Dear friends,

Before I move on to the main topic of this post, I would like to share some good news. As many of you will know, I recently received the Top Blogger badge on Chess.com, which obviously made me very happy.

This was only possible thanks to the constant support and feedback from my readers. So, thank you all for that, and I hope you will continue to follow me and read my work in the months to come. Special thanks to @VOB96 for the recommendation and to the staff team that selected me.

Without further ado, let's get started!

  ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Back to Top

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 - Introduction

2 - Herman Claudius

3 - André Cajal

4 - Alexandru Segal

5 - Ludwig Engels

6 - Conclusion

  ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Introduction

The idea for today's post came from a nice conversation in the BlogChamps notes, where people were talking about their origins and family heritage. As the granddaughter of Polish immigrants to Brazil, I have always found this kind of topic fascinating.

I learned that some of my friends also have families from all over the world. For example, there is the club owner @VOB96, who is Kiwi-Brazilian; @theeldest1, who is Kiwi-American; and @HornetCruise, whose family is also from Brazil.

Then I thought, 'Hey, are there any famous chess players in Brazil who were born abroad?’ That question made me decide to write about them. The first one who came to my mind was GM Krikor Sevag Mekhitarian, whose name suggests, as you can guess, his Armenian roots.

However, he was born in São Paulo, so I decided to focus on players who were really born elsewhere, moved here, and embraced our culture, becoming part of the history of Brazilian chess. I have selected four names so that you can get to know them better. I hope you enjoy their stories!

  ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Herman Claudius

I decided to start with a player that many of my followers will already know from my blog My Favorite Not-So-Famous Players. His full name is Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk.

Herman was born in Tiel, in the Netherlands, on 26 August 1948, and moved to Brazil on 16 June 1958, at the age of nine.  During his remarkable chess career, he was awarded the titles of International Master in 1978 and International Arbiter by FIDE in 1981.

He was also the Brazilian champion on three occasions: in 1970, 1973, and 1988, and represented the country in eleven editions of Chess Olympiads between 1972 and 1998.

But don’t be fooled by the fact that he was 'just' an International Master. According to ChessMetrics, Herman Claudius's peak rating was 2567, and he was ranked as high as 197th in the world. (Thanks @KevinChessSmith for this information.)

Unfortunately, in his heyday, the GM title was much harder to achieve. By the time the rules were relaxed, he was no longer performing at his best. If the criteria had been the same as they are today, he would certainly have become a GM, as his level was surely comparable to theirs.

Another interesting fact about him is that he captained and coached the New Zealand women's team in many Chess Olympiads, and still regularly plays in tournaments there. I could not check this, but I strongly suspect that he currently lives in New Zealand. If you are reading this and can confirm something, please let me know in the comments section. (A reader confirmed via PM that he is still the coach of NZ Women's Team in 2026, but lives in Brazil)

Inspired by my friend @KevinChessSmith's series Chess Writing GOATs, I have decided to mention some of his written contributions to chess, too.

Herman has published many articles for various chess publications, but his most significant work was done in collaboration with the Belgian player Willem Diederik Hajenius. Together, they co-authored the book The Final Countdown, which is a treatise on pawn endings.

Finally, I could not conclude this section without mentioning one of the most notable games of his career. Herman won against former World Champion Vasily Smyslov in 1990.

While it is true that neither of them was playing at their peak, beating such a strong opponent must have been a proud moment for him. You can check out the game below.

 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

André Cajal

Next, we turn to André Cajal, who was born in Romania on 30 July 1946. His original name was Andrey Kasal, which was later adapted to a Portuguese pronunciation.

While the exact date of his move to Brazil is unclear, he was granted Brazilian citizenship, suggesting that he was fully integrating into the country’s culture.

Although never among our elite players, Cajal was widely respected, even by his strongest opponents. He was so important to national chess that a tournament was named after him in 2012, in which he played. His peak rating was 2195.

He was known for being an aggressive, highly tactical player who favored sharp lines. His style was compared to that of greats like Paul Morphy and Mikhail Tal. Players facing him were often advised things like:

Close the position. Don't give him any chance to open up the game. He loves to attack! He plays fast, is always looking for open lines, takes the initiative, and brings energy to his position.

Initially, when unhappy with the result of a game, he could come across as rude. However, members of the Clube de Xadrez de São Paulo (CXSP) explained his behavior: 'It is nothing personal; he is just angry with himself. He is a good person.'

Cajal was a regular at blitz tournaments, his favorite time control. Although he had appeared to be in poor health in his later years, he was a difficult opponent, especially in shorter time controls, when he seemed determined to make the position as confusing as possible.

He also brought a cheerful atmosphere to any competition. With a playful and teasing manner, he made enemies as quickly as he made friends again. Everyone who knew Cajal had a story to tell about him.

One curious fact is that it is thanks to him that a particular term has become very popular in the Brazilian chess dictionary. I am talking about the famous 'Cajalada'.

Cajalada: (noun, feminine). An action or effect achieved through a move in a chess game that is capable of surprising, inspiring, frightening, or provoking the opponent. A tactical, subtle, cunning, and swift move that instantly changes the course of a game.

