József Szén (9 July 1805, Pest, Hungary – 13 January 1857) was a Hungarian chess master.
József Szén
He obtained a law degree, and later became a civil servant for the city of Pest, which later merged with the city of Buda (on the opposite bank of the Danube River) in 1873 to form present-day Budapest. He often played in the Café Worm of Pest, playing with any opponent for a stake of 20 Kreuzers.
Very strong in the endgame, he was given the nickname of the Hungarian Philidor. He discovered and described the Szen position, in the endgame of rook and bishop against rook, as a drawing method for the weaker side (see below). This work has stood up to subsequent analysis.
From 1836 to 1839, Szen travelled extensively throughout much of Europe, including France, Germany and England, playing chess wherever he went. In 1836 Szén played a match in Paris with Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, then considered the strongest player in the world, in which de La Bourdonnais gave him odds of pawn and two moves. Szén won with 13 wins and 12 losses, and no draws. Also in 1836, Szen drew a match with ParisianHyacinthe Henri Boncourt, one of France's strongest players.[1]
In 1839, Szén founded the Budapest Chess Club (Pesti Sakk-kör). In the same year, he lost a match to Karl Mayet (+2 –3 =1) in Berlin. Between 1842 and 1846, he headed a Pest (Budapest) team of correspondence players, including Johann Lowenthal, that beat a Paris team, headed by Pierre Saint-Amant, with two wins and no losses. The Hungarian team introduced the Hungarian Defense (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7), which is playable but rarely seen in modern top-level play.
Szén took fifth place at the world's first international chess tournament, London 1851. In the first round he beat Samuel Newham 2-0, then lost 2-4 to the tournament winner, Adolf Anderssen; in the third round he overcame Bernhard Horwitz 4-0, and in the fourth round Hugh Alexander Kennedy by 4½-½.[3] He actually scored the highest percentage in the tournament.[4] In 1852, he drew a match with Ernst Falkbeer (+9 –9 =2) in Vienna. In 1853, he lost a match to Daniel Harrwitz (+1 –3 =1) in London.
Playing strengthedit
Szen was certainly within or near the world's top ten players for most of his playing career, and his result at London 1851 placed him on the edge of the top five. There were no international titles or ratings for chess in his era. Formal titles began only in 1950, and international ratings in 1970. In Szen's era, international tournament competition was very rare, with long-distance travel being both cumbersome and expensive. The website Chessmetrics.com assigns retrospective historical ratings, using modern mathematical algorithms, based on available results. His peak rating of 2546 is for mid-1851, fourth in the world. However, Chessmetrics is missing many of Szen's important results. In a modern context, this rating would be at the level of a strong International Master.
Adriano Chicco, Giorgio Porreca, Dizionario enciclopedico degli scacchi, Mursia, Milan 1971
April 17, 2024
józsef, szén, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, available, assi. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Jozsef Szen 9 July 1805 Pest Hungary 13 January 1857 was a Hungarian chess master Jozsef SzenHe obtained a law degree and later became a civil servant for the city of Pest which later merged with the city of Buda on the opposite bank of the Danube River in 1873 to form present day Budapest He often played in the Cafe Worm of Pest playing with any opponent for a stake of 20 Kreuzers Very strong in the endgame he was given the nickname of the Hungarian Philidor He discovered and described the Szen position in the endgame of rook and bishop against rook as a drawing method for the weaker side see below This work has stood up to subsequent analysis From 1836 to 1839 Szen travelled extensively throughout much of Europe including France Germany and England playing chess wherever he went In 1836 Szen played a match in Paris with Louis Charles Mahe de La Bourdonnais then considered the strongest player in the world in which de La Bourdonnais gave him odds of pawn and two moves Szen won with 13 wins and 12 losses and no draws Also in 1836 Szen drew a match with Parisian Hyacinthe Henri Boncourt one of France s strongest players 1 This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves In 1839 Szen founded the Budapest Chess Club Pesti Sakk kor In the same year he lost a match to Karl Mayet 2 3 1 in Berlin Between 1842 and 1846 he headed a Pest Budapest team of correspondence players including Johann Lowenthal that beat a Paris team headed by Pierre Saint Amant with two wins and no losses The Hungarian team introduced the Hungarian Defense 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Be7 which is playable but rarely seen in modern top level play In 1851 he lost a match by 13 7 to Lionel Kieseritzky 2 Szen took fifth place at the world s first international chess tournament London 1851 In the first round he beat Samuel Newham 2 0 then lost 2 4 to the tournament winner Adolf Anderssen in the third round he overcame Bernhard Horwitz 4 0 and in the fourth round Hugh Alexander Kennedy by 4 3 He actually scored the highest percentage in the tournament 4 In 1852 he drew a match with Ernst Falkbeer 9 9 2 in Vienna In 1853 he lost a match to Daniel Harrwitz 1 3 1 in London Playing strength editSzen was certainly within or near the world s top ten players for most of his playing career and his result at London 1851 placed him on the edge of the top five There were no international titles or ratings for chess in his era Formal titles began only in 1950 and international ratings in 1970 In Szen s era international tournament competition was very rare with long distance travel being both cumbersome and expensive The website Chessmetrics com assigns retrospective historical ratings using modern mathematical algorithms based on available results His peak rating of 2546 is for mid 1851 fourth in the world However Chessmetrics is missing many of Szen s important results In a modern context this rating would be at the level of a strong International Master See also editSzen position a defensive position in the rook and bishop versus rook endgameReferences edit http www vuse vanderbilt edu spin chessmatches html chessmetrics com the Jozsef Szen results file chessmetrics com the Jozsef Szen results file chessgames com the Jozsef Szen file Adriano Chicco Giorgio Porreca Dizionario enciclopedico degli scacchi Mursia Milan 1971 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jozsef Szen amp oldid 1199460347, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
