GMLajos Portisch

Lajos Portisch was born in Zalaegerszeg in 1937. He finished fourth in the 1955 World Junior Championship and won at Balatonfüred in 1958. He became a grandmaster in 1961 and won the Hungarian championship repeatedly. Between 1962 and 1993 he played in twelve Interzonal tournaments and qualified for the Candidates eight times. In 1977 he defeated Bent Larsen in the quarterfinal before losing to Boris Spassky; he reached the semifinals again in 1980.

Portisch represented Hungary at twenty Olympiads between 1956 and 2000. Playing first board in 1978, he scored 10/14 as Hungary won team gold ahead of the Soviet Union. His tournament victories included Wijk aan Zee in 1972 and 1975, Las Palmas in 1972 and Tilburg in 1978. In the 1970 USSR-Rest of the World match, he defeated Viktor Korchnoi 2½-1½. His younger brother Ferenc became an international master. Away from competitive chess, Portisch pursued singing as a baritone, particularly operatic arias. Hungary named him a Sportsman of the Nation in 2004.