László Szabó

Three-time Candidate Tournament participant (1950, 1953, 1956)

Chessmetrics Ranking: ranked as high as world number six for two months in 1946 and 1947

Tournament Career: winner of ten super-tournaments:

                                   4-time winner of the Hastings International Chess Congress

                                   2-time winner of the Budapest Chess Tournament

                                   Amsterdam 1939 Chess Tournament,

                                   and a few others…

Chess Olympiads: one silver and two bronze team medals, two silver and one bronze individual medals

Why he deserved it:

László Szabó was the most prominent figure in Hungarian chess after Géza Maróczy and before Lajos Portisch. He was also one of the most notable figures in world chess at the end of the 1930s and especially in the post-war period and the 1950s. In 1950, he was awarded the title of Grandmaster upon its establishment, and in the 1950s, he participated in three consecutive Candidate Tournaments, with his best result being a shared third place.

Szabó was very consistent and won several strong tournaments, for example, he performed very well at the traditional Hastings tournament and enjoyed returning there. In the world rankings, he was ranked as high as sixth place shortly after the war.

Why he isn’t higher:

Szabó is another player who suffered from the “Tomáš Berdych syndrome.” Throughout his career, he hovered near the top, occasionally achieving some notable success, but never breaking into the absolute elite.

Best games:

László Szabó vs Karoly Honfi

Hungarian Championship 1950