- Karel Treybal
Karel Treybal (
February 2 ,1885 –October 2 ,1941 ) was a prominent Czechchess player of the early twentieth century.Treybal was born in
Kotopeky , a village to the southwest ofPrague in centralBohemia . He trained as a lawyer and became chairman of the district court inVelvary , a small town on the opposite side of Prague. Though he played chess as an amateur, his level of play was such that he was among the world's top 50 players for much of his life. [ [http://db.chessmetrics.com/PL/PL41114.htm Chessmetrics Ratings: Treybal, Karel ] at db.chessmetrics.com] He was a younger brother ofFrantišek Treybal who was also a prominent Czech chess player.In 1905, he tied for third/fourth in the first Czech Championships in Prague (
Oldřich Duras won). In 1907, he tied for second/fourth in Brno (second CZE-ch; František Treybal won). In 1908, he won in Prague (B tournament). In 1909, he took second, behind Duras, in Prague (third Cze-ch). In 1921, he tied for first/third withKarel Hromádka andLadislav Prokeš in Brno (seventh CZE-ch).He played for Czechoslovakia in three
Chess Olympiads .
* In 1930, at second board in third Olympiad in Hamburg (+3 –4 =6);
* In 1933, at second board in fifth Olympiad in Folkestone (+4 –3 =5);
* In 1935, at fourth board in sixth Olympiad in Warsaw (+5 –1 =9). He won team silver medal at Folkestone 1933.Treybal's greatest international success was sixth place alongside
Aron Nimzowitsch in the 1923Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) tournament. His performance featured a win against subsequent World ChampionAlexander Alekhine .Treybal died during the Nazi occupation of
Czechoslovakia . On May 30, 1941, he was arrested, imprisoned and later charged with concealing weapons for use by resistance forces and the illegal possession of a pistol. It is not known whether these charges had any foundation. He was condemned to death and executed on October 2. Following his execution, his body was not handed over to his family and whereabouts of his grave or remains are unknown.In 1945, a tribute to Treybal appearing in the Czech chess magazine "Šach" stated that Treybal had been executed without trial and had "never occupied himself with politics". Prokeš, following Treybal's death, published a
monograph on him in 1946.References
* [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter10.html#3729._Karel_Treybal Note 3729] from Karel Mokrý in Edward Winter's "Chess Notes Archives 10"
External links
* [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=10629 Karel Treybal] 's games as listed at Chessgames.com.
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