Milan Vidmar
Encyclopedia
Milan Vidmar was a Slovene electrical engineer, chess player
, chess theorist
, philosopher, and writer
. He was a specialist in power
transformer
s and transmission
of electric current
.
, Austria-Hungary
(now in Slovenia
). He began to study mechanical engineering
in 1902, and he graduated in 1907 at the University of Vienna
. He got his doctor's degree
in 1911 from the Technical faculty in Vienna. The study of electrical engineering
at Technical faculty began not until 1904, so Vidmar had to take special examinations of the field basics. He was a professor at the University of Ljubljana
, a member of the Slovene Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the founder of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Between 1928 and 1929 he was the 10th Chancellor of the University of Ljubljana. In 1948 he established the Institute of Electrotechnics that now bears his name.
Vidmar was also a top-class chess player, probably one of the top half dozen players in the world from 1911 to 1929, all while remaining an amateur. He was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1950.
His successes include high places at some of the top chess tournaments of his time, e.g. sixth at Carlsbad 1907
, third at Prague 1908
, first at Gothenburg 1909 (the 7th Nordic Chess Championship
), second at San Sebastián 1911
with Akiba Rubinstein
behind José Raúl Capablanca
, first at Budapest
1912, second at Mannheim 1914
, first at Vienna
and Berlin
in 1918, second at Košice
1928, third at London
1922, shared first with Alexander Alekhine
at Hastings 1925/26
, third at Semmering
1926, fourth at New York 1927
, fourth at London 1927, shared fifth at Carlsbad 1929
, tied for 4-7th at Bled 1931
, tied for 3-6th at Stuttgart
1939, second behind Max Euwe
at Budapest 1940, first at Basel
1952. The Slovene Chess Federation organizes an international chess grandmaster tournament named the Milan Vidmar memorial.
http://www.sah-zveza.si/mv12/mvarc.html
Vidmar became an arbiter, and was chief referee for the 1948 World Chess Championship
in The Hague
/Moscow
.
Vidmar wrote several books on chess, including Pol stoletja ob šahovnici (Half a century at the chessboard) (Ljubljana 1951), Šah (Chess), Razgovori o šahu z začetnikom (Conversations on chess with a beginner), and, in German
, Goldene Schachzeiten (The Golden Times of Chess) and others Transformatorji (Transformers), Problemi prenosa električne energije (Problems of electric energy transmission), Pogovori o elektrotehniki (Talkings about electrotechnics), Med Evropo in Ameriko (Between Europe and America), Moj pogled na svet (My view of the World), Oslovski most (Pons asinorum) (Merkur, Ljubljana 1936).
His younger brother, Josip Vidmar
, was an influential Slovenian literary critic and public intellectual; his son, Milan Vidmar, Jr.
was an International Master of 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...
, chess theorist
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...
, philosopher, and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. He was a specialist in power
Electric power
Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations...
transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
s and transmission
Transmission (telecommunications)
Transmission, in telecommunications, is the process of sending, propagating and receiving an analogue or digital information signal over a physical point-to-point or point-to-multipoint transmission medium, either wired, optical fiber or wireless...
of electric current
Electric current
Electric current is a flow of electric charge through a medium.This charge is typically carried by moving electrons in a conductor such as wire...
.
Biography
He was born in a middle class family in LjubljanaLjubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
(now in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
). He began to study mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
in 1902, and he graduated in 1907 at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. He got his doctor's degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in 1911 from the Technical faculty in Vienna. The study of electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
at Technical faculty began not until 1904, so Vidmar had to take special examinations of the field basics. He was a professor at the University of Ljubljana
University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. With 64,000 enrolled graduate and postgraduate students, it is among the largest universities in Europe.-Beginnings:...
, a member of the Slovene Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the founder of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Between 1928 and 1929 he was the 10th Chancellor of the University of Ljubljana. In 1948 he established the Institute of Electrotechnics that now bears his name.
Vidmar was also a top-class chess player, probably one of the top half dozen players in the world from 1911 to 1929, all while remaining an amateur. He was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1950.
His successes include high places at some of the top chess tournaments of his time, e.g. sixth at Carlsbad 1907
Carlsbad 1907 chess tournament
The first international chess tournament in Carlsbad was held in the magnificent Kaiserbad . Twenty one great masters, under the direction of Viktor Tietz, played in the Kurhaus Hotel Imperial from August 20 to September 17, 1907.The results and standings:...
