Zoltan Sarosy

BIOGRAPHY

Sarosy was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, on 23 August 1906. His parents were Laszlo Sarosy, MD (1878–1959) and Gisela Molnar (1881–1966).

He began playing chess at the age of 10, first in public parks, and continued as a student, later playing during his university years in Vienna, where he studied international trade. After graduating in 1928, he returned to Hungary and continued his chess career. Between 1928 and 1933, he competed in Pécs, where he became the secretary of the Pécs Chess Club after its reorganization in 1931. He later moved to Budapest.

He won numerous chess tournaments, including events in Nagykanizsa (1929), Pécs (1932), and Budapest (1934). During World War II, in 1943, he won the Hungarian Chess Master Candidates Tournament in Diósgyőr, earning the title of Hungarian Chess Master.

After the war, he spent some time in a refugee camp in West Germany before moving to France in 1948. In 1950, he played a match against Henri Sapin, the Alsatian champion, which ended in a 2–2 draw. He later emigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto, where he took up correspondence chess. He won the Canadian Correspondence Chess Championship four times (1967, 1969, 1972, and 1981), and in 1988 he was awarded the title of International Correspondence Chess Master (IMC). At the age of 95, he bought a computer so he could play online chess games, finding it faster than traditional correspondence chess by mail.

RECOGNITION

Following the passing of 109-year-old Joseph Ernest Poupart (4 April 1905 – 19 April 2014), he became the oldest known living man in Canada. Upon his own passing, he was succeeded by Robert Wiener.

ATTRIBUTION

* Sárosy Zoltán – Wikipedia

* Zoltan Louis Sarosy – Geni

* “Hungarian chess master living in Toronto tells tales from his 110 years” – The Globe and Mail, 12 August 2016

* “Chess master turns 110 years old” – CBC, 23 August 2016

GALLERY

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