Ernst Grünfeld was one of the world’s leading players of the 1920s, and one of the leading opening theoreticians of his time. Below, I explore his life and games.
Photo: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Table of contents:
Biography
Early life
Ernst Grünfeld was born in 1893 in Vienna into a family who struggled financially. He suffered a difficult start to life, as his left leg was amputated at the age of five after an accident. However, Grünfeld soon discovered chess, a sport in which he could compete without being held back by his injury.
He spent a lot of time on chess in his childhood, and often visited the famous Wiener Schach-Klub, where he could learn from strong players. In 1910, the World Championship match between Lasker and Schlechter was held in Vienna, and this historical event made a great impression on the young Grünfeld.
However, when Grünfeld was just 20 years old and developing his chess abilities, the outbreak of WWI interrupted the international chess scene. Grünfeld was not required to engage in active combat, but he lost two brothers and his father to the war.
Competing at the top
After the end of the war, the now 25-year-old Grünfeld found opportunities to compete against international opposition, which was very useful for his development as a player. At a tournament in Vienna in 1922, he recorded a famous victory over Alekhine, using the opening which would go on to be called the Grünfeld Defence.
Grünfeld proved his strength by taking clear 1st place at Margate 1923, a full point ahead of Alekhine and Bogoljubow in 2nd. Réti finished even further behind. That same year, Grünfeld travelled to Carlsbad, where most of the world’s leading players gathered to compete in one of the strongest tournaments the world had seen up to that point. There he finished in a very impressive shared 4th place with Réti, behind only Alekhine, Bogoljubow and Maroczy, and ahead of many famous names such as Nimzowitsch, Teichmann, Tartakower, Tarrasch and Rubinstein. Also in 1923, Grünfeld became German Champion by winning the 23rd German Chess Federation Congress in Frankfurt, two whole points ahead of 2nd place.
Grünfeld continued his success and momentum into 1924, as he took clear 1st place at Merano, a full two points ahead of Spielmann in 2nd and 2,5 points clear of Rubinstein in 3rd. Interestingly, Grünfeld was not just a player, but a writer too – that same year, he published a book on the Queen’s Gambit.
Films and Olympiads
In 1925 Grünfeld travelled to Moscow, where he scored 10,5/20 and finished in shared 9th place in a field which included most of the world’s leading players. While the tournament was taking place, a silent film called Chess Fever was being recorded. Interestingly, while competing in the tournament, Grünfeld found the time to appear in the film.
1926 saw Grünfeld record another great success, as he shared 1st place with the Italian Mario Monticelli at Budapest, ahead of Rubinstein, Réti and Tartakower, among others. The following year, he travelled to London to compete for the Austrian team at the first international chess Olympiad. There he achieved an impressive 9,5/13 score. At Vienna 1928, Grünfeld achieved another 1st place finish, this time shared with the Hungarian master Sandor Takacs.
At the end of the decade, Grünfeld travelled to Carlsbad to compete at the famous tournament Carlsbad 1929. There he once again competed in a large field which included many of the world’s leading players, finishing in 9th place.
A new decade
Grünfeld continued to compete at a high level in the 1930s, although the peak of his career was behind him. He competed for the Austrian team at the Olympiad in Prague in 1931, where he scored 9/15, and at the Olympiad in Folkestone in 1933, where he scored 6,5/12. 1933 also saw one of Grünfeld’s most famous tournament successes, as he took clear 1st place at Mahrisch-Ostrau. In 1935, he competed for the Austrian team for the last time, at the Olympiad in Warsaw. There he scored 9/18.
WWII
At the Vienna Championship in 1938, Grünfeld finished 2nd, behind only Hans Müller. However, the chess world was soon interrupted once again, this time by the outbreak of WWII. Austria, where Grünfeld remained, became part of Nazi Germany during the war. Although international tournaments became very rare during this time, Grünfeld supported himself by giving simuls and lessons and writing articles. In this way he survived the war.
Later years
After the end of the war, with Grünfeld having entered his seventh decade, he could not find regular employment, and struggled financially. He received the grandmaster title in 1950 based on his results in the 1920s, but could no longer compete at the top of the chess world. He died in Vienna in 1962, at the age of 68.
Legacy
Today Grünfeld is remembered primarily for his name being attached to the Grünfeld Defence, a very popular and theoretically important opening even today. He was one of the world’s leading players in the 1920s, and was a chess author as well as a player. Generations of players have grown up learning from his games.
Game Analysis
Grünfeld won an instructive game against Gruber at Vienna 1923, where he demonstrated how a knight can dominate a bishop.
Lessons from this game:
- It is important to strike at the opponent’s space-gaining pawn centre quickly, before it can be consolidated.
- In a bishop vs knight battle, the side with the knight can often dominate the colour complex not controlled by the bishop.
- Undefended pieces form the basis for the opponent’s tactical ideas.
Puzzles
Grünfeld – Marchand, Gothenburg 1920
Nagy – Grünfeld, Debrecen 1925
Beutum – Grünfeld, Vienna 1927
Grünfeld – Maroczy, Karlsbad 1929
Solutions
Further Reading
To find more about Grünfeld’s life and games, the following are useful sources:
Grünfeld’s chessgames.com page,
this chessbase article by Stefan Löffler,
and this collection of Grünfeld’s tournament and match results.
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