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August 2024
„Der Schach-Verein Bitterfeld“ and much more!
by Siegfried Schönle [Original article in German is here. Translation with DeepL.com (free version)]
Bitterfeld - who doesn't know this place name in East and West Germany and associate it above all with brown coal, the chemical industry, the so-called “Bitterfeld Way” in literature, environmental pollution and now also
- chess on 358 pages!
I would like to contradict a possible reaction to the name Schach-Verein Bitterfeld (Bitterfeld Chess Club) right at the beginning and point out what the reader of this book can expect in terms of “much more”. But first things first!
A wealth and variety of problem chess from the Bitterfelder Tageblatt, expertly explained by Dr. Ralf Jürgen Binnewirtz in his foreword. Ralf J. Binnewirtz also checked the individual “lightweights” for their coherence. In the appendix, p. 333ff, he provides a “historical excursus on the Chinese family” in order to gain “clarity on the development of the Chinese pieces in problem chess”. The reason for his reflections was the discovery of the “Paoma” article by Prof. Dr. P. Seyferth from Bitterfeld in 1936.
Problem chess fans should be delighted.
I would like to emphasize two things from the foreword by the author, Konrad Reiß. He has rightly worked through the life and chess history of the Jewish merchant Max Nussbaum in this chronology (pp. 169-177 and others) and, this should also be emphasized, he has formulated it in an appropriate and source-oriented manner in terms of chess and history. As Konrad Reiß's research has shown, Max Nussbaum was a co-founder of the Bitterfeld chess club, was excluded from the board in 1933 like thousands of other Jews and was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944.
The reader will be interested!
Anniversary book on the founding of the DSB after 150 years
In 2027, the German Chess Federation will celebrate its 150th anniversary. As in the previous anniversary years, an anniversary book is to be published. Herbert Bastian reports on the preparations for this:
Jubiläumsbuch zur Gründung des DSB nach 150 Jahren (German language)
René Wukits 20.5.1972 – 20.7.2024
From Austria we have received the sad news that our friend and fellow CH&LS member René Wukits passed away on July 20th, only 52 years old.
See also: Wiener Schachverband