Paul Felix Schmidt
Encyclopedia
Paul Felix Schmidt was an Estonia
n chess International Master, chess writer, and chemist.
, at Tallinn
. In May 1936, he drew a match against Keres (+3 –3 =1) at Pärnu
. In 1936, he won the 8th Estonian Championship
at Tallinn. In December 1936, he placed 2nd, behind Keres, at Tallinn. In July 1937, he won Estonia’s first-ever international tournament at Pärnu, ahead of two world title contenders, Salo Flohr
and Keres, as well as Gideon Stahlberg
. In 1937, he won at Tallinn (9th EST–ch).
In August 1937, he played for Estonia (2nd board) at the 7th Chess Olympiad
in Stockholm
(+4 –4 =8). In June 1938, he tied for 8th-10th at Noordwijk
. The event was won by Erich Eliskases
. In August–September 1939, he played for Estonia (3rd board) at the 8th Chess Olympiad at Buenos Aires (+2 –5 =6). Estonia took 3rd place, behind Germany and Poland.
Schmidt emigrated from Estonia to Germany
in the autumn of 1939. In August 1940, he took 2nd, behind Georg Kieninger
, at Bad Oeynhausen
(7th GER–ch
). In August 1941, he tied for 1st with Klaus Junge
at Bad Oeynhausen (8th GER–ch). In 1941, he won a play-off match for the German championship against Junge (+3 –0 =1) at Bromberg. In October 1941, he tied for 1st with Alexander Alekhine
at Krakow
/Warsaw
(the 2nd General Government chess tournament
). In June 1942, he tied for 3rd-4th with Junge, behind Alekhine and Keres, at Salzburg
. In June 1943, he took 3rd, behind Keres and Alekhine, at Salzburg. In August 1943, he took 2nd, behind Josef Lokvenc
, at Vienna
(10th GER–ch).
After World War II
, in May 1946, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Carl Ahues
, behind Wilfried Lange, at Hamburg
. In May 1947, he took 2nd, behind Efim Bogoljubov at Kassel
. In 1949, he tied for 3rd-5th at Heidelberg
. The event was won by Wolfgang Unzicker
.
In 1949, he published the book Schachmeister denken (Dietmannsriel-Allgau 1949). In 1950, he was awarded the International Master title. In 1951, he earned a PhD in chemistry
from Heidelberg University, and moved to Canada
, then to the USA, settling in Philadelphia, where he took a job as a professor.
After this, he and his wife Eva moved to Bell Telephone Laboratories, Allentown
, Pennsylvania
, where he made contributions to electrochemistry
and anodic oxidation of silicon, was expert in neutron activation analysis
, and published many papers, till his retirement in 1982. He continued playing occasional games of chess, regularly visiting Reuben Fine
in New York.
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n chess International Master, chess writer, and chemist.
Biography
In June 1935, he won, ahead of Paul KeresPaul Keres
Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
, at Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
. In May 1936, he drew a match against Keres (+3 –3 =1) at Pärnu
Pärnu
Pärnu is a city in southwestern Estonia on the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It is a popular summer vacation resort with many hotels, restaurants, and large beaches. The Pärnu River flows through the city and drains into the Gulf of Riga...
. In 1936, he won the 8th Estonian Championship
Estonian Chess Championship
The first unofficial Estonian Chess Championship was held in 1903, organized by a chess club formed in Reval in 1903 and named for the famous Russian master Mikhail Chigorin. After the World War I, when Estonia became an independent country, official Estonian championships started...
at Tallinn. In December 1936, he placed 2nd, behind Keres, at Tallinn. In July 1937, he won Estonia’s first-ever international tournament at Pärnu, ahead of two world title contenders, Salo Flohr
Salo Flohr
Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...
and Keres, as well as Gideon Stahlberg
Gideon Ståhlberg
Anders Gideon Tom Ståhlberg was a Swedish chess grandmaster.He won the Swedish Chess Championship of 1927, became Nordic champion in 1929, and held it until 1939....
. In 1937, he won at Tallinn (9th EST–ch).
In August 1937, he played for Estonia (2nd board) at the 7th 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...
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
(+4 –4 =8). In June 1938, he tied for 8th-10th at Noordwijk
Noordwijk
Noordwijk is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 51.53 km² and had a population of 24,707 in May 2006....
. The event was won by 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....
. In August–September 1939, he played for Estonia (3rd board) at the 8th Chess Olympiad at Buenos Aires (+2 –5 =6). Estonia took 3rd place, behind Germany and Poland.
