Janos "George" Wagenbach (1936-2026)

[Peter Ackley]

Sadly I must report the passing of Janos Wagenbach last night.

Janos was a stalwart of Mansfield chess club and of the Nottinghamshire chess scene.

Although not a elite-strength player Janos was, in the past, a frequent participant on the congress scene, winning many a grading-limited section. Even into his later years he still played to a strong level in local leagues and was a regular attendee at Mansfield blitz evening, his tricky style being very difficult to beat, especially when you were low on time.

I didn't know Janos well, having only moved to the area 10 years ago, although I did chat with him at matches and give him a lift home sometimes and he was always an interesting person to have a conversation with. Hopefully Jon Tait, or someone similar from the Notts scene, will be able to fill in more of Janos's life.

What people might remember more, though, was that Janos was a character; something there is less of today in the modern chess world. I remember hearing stories of Janos getting bored during a chess game and fitting in press-ups next to the board whilst he waited for his opponent to move. Some years ago (alas I cannot find a link now) there was an article about Janos winning several thousand pounds on a football accumulator having persuaded the bookies to accept his 4p bet. Finally, even after all the years playing, you always knew how Janos had done in his league game without having to stand up - he was always excited by the result.

Finally who can forget the Wagenbach defence - 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 h5 - frequently played by many a Mansfield player (although I understand from Jon Tait that it might have been refuted) - a defence which stemmed from the immortal words "you can play anything against the Kings Gambit - even 3.... h5).

[Dragoljub Sudar]

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/loc ... rd-6629151

[John Swain]

Sadly I must report the passing of Janos Wagenbach last night.

Janos was a stalwart of Mansfield chess club and of the Nottinghamshire chess scene.

Although not a elite-strength player Janos was, in the past, a frequent participant on the congress scene, winning many a grading-limited section. Even into his later years he still played to a strong level in local leagues and was a regular attendee at Mansfield blitz evening, his tricky style being very difficult to beat, especially when you were low on time.

I didn't know Janos well, having only moved to the area 10 years ago, although I did chat with him at matches and give him a lift home sometimes and he was always an interesting person to have a conversation with. Hopefully Jon Tait, or someone similar from the Notts scene, will be able to fill in more of Janos's life.

What people might remember more, though, was that Janos was a character; something there is less of today in the modern chess world. I remember hearing stories of Janos getting bored during a chess game and fitting in press-ups next to the board whilst he waited for his opponent to move. Some years ago (alas I cannot find a link now) there was an article about Janos winning several thousand pounds on a football accumulator having persuaded the bookies to accept his 4p bet. Finally, even after all the years playing, you always knew how Janos had done in his league game without having to stand up - he was always excited by the result.

Finally who can forget the Wagenbach defence - 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 h5 - frequently played by many a Mansfield player (although I understand from Jon Tait that it might have been refuted) - a defence which stemmed from the immortal words "you can play anything against the Kings Gambit - even 3.... h5).

Sad news. I always enjoyed my conversations with George. He was the eternal optimist, especially in post-game analyses when he often claimed to be winning almost from move 1, irrespective of the final result. As Peter says, George was a real character and greatly enlivened our Nottinghamshire chess community.

George is the only Nottinghamshire player in recent times who has had a variation of a chess opening named after them (the only other candidate I can think of is Samuel Boden, 1826-1882). The Wagenbach Defence to the King's Gambit is covered comprehensively in Jon Tait's A Disreputable Opening Repertoire (Everyman, 2022) chapter 5, pp.87-134 and in several resources online, such as https://ppqty.com/wagenbach-defense/

Others will know more about George's triumphs in tournaments, usually in grade restricted events, but mention should certainly be made about winning the county title in 2001-2: https://www.nottinghamshirechess.org/wp ... s-List.pdf

The betting story mentioned by Peter may be found at:
https://www.indy100.com/news/85-year-ol ... ble-3p-bet

My sincere condolences to George's family and friends. RIP, George.

[Matt Mackenzie]

He was also rumoured to have indulged in the occasional bit of "sandbagging" to ensure he remained eligible for those lower ranked tourneys.

[Brendan O'Gorman]

Janos Wagenbach 2018.jpg (181.27 KiB) Viewed 4337 times

Janos at the Nottingham Congress in 2018.

[LawrenceCooper]

As Peter mentions he was definitely a character and someone I remember well from playing tournaments in the East Midlands when I was a junior and into adulthood. He was always friendly to me and his sense of humour was often entertaining. He was competitive over the board and I found him a difficult opponent despite his relatively modest grade.

I'm fairly sure I played him in rapid events of which there seemed to be a lot back then but the only game I can find against him is from the Midland Open in 1985. I remember being surprised when he entered it for the best game prize but forget how it fared.

