Interview with Herbert Bastian about the book Chapais - The revolutionary chess manuscript by Gaspard Monge

Herbert Bastian - Chapais - Cover
Herbert Bastian - Chapais - Cover

A. Herbert Bastian: Who is the author?

Born in 1952, the author studied mathematics and physics up to the 2nd state examination after leaving school and completing his military service, then worked as a research assistant in the department of experimental physics and subsequently as a teacher at a comprehensive school.

Stages as a chess player: German Cup Winner 1976, 20 times Saarland Champion, 27 participations in the German Individual Championship, 10 years in the Bundesliga for the Munich Chess Club of 1836, holder of an A-coach licence since 1986, International Master since 2005, 14 appearances as a national player.

Positions as an official: President of the Saarland Chess Association from 1992 to 2016, spokesperson for the regional associations in the German Chess Federation from 2004-2011, President of the German Chess Federation from 2011-2017, Honorary President since 2023, Vice President of FIDE from 2014-2018, currently DSB Commissioner for Franco-German Relations. 2017 Awarded the Badge of Honour of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, for the first time to a chess athlete.

Publications (selection): La France et son apport dans le jeu d'échecs en Europe (2022), together with Prof. Dr Frank Hoffmeister and Jean-Olivier Leconte, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Fédération Française des Échecs.

B. Siegfried Schönle:

The interviewer is a collector of chess scenes in German literature and is interested in the cultural history of the game.

Read more …

FIDE president Folke Rogard by Henrik Malm Lindberg

Henrik Malm Lindberg - FIDE President Folke Rogard - cover
Henrik Malm Lindberg - FIDE President Folke Rogard - cover

During the FIDE olympiad in Budapest and the centenary celebration of the world chess organisation, our Swedish member Henrik Malm Lindberg presented his recent biography of his countryman Folke Rogard (1899-1973) who held the presidency of FIDE from 1949 to 1970.

Henrik says about his new book:

It has puzzled me how Folke Rogard managed to fade into oblivion for the vast majority of those active in the chess world. The more I got to know him during my many long days in various archives, the more dimensions of his work emerged. The image of him—the precocious student, lawyer, businessman, family man, and, of course, chess president—has many nuances. My book had to focus primarily on the later aspects of his career, specifically his role as a chess organizer in Sweden and internationally. FIDE President Rogard had to deal with the Cold War during his international career. Although I am a trained economic historian, I probably did not realise until quite late in my writing the full extent of how this low-intensity war shaped chess in the post-war period. Chess became a kind of theatre of war—a way for the superpowers to prove their superiority on the board or the superiority of their own social system.

Read more …

Arnaud Berman – Chess artist

Marcel Berman sitting on the top right, French championship, Rouen 1930
Marcel Berman sitting on the top right, French championship, Rouen 1930

My name is Arnaud Berman, I am the great grandson of Marcel Berman, president of the French Federation of Chess (FFE) from 1955 to 1958, and vice president of FIDE afterwards. Marcel Berman also wrote the lyrics of FIDE anthem. He was an excellent friend of Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Botvinnik and Folke Rogard.

Read more …

Frei Schach! Free Chess!

Frei Schach! - October 1929
Frei Schach! - October 1929

Abstract and text (in German) proposed by Bernd-Peter Lange

Abstract

The tension between the game of chess as strictly regulated by rules and the idea of freedom can be traced in three radical examples separated by media and different periods of the twentieth century.

The first emphatic employment of the concept of freedom is in the title of a chess journal issued by the Communist opposition of the central German working-class chess organization at the end of the Weimar Republic.

In the journal Frei Schach! the radical subsection of "Red Sports Unity” asserts its claim for supremacy, demanding revolutionary goals in the class struggle.

Read more …

Chess History & Literature Society - Frank Hoffmeister

Frank Hoffmeister, Budapest 2024
Frank Hoffmeister, Budapest 2024

An interview with Georges Bertola, editor-in-chief of “Europe Echecs” magazine and chess historian.

Frank Hoffmeister is currently President of the “Chess History & Literature Society”, which was originally founded as the Ken Whyld Association. At the general meeting held in Budapest on 13 and 14 September, we had the opportunity to get to know each other better.

