Hans Kmoch
Encyclopedia
Johann "Hans" Joseph Kmoch (July 25, 1894, Vienna
– February 13, 1973, New York City) was an Austrian-Dutch-American chess
International Master (1950), International Arbiter
(1951), and a chess journalist and author, for which he is best known.
1925 with 10/13 over a field which had 12 of the world's top 56 players; chessmetrics
.com rates this as a 2696 performance. At Budapest
1926, he shared 3rd-5th places with 9/15 behind winners Ernst Gruenfeld and Mario Monticelli
. Kmoch shared 2nd-3rd places at Kecskemét
1927 with 6/9 behind the winner, world chess champion Alexander Alekhine
. At Vienna
1928, Kmoch placed 6th with 8/13 as Richard Reti
won. Then at the Trebitsch
Memorial, Vienna 1928, Kmoch shared 3rd-6th places with 6/10, half a point behind Gruenfeld and Sandor Takacs
. At Brno
1928, Kmoch placed 3rd with 6/9, with Reti and Friedrich Saemisch winning. Kmoch won at Ebensee
1930 with 6/7, ahead of Erich Eliskases
.
Kmoch represented Austria three times in Chess Olympiad
s. Here are his detailed results, according to olimpbase.org. At London 1927
, he played board three and scored 6.5/12 (+4 =5 -3). At Hamburg 1930
, he was on board one, and scored 8/14 (+6 =4 -4), as Austria placed fourth. Then at Prague 1931
, Kmoch was on board three and scored 9/15 (+4 =10 -1); overall, he scored 23.5/41 (+14 =19 -8), for 57.3 per cent.
His last good tournament result was 2nd at Baarn
1941 with 5.5/7, behind Max Euwe
, and he stopped playing competitively after this.
1929 event.
In 1929 and 1934, Kmoch served as Alexander Alekhine
's second in his world championship matches against Efim Bogoljubov. Kmoch and his Jewish wife Trudy lived in the Netherlands from 1932 to 1947. Kmoch also served as Alekhine's second in the 1935 title match against Max Euwe
, and he wrote a book on the match. In 1941, he wrote a book on the best games of Akiba Rubinstein
.
After World War II ended, Kmoch and his wife moved to the United States, settling in New York City. Kmoch served as the Secretary and manager of the Manhattan Chess Club
, and directed tournaments. He also wrote for Chess Review
, then one of the leading American chess magazines.
In 1959, he wrote his most famous book, Pawn Power in Chess (German: Die Kunst der Bauernführung), which is notorious for its use of neologisms ("ram", "lever", "sweeper", "sealer", "quartgrip", "monochromy", etc.).
Vienna
Vienna 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...
– February 13, 1973, New York City) was an Austrian-Dutch-American 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...
International Master (1950), International Arbiter
International Arbiter
In chess, International Arbiter is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed capable of acting as arbiter in important chess matches . The title was established in 1951....
(1951), and a chess journalist and author, for which he is best known.
Playing career
Kmoch had most of his best competitive results between 1925 and 1931. He won at DebrecenDebrecen
Debrecen , is the second largest city in Hungary after Budapest. Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar county.- Name :...
1925 with 10/13 over a field which had 12 of the world's top 56 players; chessmetrics
Chessmetrics
Chessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. It is intended as an improvement over the Elo rating system.-Implementation:...
.com rates this as a 2696 performance. At Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
1926, he shared 3rd-5th places with 9/15 behind winners Ernst Gruenfeld and Mario Monticelli
Mario Monticelli
Mario Monticelli was an Italian chess grandmaster.In 1922, he won in Rome . In 1925, he won in Bologna. In 1926, Monticelli tied for 1st with Ernst Grünfeld in Budapest. In 1929, he took 11th in Budapest . In 1929, he tied for 4-5th in Barcelona...
. Kmoch shared 2nd-3rd places at Kecskemét
Kecskemét
Kecskemét is a city in the central part of Hungary. It is the 8th largest city of the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun.Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's third-largest city, Szeged, 86 kilometres from both of them and almost equal distance from the two...
1927 with 6/9 behind the winner, world chess champion Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander 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...
. At Vienna
Vienna
Vienna 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...
