Lajos Portisch, the legendary Hungarian chess player who was awarded the title of the Sportsman of the Nation, held an aria evening on the free day of the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad, on September 17 at the Petőfi Museum of Literature. The grandmaster's aria repertoire was accompanied by a unique painting, as Antti Favén's world-famous work The Chess Players was also on display.

In addition to his Olympic and National Athlete titles, the 87-year-old international grandmaster has won nine Hungarian championships and has come close to the individual world championship final on several occasions. He has sat at the chess board 260 times in 20 Chess Olympiads, scoring a total of 176.5 points. Last year, he was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame, along with Judit Polgár.

But Lajos Portisch, also known as the Hungarian Botvinnik, has another passion besides chess: singing. On September 17, the versatile, veteran athlete's unique heroic baritone voice was on display to a wider audience at an aria recital in the Károlyi Palace's Ceremonial Hall, the seat of the Petőfi Museum of Literature. The artist-player performed arias from operas by Mozart, Wagner, Puccini, Verdi, Leoncavallo, Erkel, Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti.

Lajos Portisch could not have sung in an unconventional setting: the imposing Ceremonial Hall of the Károlyi Palace is itself capable of evoking the world of cultural salons, but the unique evening was made complete by Antti Favén's painting The Chess Players. The artwork, a true rarity in the history of art and sport, was provided by the Nemes Gallery.

The painting is one of the most influential works of the Finnish artist's Paris period and also the largest chess-themed painting in the world. It depicts a scene from everyday life at the Café de la Régence in Paris. The café was already a centre of French chess in the 18th century, and it was a must for any chess player visiting the city. Through a friend, Antti Favén was introduced to the café by American chess master Frank Marshall, where he made sketches of visiting celebrities and sketched on paper the scenes around the chess tables in quick sketches. The Chess Players isFavén's summary composition, which he composed based on his decades of experience in the chess circle. The work features legendary players such as Siegbert Tarrasch, Frank Marshall, David Janowsky, Amos Burn and Ossip Bernstein.

The event was organized by the National Event Management Agency in cooperation with the Petőfi Museum of Literature and the Nemes Gallery, FIDE (International Chess Federation) and the Hungarian Chess Federation.

Photos: Mihály Nagy