Friedrich Sämisch
Encyclopedia
Friedrich Sämisch (September 20, 1896, Charlottenburg
– August 16, 1975, Berlin) was a German chess
grandmaster
(1950).
In 1922 he won a match in Berlin against Réti (+ 4 – 1 = 3).
Perhaps his most famous game is his loss to Nimzowitsch at Copenhagen 1923 in the Immortal Zugzwang Game
. He also played many beautiful games though, one of them being his win against Grünfeld at Carlsbad
1929, which won a brilliancy prize. In the same tournament he also won against Capablanca
. The great Cuban lost a piece in the opening but did not resign, which usually happens in such cases in grandmaster games, but to no avail, this disadvantage being too much also for a player of his class.
At the age of 73 Sämisch played a tournament in memoriam of Adolf Anderssen
in Büsum
, Germany, and another tournament in Linköping
, Sweden, but lost all games in both events (fifteen in the former and thirteen in the latter) on time control
.
theory
. Two major opening lines are named after him:
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
– August 16, 1975, Berlin) was a German chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
(1950).
Main results
- 2nd at Berlin 1920
- 1st at ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria in 1921 (champion of the first, although unofficial, Austrian Chess ChampionshipAustrian Chess ChampionshipThe Austrian Chess Championship is held by the Austrian Chess Federation .For its Correspondence chess subdivision, see ICCF Austria.-Unofficial Championships:-Official Championships:...
), above EuweMax EuweMachgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...
, BreyerGyula BreyerGyula Breyer was a Hungarian chess player. He was a leading member of the hypermodern school of chess theory, which favored controlling the center with pressure from the flanks....
, GrünfeldErnst Grünfeld----Ernst Franz Grünfeld , an Austrian grandmaster and writer specializing in opening theory, was for a brief period after the First World War one of the strongest chess players in the world....
and TartakowerSavielly TartakowerKsawery Tartakower was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. He was also a leading chess journalist of the 1920s and 30s... - 2nd at HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
1921 - equal 2nd with Tartakower, after Nimzowitsch, at CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
1923 - 3rd at Baden-BadenBaden-BadenBaden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe...
1925, after Alexander AlekhineAlexander AlekhineAlexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
and Akiba RubinsteinAkiba RubinsteinAkiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein was a famous Polish chess Grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th century. He was scheduled to play a match with Emanuel Lasker for the world championship in 1914, but it was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War I... - equal 1st with sir George ThomasGeorge Alan ThomasSir George Alan Thomas, Bart. was a British badminton, tennis and chess player. He was twice British Chess Champion and a 21-time All-England Badminton champion. He also played in the semi-finals of the men's tennis doubles at Wimbledon in 1911...
at SpaSpaThe term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
, Belgium, 1926 - 1st at DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
1928, above RétiRichard RétiRéti composed one of the most famous chess studies, shown in this diagram. It was published in Ostrauer Morgenzeitung 4 December 1921. It seems impossible for the white king to catch the advanced black pawn, while the white pawn can be easily stopped by the black king...
, JohnerPaul JohnerPaul Johner was a Swiss chess master.A noted musician , elder brother of Hans Johner, he won the Swiss Championship in 1907 , 1908 , 1925, 1928 , 1930 and 1932 .He played in many international tournaments...
and Bogoljubov - equal 1st with Réti at BrünnBrunnBrunn or Brünn may refer to:Places* Brünn, the German form of the Czech city Brno* Brunn, Upper Palatinate, a town in Bavaria, Germany* Brunn, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a municipality in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany...
1928 - 1st at Swinemünde 1930
In 1922 he won a match in Berlin against Réti (+ 4 – 1 = 3).
Perhaps his most famous game is his loss to Nimzowitsch at Copenhagen 1923 in the Immortal Zugzwang Game
Immortal Zugzwang game
The Immortal Zugzwang Game is a chess game between Friedrich Saemisch and Aron Nimzowitsch, played in Copenhagen 1923. It gained its name because the final position is sometimes considered a rare instance of zugzwang occurring in the middlegame...
. He also played many beautiful games though, one of them being his win against Grünfeld at Carlsbad
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
1929, which won a brilliancy prize. In the same tournament he also won against Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
. The great Cuban lost a piece in the opening but did not resign, which usually happens in such cases in grandmaster games, but to no avail, this disadvantage being too much also for a player of his class.
At the age of 73 Sämisch played a tournament in memoriam of Adolf Anderssen
Adolf Anderssen
Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was a German chess master. He is considered to have been the world's leading chess player in the 1850s and 1860s...
in Büsum
Büsum
Büsum is a fishing and tourist town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the North Sea coast, approx. 18 km southwest of Heide....
, Germany, and another tournament in Linköping
Linköping
Linköping is a city in southern middle Sweden, with 104 232 inhabitants in 2010. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality with 146 736 inhabitants and the capital of Östergötland County...
, Sweden, but lost all games in both events (fifteen in the former and thirteen in the latter) on time control
Time control
A time control is a mechanism in the tournament play of almost all two-player board games so that each round of the match can finish in a timely way and the tournament can proceed. Time controls are typically enforced by means of a game clock...
.
Contributions to opening theory
Sämisch is today remembered primarily for his contributions to openingChess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
theory
Chess theory
The game of chess is commonly divided into three phases: the opening, middlegame, and endgame. As to each of these phases, especially the opening and endgame, there is a large body of theory as how the game should be played...
. Two major opening lines are named after him:
- a variation of the King's Indian: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3
- a variation of the Nimzo-Indian: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3