he was 18. https://en.chessbase.com/post/andra... Apr-05-25    stone free or die: Yes, as I noted over on the Bistro, his wiki page cites his own book as the source of their info about this. Apr-05-25    stone free or die: <Black is OK!> Chapter 9 p128 footnote, in reference to <Szabo,S--Jocha Budapest 1963> * "At that time I was called Jocha. In 1968 I adopted my mother's surname, Adorjan." Apr-06-25    stone free or die: Being able to do searches (but no viewing) on <Magyar Sakkélet> it seems Andorjan didn't gain traction under 1970, even if Andorjan himself claims the change was made in 1968. Apr-06-25    Retireborn: <stonefree> Informator has three Jocha games, one from 1967 and two from 1968. The first Adorjan game is also from 1968. It seems he was definitely Adorjan by the end of 1969, when he defeated Karpov in a team match. Apr-06-25    Stonehenge: Ribli, the chess player of Ércbányász SC, will play a doubles match with <András Adorján (Jocha)> for participation in the World Youth Championship, based on the decision of the Presidency of the Hungarian Chess Federation. The doubles match is scheduled to be held in Pécs between March 21 and 26. Dunántúli Napló, 1969-Mar-06: https://library.hungaricana.hu/hu/v... Apr-06-25    stone free or die: <Retireborn>, <Stonehenge> thanks for those details. He must have changed his name upon reaching majority (i.e. 18). <Chessbase> has a nice obituary on him: https://en.chessbase.com/post/andra... as does his step-brother, Jocha Károly: https://jochapress.hu/meghalt-adorj... Apr-06-25    MissScarlett: The flautist <Andras Adorjan> found international fame in 1968: https://www.nfaonline.org/about/lea... Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 7) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 7 OF 7 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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