[Event "Midland Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "1985.02.17"] [Round "5"] [White "Wagenbach, J."] [Black "Cooper, Lawrence"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A45"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "1985.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Ne2 O-O 6. O-O Nbd7 7. h3 c5 8. c3 Rb8 9. Be3 b6 10. Qc2 Bb7 11. Na3 a6 12. Rad1 Qc7 13. c4 cxd4 14. Bxd4 Nc5 15. Nc3 Ne6 16. Be3 Rfc8 17. Qe2 Nf8 18. Bd4 Ne6 19. Be3 Nf8 $11 20. Qd2 N8d7 21. Bg5 Ne5 22. b3 Qc5 23. Nab1 Rd8 24. Be3 Qc7 25. Nd5 Nxd5 26. cxd5 Bc8 27. Rc1 Qa7 28. Nc3 Bxh3 29. Na4 Bxg2 30. Kxg2 Nd7 31. Rc6 Nc5 32. Qb4 Nxa4 33. bxa4 Qd7 34. Rfc1 b5 35. a5 Rdc8 36. Bb6 h5 37. a4 bxa4 38. Qxa4 Qe8 39. Qc4 Rxc6 40. dxc6 Qc8 41. Qd5 Bf8 42. c7 Ra8 43. f3 e6 44. Qxa8 1-0 [pgn]

[Jon Tait]

Nice tribute, Peter, many thanks for that.

Talking of 3...h5, here's a win against an eleven -year-old Jonah WIllow:

[Event "Notts League"] [Date "2014"] [White "Willow, J"] [Black "Wagenbach, JJ"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C34"] [PlyCount "110"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 h5 4. Bc4 h4 5. Ne5 Nh6 6. Qh5 Qe7 7. d4 g6 8. Qe2 d6 9. Nf3 g5 10. Nc3 c6 11. h3 Bg7 12. Bd2 Nd7 13. O-O-O a5 14. Nxh4 gxh4 15. Bxf4 Nb6 16. Rhf1 d5 17. exd5 Qxe2 18. Bxe2 Nxd5 19. Nxd5 cxd5 20. Bb5+ Kf8 21. Rde1 Be6 22. Rxe6 fxe6 23. Bxh6+ Kg8 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. Bd7 Rh6 26. Kd2 Rf6 27. Re1 Kf7 28. Re2 Ke7 29. Bb5 Rg8 30. Bd3 Rg5 31. a3 Kd6 32. c3 e5 33. dxe5+ Rxe5 34. Rxe5 Kxe5 35. Ke3 a4 36. Bc2 Rb6 37. Bxa4 Rxb2 38. Bd7 Rxg2 39. a4 b6 40. Kd3 Kd6 41. Bf5 Kc5 42. Bd7 Rg3+ 43. Kc2 d4 44. cxd4+ Kxd4 45. Kb2 Kc4 46. Bb5+ Kb4 47. Bd7 Ra3 48. Kc2 Rxa4 49. Bxa4 Kxa4 50. Kc3 Kb5 51. Kb3 Kc5 52. Kc3 Kd5 53. Kd3 Ke5 54. Ke3 b5 55. Kd3 Kf4 0-1

[Richard Bates]

Finally who can forget the Wagenbach defence - 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 h5 - frequently played by many a Mansfield player (although I understand from Jon Tait that it might have been refuted) - a defence which stemmed from the immortal words "you can play anything against the Kings Gambit - even 3.... h5).

Hey now, there was a logic behind it! (to preemptively protect a g pawn arriving on g4 ( eg. 4.d4 g5 5. h4 g4 6. Ne5 d6… etc). Also in some lines to push the pawn to h4 to prevent white breaking up the protection of the f- pawn (eg. 4. Bc4 h4! 5. d4 g5!)

[John Collins]

I no longer play competitively, but I knew Janos fairly well as I played for Mansfield CC for some years and often gave him a lift. He came to this country after the Hungarian uprising against Soviet rule in 1956; he told me that he crossed a river into Austria under fire, was in a refugee camp for a time and chose to come to the UK. He could remember the closing stages of the war in Budapest in 1945; his father worked for the railway, and the family, having been bombed out, were given an apartment seized from a Jewish owner by the Nazis containing a grand piano. Growing up under Soviet rule he was keen on sport in his youth, especially football and boxing, but developed an interest in chess as he grew older. He was a completely "natural" player and loved chaotic and wild positions. "I never read a chess book in my life", he would say, to which the retort came that it was quite obvious. A born optimist, he was always going to win any competition he entered. He was an inveterate gambler.
Perhaps because of his life experiences he suffered from mental health problems as he grew older; he was married and divorced, had a daughter, and visited Hungary after it became a free country, but found few people that he knew remained. He was one of the unforgettable personalities that one meets in chess, and I shall always remember him with amusement and affection. RIP Janos.

