Eric Lobron
Encyclopedia
Eric Lobron is a German chess
player of American descent. A former two-time national champion, he has been awarded the title Grandmaster by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
Born in the USA, he moved with his family to Germany at the age of five and was subsequently raised in the city of Wiesbaden
. It was soon apparent that he had a talent for the game and he became the national junior champion in 1978.
Just two years later, his continued rapid progress enabled him to attain International Master status and win the West German Championship
at Bad Neuenahr. Buoyed by success, it was not long before he decided to become a full time chess professional, whereupon he broke from his law degree to embark on the international chess tournament
circuit.
There were several notable achievements from the outset, including victories at Biel 1981 (with Vlastimil Hort
), Ramat Hasharon
1982 and Manila
1982 (with Lev Polugaevsky
). His qualification as a Grandmaster occurred the same year and he followed up with several more tournament wins, either outright or shared; at New York
1983 and 1985, Biel 1986, Brussels
and Ter Apel
(both 1987), Lyon
s 1988 (with Simen Agdestein
) Wiesbaden and Graz
(both 1993), Bad Zwesten
2000 and Wijk aan Zee
2003. Meanwhile, he was West German Champion for a second time in 1984.
In attempting to reach the latter stages of the (PCA
) World Championship, he scored well at the Groningen 1993 qualifying tournament, outperforming many players rated more highly, including Judit Polgár
, Veselin Topalov
and Evgeny Bareev
.
In team chess, he was for many years a stalwart of the Bundesliga
and represented Germany at all of the Olympiads
between 1980–96, except for the event held at Dubai
in 1986. At the European Team Championship
(ETC) he played three times, in 1983, 1989 and 1992, being honoured with selection at top board on the first and last occasions. At the Olympiad, he earned an individual bronze medal for his board three performance in 1990 and at the ETC, earned a team bronze in 1989.
Reputed to have been a successful trader on the stock market during profitable times, he acquired 'celebrity' status in 2004, when he became romantically involved with Estonian supermodel Carmen Kass
, herself a keen chess player and President of the Estonian Chess Federation. On the lead up to the 2008 Olympiad, Kass campaigned to bring the event to her home country, but ultimately lost out to Dresden
's bid.
At the peak of his chess career, Eric Lobron had an Elo rating of 2625. Since the mid-2000s he has played little over-the-board chess, but competes online at The Internet Chess Club
as Yardbird, where he holds one of the highest blitz ratings. He is also known to be a good player of Backgammon
.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player of American descent. A former two-time national champion, he has been awarded the title Grandmaster by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
Born in the USA, he moved with his family to Germany at the age of five and was subsequently raised in the city of Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
. It was soon apparent that he had a talent for the game and he became the national junior champion in 1978.
Just two years later, his continued rapid progress enabled him to attain International Master status and win the West German Championship
German Chess Championship
The German Chess Championship has been played since 1861, and determines the national champion.Prior to 1880 three different federations organized chess activities in Germany: the Westdeutscher Schachbund , the Norddeutscher Schachbund and the Mitteldeutscher Schachbund . Each one organized its...
at Bad Neuenahr. Buoyed by success, it was not long before he decided to become a full time chess professional, whereupon he broke from his law degree to embark on the international chess tournament
Chess tournament
A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard form of chess competition among serious players.Today, the most recognized chess...
circuit.
There were several notable achievements from the outset, including victories at Biel 1981 (with Vlastimil Hort
Vlastimil Hort
Vlastimil Hort is a chess Grandmaster of Czech nationality. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the world's strongest players and reached the Candidates stage of competition for the world chess championship, but was never able to compete for the actual title.Hort was born in Kladno,...
), Ramat Hasharon
Ramat Hasharon
Ramat HaSharon is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south and Herzliya and Kibbutz Glil Yam to the north. It is part of the Tel Aviv District, within Gush Dan metropolitan area...
1982 and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
1982 (with Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title...
). His qualification as a Grandmaster occurred the same year and he followed up with several more tournament wins, either outright or shared; at New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
1983 and 1985, Biel 1986, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and Ter Apel
Ter Apel
Ter Apel is a town in the municipality Vlagtwedde in the northern Netherlands, in the province Groningen in the region Westerwolde. The town lies on the stream Ruiten Aa, which has the valley that together with the Ter Apeler forest belongs to the national network of nature reserves, the...
(both 1987), Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
s 1988 (with Simen Agdestein
Simen Agdestein
Simen Agdestein is a Norwegian chess grandmaster and ex-football star. He has won seven Norwegian chess championships, including the 2005 title....
) Wiesbaden and Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
(both 1993), Bad Zwesten
Bad Zwesten
-Location:Bad Zwesten lies about 8 km southeast of Bad Wildungen on the river Schwalm, which belongs to the Eder watershed. North of the community begins the Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park.-Constituent communities:* Betzigerode* Niederurff...
2000 and Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee is a small town on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk in the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel chess tournament formerly Corus chess tournament and before that called Hoogovens tournament takes place there every year.Due...
2003. Meanwhile, he was West German Champion for a second time in 1984.
In attempting to reach the latter stages of the (PCA
Professional Chess Association
The Professional Chess Association , which existed between 1993 and 1996, was a rival organisation to FIDE, the international chess organization...
) World Championship, he scored well at the Groningen 1993 qualifying tournament, outperforming many players rated more highly, including Judit Polgár
Judit Polgár
Judit Polgár is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. She is by far the strongest female chess player in history. In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, the youngest person ever to do so at that time.Polgár was ranked No...
, Veselin Topalov
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He currently has the sixth highest rating in the world, and was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010, losing the match 6½–5½....
and Evgeny Bareev
Evgeny Bareev
Evgeny Bareev is a Russian chess Grandmaster and chess coach. In October 2003, he was in fourth place in the world rankings, with an Elo rating of 2739....
.
In team chess, he was for many years a stalwart of the Bundesliga
Chess Bundesliga
The term Chess Bundesliga , normally refers to the premier league of team chess in Germany. It is arguably the strongest and longest running league of its kind, attracting many top grandmasters from Europe and beyond....
and represented Germany at all of the Olympiads
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
between 1980–96, except for the event held at Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
in 1986. At the European Team Championship
European Team Championship
The European Team Championship is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9...
(ETC) he played three times, in 1983, 1989 and 1992, being honoured with selection at top board on the first and last occasions. At the Olympiad, he earned an individual bronze medal for his board three performance in 1990 and at the ETC, earned a team bronze in 1989.
Reputed to have been a successful trader on the stock market during profitable times, he acquired 'celebrity' status in 2004, when he became romantically involved with Estonian supermodel Carmen Kass
Carmen Kass
-Early life:Kass was born in Tallinn, Estonia and grew up in Mäo village, near Paide, the capital of Järva County. Kass, her sister and brother were raised only by their mother Koidu Põder.-Modeling:...
, herself a keen chess player and President of the Estonian Chess Federation. On the lead up to the 2008 Olympiad, Kass campaigned to bring the event to her home country, but ultimately lost out to Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
's bid.
At the peak of his chess career, Eric Lobron had an Elo rating of 2625. Since the mid-2000s he has played little over-the-board chess, but competes online at The Internet Chess Club
Internet Chess Club
The Internet Chess Club is a commercial Internet chess server devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. ICC currently has over 30,000 subscribing members...
as Yardbird, where he holds one of the highest blitz ratings. He is also known to be a good player of Backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
.