Henrique Costa Mecking (born 23 January 1952), also known as Mequinho, is a Brazilian chessgrandmaster who reached his zenith in the 1970s and is still one of the strongest players in Brazil. He was a chess prodigy,[2] drawing comparisons to Bobby Fischer, although he did not achieve the International Grandmaster title until 1972. He won the Interzonals of Petropolis 1973 and Manila 1976. His highest FIDErating is 2635, achieved in 1977, when he was ranked number four in the world.[3] He became the 3rd best in the world in 1977, behind only World Champion Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi.[4] He is the first Brazilian to become a grandmaster. Despite winning his first national championship at the age of 13, he played in very few tournaments. He won at Vršac in 1971 and finished third with Robert Byrne (after the co-winners Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi) at Hastings in 1971–72. In 1975, he twice shared second place behind Ljubomir Ljubojević, firstly at Las Palmas with Ulf Andersson and Mikhail Tal and then at Manila with Lev Polugaevsky, Bent Larsen and Helmut Pfleger.
Mecking was a regular participant in FIDE events to choose a challenger for the World Chess Championship. After unsuccessful attempts to qualify from the Interzonals of Sousse 1967 and Palma de Mallorca 1970, he had his first major triumph in 1973, when he won at the Petrópolis Interzonal (ahead of a very strong field that included Paul Keres, David Bronstein et al.). He was subsequently eliminated from the Candidates Tournament in the quarterfinals, after losing his match against Korchnoi. Still, from this time until 1979, he was the strongest player born in the West after Bobby Fischer's effective retirement in 1972.
At his next attempt in 1976, Mecking won the Manila Interzonal (ahead of Vlastimil Hort, Lev Polugaevsky, Vitaly Tseshkovsky, Ljubomir Ljubojević, Zoltán Ribli et al.), thereby reaching a second successive Candidates matches stage, but again lost in the quarterfinals, this time to Polugaevsky. Illness (myasthenia gravis) forced his withdrawal from the Interzonal in Rio de Janeiro 1979 after a first round draw with Borislav Ivkov. His illness was so severe that it was widely believed he would soon die. He survived but did not play chess during the 1980s. While he was able to recover and to resume his chess career in 1991 with matches against Predrag Nikolić and (in 1992) Yasser Seirawan, followed by intermittent tournament appearances, his chance at the world title had passed and he has not been able to get even close to reaching the Candidates matches again.
Mecking vs. Aivars Gipslis, Sousse Interzonal (1967); Bogo-Indian Defense, 1–0.[14] A game from Mecking's first Interzonal, played when he was 15 years old.
^"Men's Chess Olympiads: Henrique Mecking". OlimpBase. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
^Trigo, Luciano (January 12, 2004). "Mequinho, entre a religião e a sonho de voltar à elite mundial do xadrez". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Globo. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
^. Brooklyn64. 26 November 2010. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
^"Mark Taimanov vs Henrique Mecking (1970)". www.chessgames.com. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
Henrique Mecking player profile and games at Chessgames.com
Happy Birthday Mequinho! 2013-05-30 at the Wayback Machine Chessdom
Chess – "Boy Wonder" Challenges the Master – 1969, a contemporary video report by British Movietone on the 1969 Hastings International Chess Congress. Mecking, then fourteen years old, features.
April 27, 2024
henrique, mecking, henrique, costa, mecking, born, january, 1952, also, known, mequinho, brazilian, chess, grandmaster, reached, zenith, 1970s, still, strongest, players, brazil, chess, prodigy, drawing, comparisons, bobby, fischer, although, achieve, internat. Henrique Costa Mecking born 23 January 1952 also known as Mequinho is a Brazilian chess grandmaster who reached his zenith in the 1970s and is still one of the strongest players in Brazil He was a chess prodigy 2 drawing comparisons to Bobby Fischer although he did not achieve the International Grandmaster title until 1972 He won the Interzonals of Petropolis 1973 and Manila 1976 His highest FIDE rating is 2635 achieved in 1977 when he was ranked number four in the world 3 He became the 3rd best in the world in 1977 behind only World Champion Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi 4 He is the first Brazilian to become a grandmaster Despite winning his first national championship at the age of 13 he played in very few tournaments He won at Vrsac in 1971 and finished third with Robert Byrne after the co winners Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi at Hastings in 1971 72 In 1975 he twice shared second place behind Ljubomir Ljubojevic firstly at Las