One of his earliest international tournaments was the Kecskemét zonal qualifier of 1964, where he finished a creditable ninth equal, behind some of the finest players of the day (Georgi Tringov, Ludek Pachman, László Szabó, Florin Gheorghiu and Vlastimil Hort to name a few).

There were other promising results at Bussum 1969 and the Raach zonal the same year, but it was apparent that development was slow during this phase of his career, and he was unable to challenge for first place in strong competition.

Progress was eventually forthcoming between earning his International Master title in 1969 and becoming a Grandmaster in 1973, when the quality of his play improved rapidly, and this was largely due to his decision to turn professional around 1970.

As a result, he participated in a great many events and was able to register impressive victories at Bad Pyrmont 1970 (with Alexander Matanovic and Mato Damjanovic), Olot 1971, Málaga 1972, Montilla-Moriles 1972 and Dortmund 1973 (with Boris Spassky and Ulf Andersson).

Most recently, he has been involved in the promotion of German junior chess club Furstenfeldbruck, but also participated at the 2005 World Senior Chess Championship at Lignano Sabbiadoro, where he made a respectable top ten finish from a field of one hundred and forty.