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Righteous Among the Nations |
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Géza Ottlik (9 May 1912 – 9 October 1990) was a Hungarian writer, translator, mathematician, and bridge theorist. According to an American obituary bridge column, he was known in Hungary as "the ultimate authority on Hungarian prose". [1]
Biography
Ottlik was born and died in Budapest. He attended the military school at Kőszeg and Budapest, and studied mathematics and physics at Budapest University 1931–1935. After a brief career on Hungarian radio, he was a secretary of Hungarian PEN Club from 1945 to 1957. As he was unable to publish his works for political reasons, he earned his living translating. He translated mainly from English ( Charles Dickens, George Bernard Shaw, John Osborne, Evelyn Waugh); and German ( Thomas Mann, G. Keller, Stefan Zweig).
He was a passionate bridge player and advanced theoretician. In a bridge column three months after Ottlik's death, Alan Truscott placed him "among the strongest candidates" for "the bridge writer with the greatest creativity in terms of card-play theory". [1] His 1979 book Adventures in Card Play, written with Hugh Kelsey, introduced and developed many new concepts [2] (such as Backwash squeeze and Entry-shifting squeeze). According to Truscott it "opened new frontiers" in defence as well as declarer play. [1] In his 1995 obituary of Kelsey, Truscott wrote that it "broke new ground in many technical areas and is still considered the most advanced book on the play of the cards." [3] An American survey of bridge experts in 2007 ranked it third on a list of their all-time favourites, nearly thirty years after its first publication. [4]
From October 1944 to February 1945, Ottlik and his wife Gyöngyi Debreczeni hid the writer István Vas, a Jew, in their apartment and shared their food rations with him. Géza personally intervened to obtain the release of Vas' mother from arrest; if he had not done so, she would have been sent on a death march towards Germany. Gyöngyi faced down a group of Arrow Cross Party members who had broken into the apartment to search for the Jew allegedly hiding there; they left without discovering Vas, who survived World War II. For this, the couple were honoured on 4 June 1998 by Yad Vashem as people Righteous Among the Nations. [5]
Awards
- Ottlik received a grant from the British Government for his translations, 1960
- József Attila Prize (1981)
- Kossuth Prize for Literature (1985) [1]
- Righteous Among the Nations (1998)
Publications
- Hamisjátékosok (Swindlers; stories) (1941)
- Hajnali háztetők (Rooftops at Dawn; novella) (1957)
- Iskola a határon (School at the Frontier; novel) (1959)
- Minden megvan (Nothing's Lost; short stories) (1969, revised and enlarged 1991)
- Adventures in Card Play, Ottlik and Hugh Kelsey ( Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1979), 285 pp., OCLC 16423055 – on declarer play and defence in bridge
- Próza (Prose; essays, interviews) (1980)
- A Valencia-rejtély (The Valencia Enigma; novel) (1989)
- Hajónapló (Logbook; novel) (1989)
- Buda (novel) (1993)
References
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Bridge: Two thoughtful Hungarian writers showed their greatest creativity in card-playing theory". Alan Truscott. The New York Times. 13 January 1991. Page 45. Quote: "died on Oct. 9 at the age of 78".
The other Hungarian is Robert Darvas, co-author of Right Through the Pack, who died in 1957. - ^ Francis, Henry G.; Truscott, Alan F.; Francis, Dorthy A., eds. (2001). The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (6th ed.). Memphis, TN: American Contract Bridge League. p. 710. ISBN 0-943855-44-6. OCLC 49606900.
- ^ "Hugh Kelsey, 69, Famed Bridge Writer And Expert Player". Alan Truscott. The New York Times. 21 March 1995. Page D20. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- ^ American Contract Bridge League, Bridge Bulletin, June 2007, pp. 20–22.
- ^ "The Righteous Among The Nations". yadvashem.org. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
External links
- Hungarian Literature database
- Biography at Frankfurt '99 with linked "Publications"
- Géza Ottlik on Hunlit.hu
- "International record for Géza Ottlik". World Bridge Federation.