Georges Bertola: First of all, what is the difference between the current "Chess History & Literature Society" and the former "Ken Whyld Association", and what distinguishes it from "Chess Collectors International"?

Frank Hoffmeister: The name “Ken Whyld Association” comes from the English historian Ken Whyld, who died in 2003, who had gathered a few friends around him to research the history of chess (Ken Whyld is notably the co-author, with David Hooper, of the reference work The Oxford Companion to Chess). After his death, his friends decided to continue his work by coming together in an association intended to become a meeting and exchange circle and to broaden his horizons with a new name “Chess History & Literature Society”. The idea is to attract members who are not focused solely on the United Kingdom, but whose interest in history corresponds to a global vision of the world of chess.

“Chess Collectors International” brings together people who like to collect books, chess boards, pieces, manuscripts, etc. to facilitate exchanges or gather information.

Our association “Chess History & Literature Society” is rather interested in research to treat different subjects in a concrete way of the history of chess. For example, this year, at our general meeting in Budapest, we concentrated on the history of FIDE.

Read more …

The accession of Germany and the Soviet Union to FIDE

Stefan Löffler and Frank Hoffmeister
Stefan Löffler and Frank Hoffmeister

Frank Hoffmeister, President of the CH&LS Association, retraced the history of German and USSR membership of FIDE.
Two countries with a tumultuous history in the 20th century, a tumult that is reflected in their relations with FIDE.

Here is an extract from the presentation text for the General Meeting on 13 and 14 September 2024.

Read more …

Nimzowitsch's handwritten letter

Claes Løfgren and Frank Hoffmeister
Claes Løfgren and Frank Hoffmeister

This General Meeting is also an opportunity for our members to present documents from their collections. Claes Løfgren, for example, presented a remarkable handwritten letter from Aaron Nimzowitsch and put it into context. As you can see, part of the document is missing, and Claes explained to me that it is likely that Nimzowitsch's autograph was cut out before the letter was acquired.

Here is an extract (corrected - the game played is Nimzowitsch's) from the presentation text for the General Meeting on 13 and 14 September 2024.

Read more …

The pre-war Olympiads

Matthias Johansson and Frank Hoffmeister
Matthias Johansson and Frank Hoffmeister

The second lecture of the CH&LS General Meeting was given by Matthias Johansson on the subject of the Chess Olympiads before the Second World War. As we can see, these Olympiads were strongly influenced by the political events of this troubled period in history.

Here is an extract from the presentation text for the General Meeting on 13 and 14 September 2024.

Read more …

The creation of FIDE in Paris in 1924

Dominique Thimognier and Frank Hoffmeister
Dominique Thimognier and Frank Hoffmeister

Here is the support for the 1st conference given in Budapest as part of the CH&LS General Assembly.

Dominique Thimognier presents an in-depth study of the creation of FIDE in 1924.
Dominique focuses in particular on the various protagonists of this creation, and he has uncovered some previously unpublished documents.
This work complements my series of articles on this website about events in Paris in 1924.

Here is an extract from the presentation text for the General Meeting on 13 and 14 September 2024.

Read more …

Annual Meeting of the Chess History and Literature Society in Budapest (13-14 September 2024)

Jean-Olivier Leconte and Frank Hoffmeister prepare the technology
Jean-Olivier Leconte and Frank Hoffmeister prepare the technology

On Friday 13 September 2024, the CH&LS held its annual meeting in Budapest in parallel to the 45th Chess Olympiad. Upon invitation of the Hungarian Chess Federation, roughly 20 members and guests convened at the historic premises of host. Members that could not make it to the Hungarian Capital in person, could follow the deliberations online.

Established in 1921, the Hungarian Chess Federation also became a founding member of the Word Chess Federation (FIDE) in 1924. The marvellous meetings rooms paid tribute to the long tradition in various ways. Next to an impressive amount of trophies gained in international tournaments, the Federation is also equipped by 30 wooden tournament tables, in which already the former Socialist Prime Minister, Kadar, used to play when he trolled over to Falk Utca 10, not far away from the marvellous Parliament building. The Secretary-General, IM Ivan Sipos opened the conference with a welcome speech. Paying tribute to the 100-years jubilee of FIDE, the CH&LS focussed its deliberations on the role of FIDE for international chess.

Read more …