Palmas with Ulf Andersson and Mikhail Tal and then at Manila with Lev Polugaevsky Bent Larsen and Helmut Pfleger Henrique MeckingHenrique Mecking in 1978Full nameHenrique Costa MeckingCountryBrazilBorn 1952 01 23 23 January 1952 age 72 Santa Cruz do Sul BrazilTitleGrandmaster 1972 FIDE rating2553 April 2024 Peak rating2635 January 1977 Peak rankingNo 3 January 1978 1 He was considered a contender for the World Championship in the mid 1970s however his chess career was interrupted by a serious illness Myasthenia gravis 5 6 Mecking played for Brazil in the Chess Olympiads of 1968 1974 2002 and 2004 7 Contents 1 World Championship candidate 2 Personal life 3 Notable games 4 References 5 External linksWorld Championship candidate editMecking was a regular participant in FIDE events to choose a challenger for the World Chess Championship After unsuccessful attempts to qualify from the Interzonals of Sousse 1967 and Palma de Mallorca 1970 he had his first major triumph in 1973 when he won at the Petropolis Interzonal ahead of a very strong field that included Paul Keres David Bronstein et al He was subsequently eliminated from the Candidates Tournament in the quarterfinals after losing his match against Korchnoi Still from this time until 1979 he was the strongest player born in the West after Bobby Fischer s effective retirement in 1972 At his next attempt in 1976 Mecking won the Manila Interzonal ahead of Vlastimil Hort Lev Polugaevsky Vitaly Tseshkovsky Ljubomir Ljubojevic Zoltan Ribli et al thereby reaching a second successive Candidates matches stage but again lost in the quarterfinals this time to Polugaevsky Illness myasthenia gravis forced his withdrawal from the Interzonal in Rio de Janeiro 1979 after a first round draw with Borislav Ivkov His illness was so severe that it was widely believed he would soon die He survived but did not play chess during the 1980s While he was able to recover and to resume his chess career in 1991 with matches against Predrag Nikolic and in 1992 Yasser Seirawan followed by intermittent tournament appearances his chance at the world title had passed and he has not been able to get even close to reaching the Candidates matches again Personal life editMecking is a convert to Catholicism to which he credits the improvement of his medical condition He is a member of the Catholic charismatic renewal 8 Notable games editMecking vs Bobby Fischer Buenos Aires 1970 Grunfeld Defense 9 Mark Taimanov vs Mecking Palma de Mallorca Interzonal 1970 Nimzo Indian Defense 0 1 10 Mecking vs Mikhail Tal Las Palmas 1975 Najdorf Sicilian 1 0 11 Vasily Smyslov vs Mecking Petropolis Interzonal 1973 English Four Knights 0 1 12 Mecking vs Viktor Korchnoi Sousse Interzonal 1967 King s Indian Defense 1 0 13 Mecking vs Aivars Gipslis Sousse Interzonal 1967 Bogo Indian Defense 1 0 14 A game from Mecking s first Interzonal played when he was 15 years old References edit FIDE Rating List January 1978 OlimpBase Short leads in Bazna Mecking and Portisch follow 31 May 2008 FIDE Rating List January 1977 OlimpBase Henrique Mecking https www1 folha uol com br fsp esporte fk1306200650 htm in Portuguese https elpais com deportes 2018 07 16 la bitacora de leontxo 1531757244 633395 html in Spanish Men s Chess Olympiads Henrique Mecking OlimpBase Retrieved 3 May 2011 Trigo Luciano January 12 2004 Mequinho entre a religiao e a sonho de voltar a elite mundial do xadrez G1 in Brazilian Portuguese Globo Retrieved 20 April 2021 Mecking vs Fischer 1970 Buenos Aires Grunfeld with 4 Bg5 Brooklyn64 26 November 2010 Archived from the original on 8 July 2011 Retrieved 27 November 2010 Mark Taimanov vs Henrique Mecking 1970 www chessgames com Retrieved 2023 05 19 Henrique Mecking vs Mikhail Tal 1975 Vasily Smyslov vs Henrique Mecking 1973 Mecking the Most of It www chessgames com Retrieved 2023 05 19 Henrique Mecking vs Viktor Korchnoi 1967 www chessgames com Retrieved 2023 05 19 Henrique Mecking vs Aivars Gipslis Sousse Interzonal 1967 Chessgames com Bibliography Golombek Harry ed 1977 Golombek s Encyclopedia of Chess Crown Publishers ISBN 0 517 53146 1 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a author has generic name help Hooper David and Kenneth Whyld 1996 The Oxford Companion to Chess Oxford University ISBN 0 19 280049 3 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henrique Mecking Henrique Mecking rating card at FIDE nbsp Henrique Mecking chess games at 365Chess com Henrique Mecking player profile and games at Chessgames com Happy Birthday Mequinho Archived 2013 05 30 at the Wayback Machine Chessdom Chess Boy Wonder Challenges the Master 1969 a contemporary video report by British Movietone on the 1969 Hastings International Chess Congress Mecking then fourteen years old features Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Henrique Mecking amp oldid 1218334357, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
