Adventures in Card Play, published in 1979 and co-authored with Hugh Kelsey, introduced technical concepts such as the Backwash squeeze and the Entry-shifting squeeze. This 285-page text remains a definitive work on bridge strategy, cementing the reputation of its Hungarian author as a significant theorist in the field of card-play logic.
Academic and Professional Development
Born in Budapest in 1912, Géza Ottlik attended military schools in Kőszeg and Budapest before enrolling at Eötvös Loránd University. He pursued studies in mathematics and physics between 1931 and 1935. Following a tenure at the Hungarian radio, he served as secretary of the Hungarian PEN Club from 1945 until 1957. During periods when political circumstances restricted his ability to publish original works, he sustained his career by translating literature from English and German, including works by Thomas Mann, Stefan Zweig, and Charles Dickens.
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Ottlik published his first collection of stories, Swindlers, in 1941. His notable bibliography includes the 1957 novella Rooftops at Dawn and the 1959 novel School at the Frontier. Later publications comprised the essay and interview collection Prose in 1980, alongside novels such as The Valencia Enigma, Logbook, and Buda, the latter appearing posthumously in 1993. His contributions to Hungarian literature earned him several honors, including the József Attila Prize in 1981, the Déry Tibor Prize in 1984, and the Kossuth Prize in 1985.
Humanitarian Actions
Between October 1944 and February 1945, Ottlik and his wife, Gyöngyi Debreczeni, hid the writer István Vas in their home. They shared their food rations and provided shelter while navigating dangers posed by members of the Arrow Cross Party who searched the premises. Ottlik also successfully intervened to secure the release of Vas’s mother from arrest, preventing her deportation. For these actions, the couple received recognition as Righteous Among the Nations in 1998, eight years after Ottlik died in Budapest.
Fast facts
- Born: 1912, Budapest
- Died: 1990, Budapest
- Education: Eötvös Loránd University
- Primary Occupations: writer, mathematician, translator, journalist
- Key Publication: Adventures in Card Play (1979)
- Kossuth Prize: 1985
- Righteous Among the Nations: 1998
- Burial site: Farkasréti Cemetery
Questions readers ask
What subjects did Géza Ottlik study at university?
He studied mathematics and physics at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest between 1931 and 1935.
Which authors did he translate?
His translations included works by Charles Dickens, George Bernard Shaw, John Osborne, Evelyn Waugh, Thomas Mann, G. Keller, and Stefan Zweig.
Why was he recognized as Righteous Among the Nations?
He and his wife Gyöngyi Debreczeni hid the writer István Vas and secured the release of Vas's mother from arrest in 1944 and 1945.
Achievements
- Kossuth Prize — 1985
- József Attila Prize — 1981
- Déry Tibor Prize — 1984
- Righteous Among the Nations — 1989
- Worked as mathematician, writer and translator
- Educated at Eötvös Loránd University
