At the Club Anniversary of the Cologne CC

by Michael Negele

This year the Cologne Chess Club Dr. Lasker 1861 celebrated his 150th club anniversary. Unfortunately there was no new commemorative publication on this occasion (by now - maybe Manfred Herborth will still cope with it?), but for the weekend of June 18th and 19th the venerable club had arranged a wonderful anniversary event in the club rooms at the TAGUNGS- UND GÄSTEHAUS ST. GEORG in South Cologne. The invitation rapid tournament with a barbecue in the evening was really amusing for all participants, and I hope the large audience has told the like about my jubilee lecture on Emanuel Lasker.
For me it was a pure pleasure to communicate chattily some chess history in the presence of so much chess (expert) knowledge.
Therefore I make my talk available to the public here ...
Warum Lasker bedeutend bleibt ... [Why Lasker remains eminent...] (as PDF / 8.2 MB)
... the pictures may reflect the fantastic atmosphere.

You will find a tournament report by Andreas Decker (in German; with a linked photo gallery) on the website of the Schachfreunde Köln-Mülheim e.V., the tournament results are listed at the club site.

The old commemorative publications of the KSK from 1911 and 1936 are collector's items much sought-after today.
The old commemorative publications of the KSK from 1911 and 1936 are collector's items much sought-after today.

I will allow myself a short excursus to the club and his a little complicated amalgamation history:
The foundation of the Cologne Chess Club 1861 is well documented by the existing commemorative publications. But it was unclear how and when the "Dr. Lasker" was integrated into the club name. This happened unambiguously not until 1952 with the amalgamation of Köln-Nord (probably founded 1933 in Köln-Merheim) and "Dr. Lasker" Köln (founded 1948 by some chess enthusiasts in Köln-Riehl) to the chess club Dr. Lasker Köln-Nord which in 1960 was amalgamated with the Cologne Chess Club 1861.

  • At the opening Manfred Herborth, former chairman of the club gave a witty historical review of 150 years of club history.
  • The tournament winner Thomas Henrichs (on the right) vs Oswald Gutt
  • Andreas Hören vs Stefan Corssen
  • Michael Negele with his jubilee lecture
  • Vlastimil Hort ...
  • ... who played in the tournament as well - here against Svetlin Mladenov: the second vs the third.
  • In the jubilee mood: Michael Negele and Vlastimil Hort
  • Gregor Strick - at the club website he has (together with Manfred Herborth) dealt with chess history, see Emanuel Lasker and Abriss der Vereinsgeschichte.

But also my own "chess past" was revived at this meeting with so many kind people:
So since my early Treves days I am already acquainted with the "Koblenzer" Dietmar Krebs and the "Mayener" Dieter Kurka.

  • Dietmar Krebs and Dieter Kurka
  • Dietmar Krebs with Martin Simon
  • Martin Simon and Thomas Henrichs
  • Martin Simon with the massive Lasker biography: This copy with all signatures of the attendees (and the tournament officials, as well as some authors) will soon come up for auction, the proceeds will be for the benefit of the club.

Michael Negele, 02/08/2011

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