Career
In 1904, Balla took 11th place in Coburg (14 Dictionary of Scientific Biography Congress, B tournament). In 1905, he took 10th place in Vienna. He shared the title with Zsigmond Barász at Budapest in 1911.
In 1916, he took 2nd in Budapest.
In 1918, he tied for 1st and 2nd in Budapest. In 1921, he took 5th in Budapest.
In 1925, he took 3rd in Budapest. In 1939, he tied for 1st and 2nd with László Szabó in Budapest (Dori Memorial).
He died in a traffic accident with a Soviet tank at the end of the Second World War.