András Adorján

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András Adorján

Full name	András Jocha
Country	Hungary
Born	March 31, 1950 (1950-03-31) (age 58) Budapest, Hungary

Title	Grandmaster


FIDE rating	2504

András Adorján (born March 31, 1950) is a Hungarian author and Grandmaster of chess, born in Budapest.

Many of Adorjan's earliest games were played under the name A. Jocha. Later he took the name of the celebrated flautist András Adorján (born 1944).

In 1969-70, he secured the title of European Junior Champion and in 1969 at Stockholm, finished runner-up in the World Junior Chess Championship to Anatoly Karpov. Qualification as an International Master came in 1970 and as a Grandmaster in 1973. The latter was also the year that he won (jointly) his first Hungarian Championship, going on to a further (this time outright) victory in 1984.

Other tournament successes (finishing either first or joint first) included Varna 1972, Osijek 1978, Budapest 1982, Gjovik 1983, Esbjerg 1985 and New York Open 1987. In an interview, he recounts the story of his telephoned invitation to Luhacovice in 1973; he enquired - "Is there a GM norm on offer?", to which came the answer "Yes". His next question - "When does it start?" was met with the reply "Half an hour ago". He also went on to win that tournament.

At the Riga Interzonal of 1979, he finished joint third and qualified for the World Championship Candidates Tournament. At the Candidates he lost his quarter final match to Robert Hübner.

In team chess, Adorjan has an excellent record. Competing at the Chess Olympiad of 1978, he helped Hungary to capture the gold medal from the mighty Soviet team who had convincingly won the event since 1952. His further participation in 1984, 1986 and 1988 contributed to a top five finish on each occasion. Compatriots Lajos Portisch, Zoltan Ribli and Gyula Sax were also at the peak of their playing strength during this period.

Adorjan has also worked over the years, sometimes secretly, as a second to Garry Kasparov and to Peter Leko, helping them to prepare for important World Championship matches. He is known as a leading expert on the Grünfeld Defense, which has been favored by both Kasparov and Leko. He is also known for his political battles with Susan Polgar, with them attacking each other in the press. Polgar has often stated that she will not play in any tournament to which Adorjan has been invited.

In recent years he has played less and concentrated more on writing, becoming renowned for his series of books championing the cause of the player of the black pieces - Black is OK, Black is Still OK and Black is OK Forever. The books challenge the popular perceptions of black's chances and diagrammed positions are even presented with the black pieces playing up the board. For their creativity with the black pieces, Adorjan cites the games of Tony Miles and Alexander Morozevich as a source of inspiration.

His writing is always imaginative, quirky and anecdotal. In one review, it was suggested that Adorjan's books could have been co-authored by Botvinnik and Monty Python.

In the field of chess opening theory, Adorjan's passions have in many ways mirrored the theme of his books. Typical is his handling of the 'Hedgehog System' versus the English Opening. The system seeks to neutralise white's first move advantage by engineering rapid piece development on the queenside, behind flexible, low-key pawn moves (such as d6, a6 and b6). The formation is said to resemble the prickly spines of the hedgehog, repelling premature attacks and offering no soft targets.

Adorjan's other passion is music. He has composed many songs and also translated Godspell into Hungarian.