Hommage to Alfred Hrdlicka

The artist Alfred Hrdlicka passed away in Vienna on December 5th.
(Page at Wikipedia: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hrdlicka)

All his life he was connected to chess, his volume "Schach Zeichnungen 1" [Claasen Verlag, Düsseldorf 1983] adorns many a collection.

The young Hrdlicka was regarded as a chess player of great talent, but not always he was able to cope with the nervous strain of a tournament game.

At the second International Students Team Tournament at Brussels in March 1953 he played at the second board of a mixed team of two Austrians, one Frenchman and one Belgian.
Here his first round victory against the Englishman Peter Clarke:

Hrdlicka expressed his views of chess in an exhibition catalogue of the Gallery Pudelko (Bonn, 1982), for him Emanuel Lasker was the "Greatest": Hrdlicka's explanations from 1982 (see image; in German).

Therefore his impressive brush drawing (in sepia and black Indian ink, 48.5 x 66 cm) "Dr. Lasker gegen Dr. Tarrasch oder Die Schlange und das Kaninchen" [Dr Lasker against Dr Tarrasch or The Snake and the Rabbit] from the above volume will be presented here for lasting remembrance.

(Michael Negele)