Born in Budapest, Hungary on August 23, 1906, Zoltan Sarosy learned the game of chess at the age of 10 while visiting the parks. “I was with my mother and I saw a boy playing chess and I asked, ‘What is that?’ The next day I was back at the park. That boy’s mother wouldn’t let me play with him but I found others,” said Mr. Sarosy.

He continued playing in school and at university in Vienna, where he studied international trade. He graduated in 1928 and returned to Budapest where he continued his chess career. He was soon a grandmaster.

“In 1943, I played in the Hungarian championship and gained the Hungarian master title,” he says.

During the war (the second World War) he used his fluency in Hungarian and German to work as an interpreter, avoiding being sent to the Eastern Front, where so many perished. After the war he emigrated to Canada, though not before a length passage through Europe, from Austria then to Alsace where he drew a training match (2–2) with Alsace Champion Henri Sapin in 1950.

Zoltan Sarosy at the 1952 Toronto Championship

In 1950, he read that Canada was looking for immigrants and he went to Paris to get papers. After arriving in Halifax and then settling in Toronto, he took up correspondence chess. He was thrice Canadian Correspondence Champion (1967, 1972, 1981), and was awarded the IMC title in 1988. In 2006 he was inducted into the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame.

TV report by CTVNews with Zoltan Sarosy celebrating his 110th birthday

It is only fitting that the cake used to celebrate his 110th birthday was in the shape of a chess board. A chess player through and through until the very end!

It wouldn't be a proper tribute to a chess player without a game. Here is one he played against IM Lawrence Day in 1964 at the Canadian Open:

Zoltan L Sarosy vs Lawrence Day

15 years ago, at the age of 95, he purchased a computer with due chess software to continue to play chess online. He worried that the old fashioned method via mail could mean games that took 3-4 years, which he might not live to finish.

Even well into his 100s, all those in touch with him could not help but remark on his incredible lucidity and memory. Not just long-term, with memories that allow him to recall where he was when the First World War broke out, but even short-term memory such as what he had for breakfast that morning.

A segment from a documentary, Cyber-seniors, when Sarosy was 105 years old 

While genetics certainly payed a roll in his incredible longevity, his unbroken relationship with chess no doubt helped him keep such a healthy mind until his very last days. On June 19, 2017, he passed away, just two months shy of his 111th birthday.

Sources: Youtube, Globe and Mail, Wikipedia, CBCnews

Links

Zoltan Sarosy, chess master, turns 110 years old
9/3/2016 – It is tempting to think that must be a typo. 110 years old? Or that the description is a generous exaggeration to link this supercentenarian (the official term for anyone reaching 110) to the noble game, but neither is the case. Zoltan Sarosy, born in Hungary in 1906, is the oldest man living in Canada, and was a professional chess player with titles from the 1920s to the 1980s, winning the Canadian Correspondence Championship three times. Here is a look at a man who has literally played chess for 100 years.

Chess master turns 110 years old
Aug 23, 2016 – With memories stretching back to pre-WW1, Zoltan Sarosy is believed to be Canada’s oldest man. By Kate McGillivray, CBC News

Study of the Month: Dancing bishops
6/5/2017 – That's the subject of this month's pick by our study expert Siegfried Hornecker. He introduces us to three prolific Soviet composers, each of whom had created around 110 studies. While researching the background for his article Siegfried hit upon a coincidence involving the number 110. It involves the Canadian Master Zoltán Sárosy, and we have included a lovely interview with him at the end of the article. Can you guess what the coincidence was?