Ralf Lau


Ralf Lau, 1979 in Bensheim
Association	Germany Germany
Born	October 19, 1959 Bremen
title	International Master (1982) Grand Master (1986)
Current Elo rating	2442 (August 2020)
Best Elo rating	2555 (July 1987)
Tab at the FIDE (English)

Ralf Lau (born October 19, 1959 in Bremen ) is a German grandmaster in chess .

Ralf Lau began his chess career in his hometown of Bremen and was already a youth player in the Bundesliga for Delmenhorster SK , with whom he took part in the finals of the German team championship several times since the mid-1970s .

In the late 1970s he moved to Solingen SG 1868 , for which he played until 1993 and again from 1994 to 1998. With Solingen he became German team champion in 1980 , 1981 , 1987 , 1988 and 1997 and won the European Club Cup in 1990 . Lau was also active in the Bundesliga for SC Stadthagen (in the 1993/94 season), the Lübeck chess club from 1873 (in the 1999/2000 season) and SC Kreuzberg (from 2002 to 2006). In the Austrian state league and Bundesliga he played in the 1999/2000 season for SK Hietzing and from 2002 to 2004 for SV Tschaturanga .

Ralf Lau, Hans-Joachim Hecht and Stefan Kindermann , 1984 at the Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki

In the 1980s he began a professional playing career and had numerous successes: in 1982 he became international champion , in 1986 the World Chess Federation appointed him grandmaster at the congress in Dubai.

He won 1985 and 1986 in Budapest , came second in 1985 in New York City and 1986 in Solingen . In 1987 in Bad Neuenahr he was tied with Vlastimil Hort and was (after play-off and evaluation) second in the German championship . At the 1989 championship in Bad Neuenahr he came third, behind Hort and Schmittdiel . Already in 1978 Lau took second place behind Ludek Pachmann at the German championship in Bad Neuenahr.

In 1984 , 1986 and 1988 he played for the Federal Republic of Germany at the Chess Olympiad and achieved a clearly positive result balance (11 wins, 7 draws , 5 defeats), he also took part in the 1985 World Team Championship and the 1983 European Team Championship.

Lau ended his professional career in the mid-1990s and took up residence in the Republic of Austria. At FIDE he is listed as inactive because he has not played a rated game since the Upper Austrian Regional League in the 2011/12 season.