Maurice Raichenbach
Encyclopedia
Maurice RaichenbachMaurice Raichenbach (born near Warsaw
, Poland
on May 12, 1915; died in Hauts-de-Seine
, France
on March 1, 1998) was a Polish-born French draughts
champion. His early childhood was spent in the area around Warsaw, but when he was a boy his mother died and his father moved them to France.
He started at age 10 and at 14 was the champion of "Seine draughts club." At eighteen he became Draughts World Championship
, which made him the youngest world champion at International draughts
up to that point in history and one of the youngest ever. Hence he was sometimes referred to as "The Mozart of the Checkerboard." He retained the title until 1938. During the World War II
he served the French army as a naturalized citizen. After France's defeat he went to the South of France and became a smuggler. His being Jewish was not known at this time and may have spared him a worse fate from the Nazis.
After the war he retired from professional draughts at thirty, although he still played "friendly" games for years afterward. His more lasting, if less notable, career was in the clothing business and at one time he had 200 employees. He died in 1998.
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
on May 12, 1915; died in Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine is designated number 92 of the 101 départements in France. It is part of the Île-de-France region, and covers the western inner suburbs of Paris...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on March 1, 1998) was a Polish-born French draughts
Draughts
Draughts is a group of abstract strategy board games between two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over the enemy's pieces. Draughts developed from alquerque...
champion. His early childhood was spent in the area around Warsaw, but when he was a boy his mother died and his father moved them to France.
He started at age 10 and at 14 was the champion of "Seine draughts club." At eighteen he became Draughts World Championship
Draughts World Championship
The Draughts World Championship is the world championship in draughts, organised by the World Draughts Federation . The following are the winners in men's and women's competitions.- Men's :-Women's:...
, which made him the youngest world champion at International draughts
International draughts
International draughts is a board game, one of the variants of draughts. It is played on a 10×10 board with alternatingly dark and light squares, of which only the 50 dark ones are used. There are two players on opposite sides, with 20 pieces each, light for one player and dark for the other...
up to that point in history and one of the youngest ever. Hence he was sometimes referred to as "The Mozart of the Checkerboard." He retained the title until 1938. During the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he served the French army as a naturalized citizen. After France's defeat he went to the South of France and became a smuggler. His being Jewish was not known at this time and may have spared him a worse fate from the Nazis.
After the war he retired from professional draughts at thirty, although he still played "friendly" games for years afterward. His more lasting, if less notable, career was in the clothing business and at one time he had 200 employees. He died in 1998.