# Gerardo Budowski

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{{Short description|German-Venezuelan chess player (1925–2014)}}
'''Gerardo (Gert) Budowski''' (10 June 1925 – 8 October 2014) was a German–Venezuelan [chess](/source/chess) master.

He was born in [Berlin](/source/Berlin) into a family with a love of chess. His mother drew a game with [José Raúl Capablanca](/source/Jos%C3%A9_Ra%C3%BAl_Capablanca) in his simultaneous exhibition in October 1925 in Berlin. His father had a friendly relationship with [Alexander Alekhine](/source/Alexander_Alekhine) who gave paid chess lessons to the [child prodigy](/source/child_prodigy) in Paris. The Jewish family left Nazi Germany in 1933 for France, and then - during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) - emigrated to [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela), where Gert changed his name to Gerardo and became a Venezuelan citizen in the early 1950s. From 1952, he resided in [Costa Rica](/source/Costa_Rica).

Dr. Budowski graduated in 1948 as an agricultural engineer from the Universidad Central in [Caracas](/source/Caracas), Venezuela, then earned his master's degree at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) in [Turrialba](/source/Turrialba_(canton)), Costa Rica. In 1962, he obtained his doctoral degree in Forestry from [Yale University](/source/Yale_University). He was Director General of IUCN ([International Union for Conservation of Nature](/source/International_Union_for_Conservation_of_Nature)) from 1970 to 1976. From 1980, Dr. Budowski was instrumental in the development of the [University for Peace](/source/University_for_Peace), not only did he start the Environmental programme but he also served in positions such as Interim Rector and Vice-Rector.  In 2008, he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus for his vision in the relation between peace and the environment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.upeace.org/news/activity.cfm?id_activity=241&actual=0 |title=The University for Peace - Admissions |publisher=Upeace.org |date= |accessdate=2012-02-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213141622/http://www.upeace.org/news/activity.cfm?id_activity=241&actual=0 |archive-date=2012-02-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

He won the ''[Campeón Absoluto de Venezuela](/source/Venezuelan_Chess_Championship)'' title 6-0 by beating Julio García (''Campeón Nacional de Venezuela'') in 1951.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zeitnot.com.ve/Campeones_de_Venezuela.htm |title=Los Campeones Nacionales De Venezuela |publisher=Zeitnot.com.ve |accessdate=2012-02-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528081810/http://www.zeitnot.com.ve/Campeones_de_Venezuela.htm |archivedate=2014-05-28 }}</ref> He also participated in other championships in Costa Rica in the 1950s. 
He won Costa Rican team championship, playing for Turrialba, in 1965.<ref>[http://www.ajedrezturrialba.8m.net/historia.html ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080331090954/http://www.ajedrezturrialba.8m.net/historia.html |date=March 31, 2008 }}</ref>  
He represented Venezuela in the [Chess Olympiad](/source/Chess_Olympiad) at Lugano 1968.<ref>[http://www.olimpbase.org/1968/1968id01.html ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021041214/http://www.olimpbase.org/1968/1968id01.html |date=October 21, 2008 }}</ref>

Dr. Budowski died of natural causes on October 8, 2014 in [San José, Costa Rica](/source/San_Jos%C3%A9%2C_Costa_Rica).<ref>{{cite web|title=Dr. Gerardo Budowski, Professor Emeritus|url=https://www.upeace.org/news/gerardo-budowski-professor-emeritus_2014-10-10|publisher=University for Peace|accessdate=7 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401034542/http://www.upeace.org/news/gerardo-budowski-professor-emeritus_2014-10-10|archive-date=1 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1J_2MLm9v0 Dr. Gerardo Budowski's oral biography]
*[http://heritageechecsfra.free.fr/budowski.htm Gerardo (Gert) Budowski at Héritage des échecs français]
*[http://www.365chess.com/players/G._Budowski Gerardo Budowski at 365Chess.com]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Budowski, Gerardo}}
Category:1925 births
Category:2014 deaths
Category:Emigrants from Nazi Germany
Category:Immigrants to Venezuela
Category:Venezuelan chess players
Category:Costa Rican chess players
Category:Chess players from Berlin
Category:Central University of Venezuela alumni
Category:Yale University alumni
Category:Costa Rican people of German descent
Category:Immigrants to Costa Rica
Category:People associated with the International Union for Conservation of Nature
Category:Chess Olympiad competitors
Category:20th-century German chess players
Category:German emigrants to France

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gerardo Budowski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerardo_Budowski) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerardo_Budowski?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.