The Bible of Latin-American Chess
Roberto Grau was born on the 18th of March 1900, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a strong Argentine chess master and, above all, an exceptional and marvelous chess columnist and chess writer.
It was his father, an amateur, who initiated him into the game. It was common for his father to meet with friends and other family members to play chess. Once when he was ten, Grau stubbornly wanted to participate and began to cry. Finally because of such insistence, he was allowed to play and to everyone's surprise he beat all of them.
Grau played in many Argentine championships winning in 1926, 1927, 1928, 1934, 1935 and 1938, being one of the most successful Argentine players at this level!
He also played for Argentina in five Olympiads; 1924, 1927, 1928, 1935, and 1939 mostly on the top boards.
His best international tournament results were Sudamerican champion Montevideo 1921 and Mar del Plata 1928; Sudamerican Sub-champion Montevideo 1925 and Mar del Plata 1934.
Grau was a key figure in national chess as a player and leader; he was captain of several Argentine teams. Also he was founder of the Buenos Aires Chess Circle and Argentina Chess Federation. He organized the Nations Tournament in Buenos Aires in 1939 and he was a permanent representative of the international chess federation in Argentina and represented the country at the Congresses of Paris, London, Warsaw, Stockholm and Buenos Aires. Grau was one of the original signatories in the formation of FIDE at Paris 1924; the 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad.
Roberto Grau is the author of the legendary “Tratado General de Ajedrez” (General Treatise of Chess) in four volumes that was first published in 1940 and has been translated into numerous languages; it is considered the bible of Latin-American chessplayers, a truly super-classic series! Many, many generations of chess players have learned and improved their level with “los tomos de Grau”!
Roberto Grau passed away in Buenos Aires on April 12, 1944.
It is today an immense honor to me, for those who do not know him, to introduce Roberto Grau, whom many consider the Cervantes of chess writers in the Spanish language!