Schmidt emigrated from Estonia to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the autumn of 1939. In August 1940, he took 2nd, behind Georg Kieninger
Georg Kieninger
Georg Kieninger was a German chess player and International Master .An avid cigar smoker, Kieninger was nicknamed "Eisernen Schorsch" because of his fighting style. He won the German Chess Championship in 1937, 1940, and 1947...
, at Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen is a spa town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Bad Oeynhausen is located on the banks of the Weser river, which runs along the eastern edges of the town. Bad Oeynhausen has the world's highest carbonated, thermal saltwater fountain,...
(7th GER–ch
German Chess Championship
The German Chess Championship has been played since 1861, and determines the national champion.Prior to 1880 three different federations organized chess activities in Germany: the Westdeutscher Schachbund , the Norddeutscher Schachbund and the Mitteldeutscher Schachbund . Each one organized its...
). In August 1941, he tied for 1st with Klaus Junge
Klaus Junge
Klaus Junge was one of the youngest German chess masters.-Biography:...
at Bad Oeynhausen (8th GER–ch). In 1941, he won a play-off match for the German championship against Junge (+3 –0 =1) at Bromberg. In October 1941, he tied for 1st 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 Krakow
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
/Warsaw
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...
(the 2nd General Government chess tournament
General Government chess tournament
General Government chess championships were held during World War II:- Participants :*Alexander Alekhine /*Efim Bogoljubow /*Paul Felix Schmidt /*Klaus Junge /*Karl Gilg /*Josef Lokvenc /*Hans Müller /...
). In June 1942, he tied for 3rd-4th with Junge, behind Alekhine and Keres, at Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
. In June 1943, he took 3rd, behind Keres and Alekhine, at Salzburg. In August 1943, he took 2nd, behind Josef Lokvenc
Josef Lokvenc
Josef Lokvenc was an Austrian chess master.In 1925, he was awarded the Chess Master title in Braunau. In 1926, he took 3rd in Vienna. In 1936, he tied for 6-7th in Vienna . In 1938, he tied for 6-7th in Bad Harzburg...
, 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...
(10th GER–ch).
After 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...
, in May 1946, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Carl Ahues
Carl Ahues
Carl Oscar Ahues was a German chess International Master.He was Berlin champion in 1910. He was German Champion in 1929 winning the 26th DSB Congress in Duisburg. In 1930, he took 6th in San Remo , tied for 4-5th in Scarborough , and tied for 3-5th in Liege...
, behind Wilfried Lange, at Hamburg
Hamburg
-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...
. In May 1947, he took 2nd, behind Efim Bogoljubov at Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
. In 1949, he tied for 3rd-5th at Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
. The event was won by Wolfgang Unzicker
Wolfgang Unzicker
Wolfgang Unzicker was one of the strongest German chess Grandmasters from 1945 to about 1970.He decided against making chess his profession, choosing law instead....
.
In 1949, he published the book Schachmeister denken (Dietmannsriel-Allgau 1949). In 1950, he was awarded the International Master title. In 1951, he earned a PhD in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
from Heidelberg University, and moved to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, then to the USA, settling in Philadelphia, where he took a job as a professor.
After this, he and his wife Eva moved to Bell Telephone Laboratories, Allentown
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, where he made contributions to electrochemistry
Electrochemistry
Electrochemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies chemical reactions which take place in a solution at the interface of an electron conductor and an ionic conductor , and which involve electron transfer between the electrode and the electrolyte or species in solution.If a chemical reaction is...
and anodic oxidation of silicon, was expert in neutron activation analysis
Neutron activation analysis
In chemistry, neutron activation analysis is a nuclear process used for determining the concentrations of elements in a vast amount of materials. NAA allows discrete sampling of elements as it disregards the chemical form of a sample, and focuses solely on its nucleus. The method is based on...
, and published many papers, till his retirement in 1982. He continued playing occasional games of chess, regularly visiting Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
in New York.
Notable chess games
- Paul Felix Schmidt vs Paul Keres, Pärnu 1937, Queen's Gambit Declined, D06, 1-0
- Paul Felix Schmidt vs Klaus Junge, Bad Oeynhausen 1941, 8th GER-ch, Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, Meran Variation, D49, 1-0
- Paul Felix Schmidt vs Teodor Regedzinski, Krakow/Warsaw 1941, Caro-Kann Defense, Two Knights Attack, B10, 1-0
- Paul Felix Schmidt vs Gösta Stoltz, Salzburg 1942, Sicilian Defense, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation, B92, 1-0
- Efim Bogoljubow vs Paul Felix Schmidt, Salzburg 1943, Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Slav, Meran Variation, D49, 0-1