[Paul Macklin]

Hey now, there was a logic behind it! (to preemptively protect a g pawn arriving on g4 ( eg. 4.d4 g5 5. h4 g4 6. Ne5 d6… etc). Also in some lines to push the pawn to h4 to prevent white breaking up the protection of the f- pawn (eg. 4. Bc4 h4! 5. d4 g5!)
[/quote]

The Wagenbach System vs the King's Gambit, plus the man himself, was legendary when I first joined a chess club in Manchester in the late 70s. I was too young and I can't remember if he had a direct Manchester connection, but he was definitely well known. I seem to remember the 3...h5 had a reasonable reputation at the time, pre-computer. The main idea, as Richard mentions, seemed to be the set up with pawns on f4, g5 & h4. I've found this 1994 game of Neil McDonald's where Black achieves the said setup against Bc4, but NM dispatches quickly after the ...Qg4? blunder. https://lichess.org/CL8em8LI

[Roger de Coverly]

H I've found this 1994 game of Neil McDonald's where Black achieves the said setup against Bc4, but NM dispatches quickly after the ...Qg4? blunder. https://lichess.org/CL8em8LI

The lichess stockfish is adopting its usual snooty attitude to the Kings Gambit, considering 2. f4 an error. It doesn't think 3. .. h5 is much good either.

[Nick Burrows]

I seem to remember there was an article about the Wagenbach System in Chess Monthly in the late 90's.

[Jon Tait]

The Wagenbach System vs the King's Gambit, plus the man himself, was legendary when I first joined a chess club in Manchester in the late 70s.

I can believe that János himself was legendary but not 3...h5. He invented that in 1991.

I seem to remember there was an article about the Wagenbach System in Chess Monthly in the late 90's.

Mike Fox put a fair bit of stuff about it in his Chess Addict column. I wrote an article on it for Tim Harding's Chess Mail in 1998.

The lichess stockfish is adopting its usual snooty attitude to the Kings Gambit, considering 2. f4 an error. It doesn't think 3. .. h5 is much good either.

Yes, Stockfish has effectively refuted 3...h5 now. But we had 25+ years of fun with it before the engines became strong enough, and even now you'd need to play like an engine to see it through. Here's Stockfish itself winning with Black in a 2019 tournament:

[Event "CCC 9: The Gauntlet Final (10|5)"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2019.07.11"] [Round "180"] [White "Leelenstein"] [Black "Stockfish"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C34"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 h5 4. d4 g5 5. Bc4 h4 6. h3 d6 7. Nc3 c6 8. Qe2 Bg7 9. Bd2 a5 10. O-O-O b5 11. Bd3 Na6 12. Rhe1 Kf8 13. Qf2 Rh5 14. Kb1 Nb4 15. Be2 d5 16. a3 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Nd5 18. Bd3 b4 19. a4 Bf5 20. Bc1 Ra7 21. Qf1 Bxe4 22. Rxe4 Re7 23. Qe2 Qe8 24. Re1 Bf6 25. Ne5 Rh8 26. Bc4 Kg7 27. Bb3 Nh6 28. Qa6 Re6 29. Qxa5 Nf5 30. Rd1 Bd8 31. Qa6 Bb6 32. a5 Nxd4 33. Rexd4 Bxd4 34. Nxf7 Qxf7 35. Rxd4 Rd8 36. Qd3 Re1 37. Re4 Rxe4 38. Qxe4 Ra8 39. Qd4+ Qf6 40. Qc5 Qd8 41. Qxc6 Qxa5 42. c3 Ne7 43. Qd6 Ng6 44. Qd4+ Kh6 45. Qxb4 Qf5+ 46. Bc2 Ra1+ 47. Kxa1 Qxc2 48. Bxf4 gxf4 49. Qb7 Qd3 50. Ka2 f3 51. Qxf3 Qxf3 52. gxf3 Kg5 53. b4 Kf6 54. b5 Ke6 55. Kb3 Nf4 56. Kc4 Nxh3 57. Kd4 Nf4 58. Ke3 h3 59. Kd2 h2 60. b6 h1=Q 61. b7 Qb1 62. b8=R Qxb8 63. Kc2 Qb5 64. c4 Qxc4+ 65. Kd2 Ke5 66. Kd1 Qe2+ 67. Kc1 Nd3+ 68. Kb1 Qb2# 0-1

Absolutely classic Wagenbach play there.

[Richard James]

Mike Fox put a fair bit of stuff about it in his Chess Addict column.

We did, yes. Although, to be fair, the Wagenbach Gambit articles were written by Mike rather than me.

[Paul Macklin]

"I can believe that János himself was legendary but not 3...h5. He invented that in 1991."

Ah, memory playing tricks then - i was sure it was earlier i heard about it.

I seem to remember there was an article about the Wagenbach System in Chess Monthly in the late 90's.

According to an AI search, key places where it's discussed in detail include:

"John Shaw's book The King's Gambit (2013), which mentions it briefly as an attempt to seal the kingside but notes the time cost.

Jonathan Tait's A Disreputable Opening Repertoire (2022), which covers the Wagenbach Defence as one of its "fun" and offbeat lines.

Older online sources like the "Addicts' Corner" section (possibly linked to Chess Monthly or similar publications in the past), where analysis of the Wagenbach Gambit was shared, including contributions from Wagenbach himself."