Mihai Suba
Encyclopedia
Mihai Șubă (ˈʃubə, born June 1, 1947 in Bucharest
, Romania
) is a Romanian chess Grandmaster. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1975 and the International Grandmaster
title in 1978. He won the Romanian Chess Championship
in 1980, 1981 and 1985. He first came to wide attention in 1982 when he finished second, after Zoltán Ribli
, at Băile Herculane
. At the 1982 Las Palmas Interzonal
he finished third, behind Ribli and former World Champion
Vasily Smyslov
, just missing qualification for the Candidates Matches. Șubă finished first at Dortmund
1983, and equal first at Prague
1985 and Timişoara
1987. In August 1988, he sought political asylum in Britain, and he played for England at the 1989 European Team Championship
, though he started playing for Romania again from 1992. , his FIDE rating is 2542. His peak rating was in 1983 with the 30th position in World ranking.
Șubă is the author of the well-received book Dynamic Chess Strategy (Pergamon Press, 1991, ISBN 0-08-037141-8)
and of the monograph The Hedgehog (B.T. Batsford Ltd, 2000, ISBN 0 7134 8691 1)
when Larry Kaufman
was named the winner on tiebreaker
s ahead of Șubă in second place. The tie-breaking system
used, erroneously interpreted as mandatory by FIDE, did not match the one published by the organizer, which was the valid one according to newer regulations and had the strength of a contract.
Subsequently, Șubă and Kaufman were retroactively declared joint winners of the championship at a FIDE Presidential Board meeting in March 2009 (with Kaufman keeping his resultant promotion to Grandmaster).
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
) is a Romanian chess Grandmaster. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1975 and the International Grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
title in 1978. He won the Romanian Chess Championship
Romanian Chess Championship
The Romanian Chess Championship became a yearly even in 1946, and was held irregularly earlier. A series of national eliminating contests are played to select a 20-player field for the men's final...
in 1980, 1981 and 1985. He first came to wide attention in 1982 when he finished second, after Zoltán Ribli
Zoltan Ribli
Zoltán Ribli is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and International Arbiter . He was twice a World Championship Candidate and three times Hungarian Champion.-A career in chess:...
, at Băile Herculane
Baile Herculane
Băile Herculane is a town in Romanian Banat, in Caraş-Severin County, situated in the valley of the Cerna River, between the Mehedinţi Mountains to the east and the Cerna Mountains to the west, elevation 168 meters. Its current population is approximately 6,000...
. At the 1982 Las Palmas Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
he finished third, behind Ribli and former World Champion
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
, just missing qualification for the Candidates Matches. Șubă finished first at Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
1983, and equal first at Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
1985 and Timişoara
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
1987. In August 1988, he sought political asylum in Britain, and he played for England at the 1989 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...
, though he started playing for Romania again from 1992. , his FIDE rating is 2542. His peak rating was in 1983 with the 30th position in World ranking.
Șubă is the author of the well-received book Dynamic Chess Strategy (Pergamon Press, 1991, ISBN 0-08-037141-8)
and of the monograph The Hedgehog (B.T. Batsford Ltd, 2000, ISBN 0 7134 8691 1)
2008 Seniors Controversy
Controversy erupted at the 2008 World Senior Chess ChampionshipWorld Senior Chess Championship
The World Senior Chess Championship is an annual chess tournament established in 1991 by FIDE, the World Chess Federation.Participants must have reached 60 years old on 1 January of the year of the event...
when Larry Kaufman
Larry Kaufman
Lawrence C. "Larry" Kaufman is a Grandmaster of chess. He is also a mathematics professor and currently lives in Potomac, Maryland. In 2008, as an International Master, Kaufman won the World Senior Championship which automatically earned him the Grandmaster title.A long time researcher in...
was named the winner on tiebreaker
Tiebreaker
In games and sports, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is used to determine a winner from among players or teams that are tied at the end of a contest, or a set of contests.-In matches:In some situations, the tiebreaker may consist of another round of play...
s ahead of Șubă in second place. The tie-breaking system
Tie-breaking in Swiss system tournaments
Tie-break systems are used in chess Swiss system tournaments to break ties between players who have the same total number of points after the last round. If the players are still tied after one tie-break system is used, another system is used, and so on, until the tie is broken...
used, erroneously interpreted as mandatory by FIDE, did not match the one published by the organizer, which was the valid one according to newer regulations and had the strength of a contract.
Subsequently, Șubă and Kaufman were retroactively declared joint winners of the championship at a FIDE Presidential Board meeting in March 2009 (with Kaufman keeping his resultant promotion to Grandmaster).