Below is an interesting game of his:

Cajal died on 1 June 2013, in Brazil, aged 66.

 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Alexandru Segal

Remaining in Romania, let’s take a closer look at Alexandru Sorin Segal, born in Bucharest on 4 October 1947. He won the Brazilian chess championship in both 1974 and 1978, representing the country in five Chess Olympiads between 1972 and 1986.

By the age of ten, Segal was one of the most promising players in Romania and would later become the European U16 youth champion. In 1971, he moved to Brazil, where he was an active member of the São Paulo Chess Club.

Throughout his career, Segal defeated German GM Robert Hübner and drew with Hungarian GM Zoltán Ribli.

He was awarded the title of International Master in 1977. His peak rating of 2415 was achieved in January 1980, and he was also an International Arbiter since 1984.

Alongside Hélder Câmara, Antônio Rocha, and Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk, Alexandru Segal was one of the first chess professionals in Brazil. In the 1970s, they were known as the 'Big Four' of Brazilian chess.

Segal is also the Brazilian record holder for the most simultaneous games played, at 155. This event took place on 27 April 1974, and he finished with 125 wins, 27 draws, and 3 losses — a winning percentage of 89.4%.

Just like Cajal, Segal also created chess expressions in Portuguese. Among them was 'Passadinha Segalesca', a tactical maneuver at the endgame where pawns are sacrificed to promote one to a queen. He used to joke:

If chess didn't have queens, I would be a grandmaster.

His main repertoire included the Alekhine Defense and the Closed Benoni. He had a solid positional and steady style, and was an excellent tactician.

Regarding some of his written contributions, Segal published his first book in 1972, where he analyzed the legendary match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. Ten years later, in 1982, he published his second book, 'Fundamentos de Tática' ('Fundamentals of Tactics').

Segal also worked as a journalist for the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper for eight years and wrote for the renowned Jornal da Tarde. He was a commentator on the nightly news for Brazil’s main TV broadcaster during the Rio Interzonal in 1979, which was perhaps the most important event ever held in Brazil.

Please see a curious miniature game below:

Segal died on 6 January 2015, at age 67.

 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Ludwig Engels

Last but not least, we have Ludwig Engels. Born on 11 December 1905 in Düsseldorf, Germany, he was forced to move to Brazil due to difficult circumstances arising from the Second World War.

One of the strongest German players of the 1930s, Engels won many national tournaments and represented his country in some of the first Chess Olympiads, winning a bronze medal in Munich in 1936.

In August–September 1939, he played for Germany in the 8th Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires. He won two gold medals on Board 3 (team and individual), with 12 wins, 4 draws, and no losses.

When World War II broke out, Engels and all the other members of the German team, as well as many other participants in the Olympiad (including Miguel Najdorf), decided to stay in Argentina permanently.

After the war, Engels moved to São Paulo in Brazil, where he continued to play in tournaments across the country. He then focused most of his chess activities on coaching and training at the São Paulo Chess Club.

According to ChessMetrics, he was among the top 20 players in the world at his peak. However, he was never awarded the GM title by FIDE. It has been suggested that anti-German political factors may have played a role, although it is also possible that he was simply overlooked.

As he never represented Brazil in any official competition, Engels is often not mentioned in the lists of national players and is primarily recognized as German in the chess world.

However, he also fits the criteria of this blog, as he was granted Brazilian citizenship, played here for a long time, and contributed to the development of the game in the country through coaching at a time when chess was still in its infancy.

I naturally focused more on the Brazilian side of his life here, but if you want to read more about his career prior to the war, I recommend this excellent blog post by @simaginfan: Ludwig Engels: A Tribute to a Forgotten Chessmaster.

There is also a book in German about his life and struggles called Vom Rhein nach São Paulo: Ludwig Engels (1905–1967), published by Friedrich-Karl Hebeker.

Below is a very interesting game played by him:

Engels died on 10 January 1967, at age 61.

 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Conclusion

Thank you very much for sticking around! I hope you have learned more about some of our main “foreign” masters. Yes, in quotation marks. After all, they have made such important contributions and lived here for so many years that they can be considered Brazilian just like anyone else.

Brazil is a very diverse country, so I am happy to see people of different origins who are proud to represent us, regardless of where they were born.

Unfortunately, in many places, people are still often judged based on their roots, which is why it is good when immigrants excel and contribute positively to the country. This certainly helps to reduce discrimination.

If there are any other players that I am not aware of or that I have failed to mention, please share their names in the comments section. It would be a pleasure to get to know them!

That concludes today’s post, dear readers. I hope you enjoyed it! I cannot promise when my next blog will be, but I'll try to publish a new one next month. Now that I am a Top Blogger, I suppose I should live up to the badge.

Thanks again and see you soon!

 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Bibliography

• Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk - Wikipedia Page

• Vida em Miniatura - André Cajal

• Clube de Xadrez Afonsino - André Cajal

• Xadrez Guarulhense - André Cajal

• Alexandru Segal - Wikipedia Page

• Perlen vom Bodensee - Ludwig Engels