Andras Adorjan Passes Away at the Age of 73- A Genius Leaves the Earth

Andras Adorjan (March 31, 1950- May 11, 2023) was, in my opinion,
a genius in the game of chess.

He was one of Kasparov's trainers for his World Championship
matches against Karpov in the mid-80's.

His original contributions to chess theory are numerous;
Yet what strikes me most about him is his courage
and his creative spirit over the board. His tactical awareness
was definitely world-class. He will be sorely missed.

It is very hard to do justice to someone in a few words, and 
specially so with Andras Adorjan. There are many people more qualified than me to do so;
I am aware of that. I am just someone who loves chess, who appreciates chess as an Art
and therefore appreciate chess artists such as Adorjan.

He was a creative force; from the first moment I started looking at this games
I was amazed by his creative energy and enthusiasm, his originality,
and by his "Black is OK" contributions.

In 1985 Adorjan's mother passed away. This shook him deeply, and made him want to contribute something original.....looking at his games, he noticed he rather liked to play with Black, and also that many of his best victories were with the Black pieces.

So he started writing articles with the theme "Black is OK!",
and these eventually became the basis for his books.

The games in this article feature notable victories by Adorjan with Black.

(!TUUR (Arthur van de Oudeweetering) @TUUR1

That would be in Groningen, in the Niemeijer tournament (European Junior Championship). At that time he still carried the name Andras Jocha.)

The following game, against the legendary Laszlo Szabo, was played when Adorjan was just 13 years old!

The following game captured my imagination, not only for the fantastic final move, but also for the candid way Adorjan tells the story:

(: http://noord-hollandsarchief.nl.) #chess

The following game shows that Adorjan could win in positional style, too.

(Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, 23rd December 1985. Pictured at a press conference after their 6-game match in Hilversum -

@Kasparov63 & @GMJanTimman

 In the centre is Kasparov's second, András Adorján (1950-2023). (:R. Bogaerts / ANEFO, via https://nationaalarchief.nl.) #chess)

Photo: Juchapress

My gratitude to Andras Adorjan for the inspiration I received from him, and my heartfelt condolences to his near and dear ones. 

Peace.