1928, Kmoch placed 6th with 8/13 as Richard Reti
Richard Réti
Réti 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...
won. Then at the Trebitsch
Trebitsch
Trebitsch:* German name of Třebíč** * Trebitsch , a German name of a quarter in Polkowice * German name of Trzebicz, a village in Drezdenko community in Poland- Family name :* Rabbi Abraham Trebitsch...
Memorial, Vienna 1928, Kmoch shared 3rd-6th places with 6/10, half a point behind Gruenfeld and Sandor Takacs
Sándor Takács
Sándor Takács was a Hungarian chess master, born Károly Sydlauer in Miskolc, Hungary.- Career :In 1922, he took 13th in Vienna . In 1924, he took 6th in Meran . In 1925, Takacs won, ahead of Lajos Steiner, in Budapest...
. At Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
1928, Kmoch placed 3rd with 6/9, with Reti and Friedrich Saemisch winning. Kmoch won at Ebensee
Ebensee
Ebensee is a market town in the Traunviertel region of the Austrian state of Upper Austria, located within the Salzkammergut Mountains at the southern end of the Traunsee. The regional capital Linz lies approximately to the north, nearest towns are Gmunden and Bad Ischl...
1930 with 6/7, ahead of Erich Eliskases
Erich Eliskases
Erich Gottlieb Eliskases was a chess Grandmaster of the 1930s and 1940s, who represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition....
.
Kmoch represented Austria three times in Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s. Here are his detailed results, according to olimpbase.org. At London 1927
1st Chess Olympiad
The 1st Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 18 and July 30, 1927, in London, United Kingdom...
, he played board three and scored 6.5/12 (+4 =5 -3). At Hamburg 1930
3rd Chess Olympiad
The 3rd Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 13 and July 27, 1930, in Hamburg, Germany...
, he was on board one, and scored 8/14 (+6 =4 -4), as Austria placed fourth. Then at Prague 1931
4th Chess Olympiad
The 4th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 11 and July 26, 1931, in Prague, Czechoslovakia...
, Kmoch was on board three and scored 9/15 (+4 =10 -1); overall, he scored 23.5/41 (+14 =19 -8), for 57.3 per cent.
His last good tournament result was 2nd at Baarn
Baarn
Baarn is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.-The municipality Baarn :The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge, Lage Vuursche.- The town Baarn :...
1941 with 5.5/7, behind Max Euwe
Max Euwe
Machgielis 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...
, and he stopped playing competitively after this.
Writing career
Kmoch had written for the magazine Wiener Schachzeitung from the early 1920s. His Die Kunst der Verteidigung (The Art of Defence) was the first chess book devoted to this subject. In 1930, Kmoch updated the Bilguier openings handbook, and wrote the tournament book for the CarlsbadCarlsbad 1929 chess tournament
The fourth international Carlsbad tournament was held in the Kurhaus Hotel Imperial. Twenty two great masters, under the direction of Viktor Tietz, played in the resort Karlsbad from July 30 to August 28, 1929. Only the world champion Alexander Alekhine did not partake but during the event he...
1929 event.
In 1929 and 1934, Kmoch served as Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander 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...
's second in his world championship matches against Efim Bogoljubov. Kmoch and his Jewish wife Trudy lived in the Netherlands from 1932 to 1947. Kmoch also served as Alekhine's second in the 1935 title match against Max Euwe
Max Euwe
Machgielis 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...
, and he wrote a book on the match. In 1941, he wrote a book on the best games of Akiba Rubinstein
Akiba Rubinstein
Akiba 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...
.
After World War II ended, Kmoch and his wife moved to the United States, settling in New York City. Kmoch served as the Secretary and manager of the Manhattan Chess Club
Manhattan Chess Club
The Manhattan Chess Club in Manhattan was the second-oldest chess club in the United States . The club was founded in 1877 and started with three dozen players; membership later reached into the hundreds before the club ended its existence in 2002...
, and directed tournaments. He also wrote for Chess Review
Chess Review
Chess Review is a U.S. chess magazine that was published from January 1933 until October 1969 . Until April 1941 it was called The Chess Review. Published in New York, it began on a schedule of at least ten issues a year but later became a monthly...
, then one of the leading American chess magazines.
In 1959, he wrote his most famous book, Pawn Power in Chess (German: Die Kunst der Bauernführung), which is notorious for its use of neologisms ("ram", "lever", "sweeper", "sealer", "quartgrip", "monochromy", etc.).