, third at Prague 1908
Prague 1908 chess tournament
The first International Prague Chess Tournament was held in honour of the sixtieth anniversary of Franz Joseph I of Austria's elevation as monarch to the Austria-Hungary Empire. Twenty great masters played in the pavilion of the Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Prague, from May 17 to June 13,...
, first at Gothenburg 1909 (the 7th Nordic Chess Championship
Nordic Chess Championship
The first Nordic Chess Championship took place in Stockholm in 1897.-Winners:The winners in the Nordic Championship in 1934 and 1936, Aron Nimzowitsch and Erik Lundin, got the Nordiske kongresmestre title, as the champion 1930, Erik Andersen, defended his title with 3-3 against Gideon Ståhlberg at...
), second at San Sebastián 1911
San Sebastian chess tournament
-San Sebastian 1911:The tournament was held from February 20 to March 17, 1911. The event was organized by Jacques Mieses, who insisted that all of the expenses of the masters were paid....
with 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...
behind José Raúl 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...
, first 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...
1912, second at Mannheim 1914
Mannheim 1914 chess tournament
The 19th DSB Congress , comprising several tournaments, began on20 July 1914 in Mannheim. Germany declared war on Russia and on France , Britain joining in the next day...
, first 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...
and Berlin
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...
in 1918, second at Košice
Košice
Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary...
1928, third at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
1922, shared first with 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 Hastings 1925/26
Hastings International Chess Congress
The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
, third at Semmering
Semmering
For the town of the same name, see Semmering, Austria.Semmering is a mountain pass in the Eastern Northern Limestone Alps connecting Lower Austria and Styria, between which it forms a natural border.-Location:...
1926, fourth at New York 1927
New York 1927 chess tournament
The New York 1927 chess tournament was an elite chess tournament held in New York City from February 19 to March 23, 1927. Play was held in the magnificent surroundings of the Trade Banquet Hall of the Hotel, Manhattan Square. Julius Finn was the president of the event. The prizes were on lavish...
, fourth at London 1927, shared fifth at Carlsbad 1929
Carlsbad 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...
, tied for 4-7th at Bled 1931
Bled 1931 chess tournament
Milan Vidmar proposed the major chess tournament that became Bled 1931. His idea was well received in both Ljubljana and the nearby health resort of Bled...
, tied for 3-6th at Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
1939, second 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...
at Budapest 1940, first at Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
1952. The Slovene Chess Federation organizes an international chess grandmaster tournament named the Milan Vidmar memorial.
http://www.sah-zveza.si/mv12/mvarc.html
Vidmar became an arbiter, and was chief referee for the 1948 World Chess Championship
World Chess Championship 1948
The 1948 World Chess Championship was a tournament played to determine a new World Chess Champion following the death of the previous champion Alexander Alekhine in 1946. The tournament marked the passing of control of the championship title to FIDE, the International Chess Federation which had...
in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
/Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
Vidmar wrote several books on chess, including Pol stoletja ob šahovnici (Half a century at the chessboard) (Ljubljana 1951), Šah (Chess), Razgovori o šahu z začetnikom (Conversations on chess with a beginner), and, in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Goldene Schachzeiten (The Golden Times of Chess) and others Transformatorji (Transformers), Problemi prenosa električne energije (Problems of electric energy transmission), Pogovori o elektrotehniki (Talkings about electrotechnics), Med Evropo in Ameriko (Between Europe and America), Moj pogled na svet (My view of the World), Oslovski most (Pons asinorum) (Merkur, Ljubljana 1936).
His younger brother, Josip Vidmar
Josip Vidmar
Josip Vidmar was a prominent Slovenian literary critic and essayist. Vidmar is remembered because of his role in the Slovenian resistance during World War II, and for his influence in the cultural policies of the Titoist regime in Slovenia from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s.He was born in...
, was an influential Slovenian literary critic and public intellectual; his son, Milan Vidmar, Jr.
Milan Vidmar, Jr.
Milan Vidmar, Junior was a Slovenian chess master.He was a son of Milan Vidmar, a leading Slovenian chess grandmaster....
was an International Master of chess.
External links
- The Milan Vidmar Electric Power Research Institute (EIMV)
- Richard Strange's Milan Vidmar chess games