Kornel Havasi was born in Budapest from a jewish background. He was Hungarian champion in 1922. His nickname of the White Horse had been attributed by Hungary's coaches using the opportunity to assure (with a favorable bye schedule for their 1927 team) that their top board received the white pieces in the London Olympiad..

He won at Budapest 1911; took 9th at Temesvár 1912 (HUN-ch, Gyula Breyer won); tied for 4-5th at Budapest 1917 (Breyer won); took 4th at Budapest 1918 (Zoltán von Balla and Richard Réti won); tied for 9-11th at Kaschau (Košice) 1918 (Réti won); tied for 1st-2nd with Szávay at Budapest 1920; took 6th at Gyula 1921 (Borislav Kostić won).

Havasi was Hungarian Champion, winning at Budapest 1922. He took 3rd at Budapest 1923; tied for 6-7th at Gyula 1923 (Gruber won); took 10th at Györ 1924 (HUN-ch, Géza Nagy won); tied for 6-10th at Debrecen 1925 (Maróczy Jubiläumturnier, Hans Kmoch won); tied for 3rd-4th at Budapest 1926 (Endre Steiner won); tied for 12-14th at Budapest 1926 (1st FIDE Tournament, Ernst Grünfeld and Mario Monticelli won); tied for 2nd-4th at Budapest 1928 (HUN-ch, Árpád Vajda won); tied for 7-8th at Budapest 1928 (José Raúl Capablanca won), and won at Mezökövesd 1929 (Quadrangular).

He tied for 4-5th at Budapest 1931 (HUN-ch, Lajos Steiner won); took 4th at Sopron 1934 (Rudolf Spielmann won); tied for 5-6th at Budapest 1934 (Maróczy Jubilee, Erich Eliskases won); tied for 12-14th at Budapest (Ujpest) 1934 (Andor Lilienthal won); tied for 5-6th at Tatatovaros 1935 (László Szabó won); tied for 5-7th at Budapest 1936 (HUN-ch, L. Steiner and Mieczysław Najdorf won); tied for 3rd-4th at Milan 1938 (Eliskases and Monticelli won), and tied for 4-6th at Budapest 1939 (Dori Memorial, Balla and Szabó won).

Havasi died of exhaustion in a forced labor camp in Austria in 1945.

Wikipedia article: Kornél Havasi