- Géza Ottlik at Library of Congress, with 14 library catalogue records (chiefly linked as 'Ottlik, Géza, 1912–': select "LC Online Catalog", then "Previous")
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
|
Righteous Among the Nations |
|---|
|
|
| By country |
Géza Ottlik (9 May 1912 – 9 October 1990) was a Hungarian writer, translator, mathematician, and bridge theorist. According to an American obituary bridge column, he was known in Hungary as "the ultimate authority on Hungarian prose". [1]
Biography
Ottlik was born and died in Budapest. He attended the military school at Kőszeg and Budapest, and studied mathematics and physics at Budapest University 1931–1935. After a brief career on Hungarian radio, he was a secretary of Hungarian PEN Club from 1945 to 1957. As he was unable to publish his works for political reasons, he earned his living translating. He translated mainly from English ( Charles Dickens, George Bernard Shaw, John Osborne, Evelyn Waugh); and German ( Thomas Mann, G. Keller, Stefan Zweig).
He was a passionate bridge player and advanced theoretician. In a bridge column three months after Ottlik's death, Alan Truscott placed him "among the strongest candidates" for "the bridge writer with the greatest creativity in terms of card-play theory". [1] His 1979 book Adventures in Card Play, written with Hugh Kelsey, introduced and developed many new concepts [2] (such as Backwash squeeze and Entry-shifting squeeze). According to Truscott it "opened new frontiers" in defence as well as declarer play. [1] In his 1995 obituary of Kelsey, Truscott wrote that it "broke new ground in many technical areas and is still considered the most advanced book on the play of the cards." [3] An American survey of bridge experts in 2007 ranked it third on a list of their all-time favourites, nearly thirty years after its first publication. [4]
From October 1944 to February 1945, Ottlik and his wife Gyöngyi Debreczeni hid the writer István Vas, a Jew, in their apartment and shared their food rations with him. Géza personally intervened to obtain the release of Vas' mother from arrest; if he had not done so, she would have been sent on a death march towards Germany. Gyöngyi faced down a group of Arrow Cross Party members who had broken into the apartment to search for the Jew allegedly hiding there; they left without discovering Vas, who survived World War II. For this, the couple were honoured on 4 June 1998 by Yad Vashem as people Righteous Among the Nations. [5]
Awards
- Ottlik received a grant from the British Government for his translations, 1960
- József Attila Prize (1981)
- Kossuth Prize for Literature (1985) [1]
- Righteous Among the Nations (1998)
Publications
- Hamisjátékosok (Swindlers; stories) (1941)
- Hajnali háztetők (Rooftops at Dawn; novella) (1957)
- Iskola a határon (School at the Frontier; novel) (1959)
- Minden megvan (Nothing's Lost; short stories) (1969, revised and enlarged 1991)
- Adventures in Card Play, Ottlik and Hugh Kelsey ( Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1979), 285 pp., OCLC 16423055 – on declarer play and defence in bridge
- Próza (Prose; essays, interviews) (1980)
- A Valencia-rejtély (The Valencia Enigma; novel) (1989)
- Hajónapló (Logbook; novel) (1989)
- Buda (novel) (1993)
References
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Bridge: Two thoughtful Hungarian writers showed their greatest creativity in card-playing theory". Alan Truscott. The New York Times. 13 January 1991. Page 45. Quote: "died on Oct. 9 at the age of 78".
The other Hungarian is Robert Darvas, co-author of Right Through the Pack, who died in 1957. - ^ Francis, Henry G.; Truscott, Alan F.; Francis, Dorthy A., eds. (2001). The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (6th ed.). Memphis, TN: American Contract Bridge League. p. 710. ISBN 0-943855-44-6. OCLC 49606900.
- ^ "Hugh Kelsey, 69, Famed Bridge Writer And Expert Player". Alan Truscott. The New York Times. 21 March 1995. Page D20. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- ^ American Contract Bridge League, Bridge Bulletin, June 2007, pp. 20–22.
- ^ "The Righteous Among The Nations". yadvashem.org. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
External links
- Hungarian Literature database
- Biography at Frankfurt '99 with linked "Publications"
- Géza Ottlik on Hunlit.hu
- "International record for Géza Ottlik". World Bridge Federation.
- Géza Ottlik at Library of Congress, with 14 library catalogue records (chiefly linked as 'Ottlik, Géza, 1912–': select "LC Online Catalog", then "Previous")
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |