Events in

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

in 1918:

Chess events in brief

Ossip Bernstein Ossip Samoilovich Bernstein (20 September 1882 – 30 November 1962) was a Russian-French chess player and businessman. He was one of the inaugural recipients of the title Grandmaster (chess), International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Biogra ...

was arrested and imprisoned by the

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...

(Bolshevik secret police) in Odessa, during the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

in 1918. Bernstein's crime was his role as a legal advisor to bankers. There was no court trial. A minor official had a firing squad line up Bernstein and a number of other prisoners against a wall to be shot. A superior official appeared and asked to see the list of prisoners’ names. Discovering Ossip Bernstein on the list, he asked Bernstein if he was the famous chess master. Not satisfied with Bernstein's affirmative reply, he made him play a game with him. If Bernstein lost or drew, he would be shot. Bernstein won in short order and was released. Soon, he escaped on a British ship and settled in France. * The

British Chess Problem Society The British Chess Problem Society is considered the oldest chess problem society in the world. The inaugural meeting of the British Chess Problem Society took place on 10 August 1918 at St George's Restaurant, 37 Martin's Lane London WC at 3pm. The ...

held its inaugural meeting on 10 August. It is the world's oldest chess problem society.

Tournaments

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

(the 9th

Trebitsch Memorial Leopold Trebitsch Memorial Tournament was a chess competition organized by the family of Austrian silk manufacturer Leopold Trebitsch. Twenty tournaments were played in Vienna between 1907 and 1938.Milan Vidmar Milan Vidmar (22 June 1885 – 9 October 1962) was a Slovenian electrical engineer, chess player, chess theorist, and writer. He was among the top dozen chess players in the world from 1910 to 1930 and in 1950, was among the inaugural recipien ...

followed by

Savielly Tartakower Savielly Tartakower (also known as ''Xavier'' or ''Ksawery'' ''Tartakower'', less often ''Tartacover'' or ''Tartakover''; 21 February 1887 – 4 February 1956) was a Polish and French chess player. He was awarded the title of International Grand ...

Carl Schlechter Carl Schlechter (2 March 1874 – 27 December 1918) was a leading Austro-Hungarian chess master and theoretician at the turn of the 20th century. He is best known for drawing a World Chess Championship match with Emanuel Lasker. Early life Sc ...

, and

Lajos Asztalos Lajos Asztalos (Ljudevit Astaloš) (29 July 1889, Pécs – 1 November 1956, Budapest) was a Hungarian chess International Master, professor, and teacher of languages. At the beginning of his career, he tied for sixth-eighth at Budapest 1911 (t ...

. November 1917 - January 1918. *

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, won by

George Salto Fontein George Schelto Fontein (11 July 1890 – 29 November 1963) was a Dutch chess master. Fontein was born in Harlingen, Friesland, as the son of Willem Adriaan Constantijn Fontein and Teetje Harmens. At the beginning of his career, he took 3rd at Lei ...

. December 1917 - January 1918. *

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(the 28th London championship), won jointly by

Philip Walsingham Sergeant Philip Walsingham Sergeant (27 January 1872, Notting Hill, LondonBirths, Marriages and Deaths – 20 October 1952) was a British professional writer on chess and popular historical subjects.Harry Golombek, ''Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess'', Cro ...

, E. Macdonald and G.E. Wainwright, ahead of Edward Guthlac Sergeant and Theodor Germann, 1917/18. *

(''Triangular''), play-off won by G.E. Wainwright ahead of P.W. Sergeant and E. Macdonald. *

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

(''Quadrangular''), won by Max Marchand. *

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

, won by Marchand and Meijer. *

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

(''Triangular''), won by

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...

ahead of

Vladimir Nenarokov Vladimir Ivanovich Nenarokov (January 4, 1880 – December 13, 1953) was a Russian chess master and theoretician. Born in Moscow, he was one of the strongest masters in his home town around 1900. In 1899, he tied for 6-7th in Moscow (1st Russian ...

, and

Abram Rabinovich Abram Isaakovich Rabinovich (5 January 1878 – 7 November 1943) was a Lithuanian–Russian chess player. He was champion of Moscow in 1926. Biography Rabinovich was born in Vilna, Lithuania (then the Russian Empire) into a Litvak family. Hi ...

. *

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

won by

Johannes Giersing Johannes Hjalmar Giersing (18 November 1872, Odense – 11 November 1954, Copenhagen) was a Danish chess master. At the beginning of his career, he tied for 4-5th in Copenhagen 1895 ( Andreas Rosendahl won). Giersing played several times in No ...

ahead of J. Juhl and

Jørgen Møller Jørgen Møller (sometimes Jorgen Moeller or Jörgen Möller) (4 November 1873 – 20 November 1944) was a Danish chess master. Møller was twice a Nordic Champion, winning at Copenhagen 1899 (2nd Nord-ch) and at Gothenburg 1901 (3rd Nord-ch). ...

. *

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

(''Quadrangular''), won by Vidmar, followed by Schlechter,

Jacques Mieses Jacques Mieses (born Jacob Mieses; 27 February 1865 – 23 February 1954) was a German-born British chess player. He was one of the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. He became a naturalized British ci ...

, and

Akiba Rubinstein Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein (1 December 1880 – 14 March 1961) was a Polish chess player. He is considered to have been one of the greatest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Rubinstein was granted the title Grandmaster (chess), ...

. April 20-30. *

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

(''Quadrangular''), won by R.A.J. Meijer, June 1–2. *

Scheveningen Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is po ...

, won by

Rudolf Loman Rudolf Loman (14 October 1861 – 5 November 1932) was a Dutch chess master, the son of Abraham Dirk Loman. Born in Amsterdam, Loman lived in London for a number of years. He played chess for money against rich Englishmen, like his Dutch pupil Ja ...

and P.J.H. Baudet. * Breslau, won by

Walter John Walter John (January 1879 – December 1940) was a German chess master. John was born at Thorn (Toruń), German Empire. He took 2nd, behind Curt von Bardeleben in ''Café Kerkau'', and took 4th (Ossip Bernstein won) at Berlin 1902. He won at ...

followed by Otto Wegemund, Hermann von Gottschall, etc. July 1918. * Rye Beach, N.Y., won by

Abraham Kupchik Abraham Kupchik (25 March 1892 – 26 November 1970) was an American chess master. Abraham Kupchik was born into a Jewish family in Brest (then Russian Empire, now Belarus) to parents Pinchas Kupchik and Bessie Kupchik née Perlmutter. His family ...

ahead of

Oscar Chajes Oscar Chajes (pronounced "HA-yes") (December 14, 1873 – February 28, 1928)* was an American chess player. Biography Chajes was Jewish and was born in Brody, Galicia, Austria-Hungary, in what is now Ukraine. In 1909, he won in the U.S. Open Cha ...

Jacob Bernstein Jacob Bernstein (February 24, 1885 – December 21, 1959) was an American chess master. Born into a Jewish family in Kaunas, Lithuania, he lived in New York. He won three consecutive New York State Chess Championships (1920–1922), and shared 1 ...

Roy Turnbull Black Roy Turnbull Black (February 14, 1888 – July 27, 1962) was an American chess player. Black was a judge by profession. His record against Capablanca was one win, one draw and three losses, beating Capablanca with black pieces in New York City in ...

and

Charles Jaffe Charles Jaffé (Jaffe) (circa 1879, Dubroŭna, Russian Empire – 12 July 1941, Brooklyn, USA) was a Russian Empire born Chess master, master and chess writer. Early years, moves to U.S. Jaffé was born in a small town, Dubroŭna (now in Vitse ...

. July 22–26. * Kaschau won by

Richard Réti Richard Selig Réti (28 May 1889 – 6 June 1929) was an Austro-Hungarian, later Czechoslovakian, chess player, chess author, and composer of endgame studies. He was one of the principal proponents of hypermodernism in chess. With the exc ...

followed by Vidmar,

Gyula Breyer Gyula "Julius" Breyer (30 April 1893 Budapest – 9 November 1921) was a Hungarian chess player and 1912 Hungarian national champion. Chess career In 1912 Breyer won the Hungarian championship in Temesvar. In a 1920 tournament in Berlin he fi ...

, Schlechter, Asztalos, etc. August 5–19. *

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

won by

Karl Berndtsson Karl Mathias Berndtsson Kullberg (16 March 1892 – 29 September 1943) was a Swedish chess master who was born and died in Göteborg. He won at Copenhagen 1916, and lost a match for the Swedish Chess Championship to Gustaf Nyholm (1½–3½) in 19 ...

ahead of

Gustaf Nyholm Gustaf Nyholm (27 January 1880, Stockholm – 12 September 1957, Stockholm) was a Swedish chess master. He was the first Swedish Champion (1917–1921 and 1922–1924), and a Nordic Champion in 1917. In 1907 he took 6th in Copenhagen (the 6th ...

. August 11–18. *

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(the 19th U.S. Open), won by

Boris Kostić Borislav Kostić (24 February 1887 – 3 November 1963) was a Yugoslav chess grandmaster and a popularizer of the game. Life and chess Borislav Kostic was born in Vršac, Kingdom of Hungary, at the time part of Austria-Hungary. His father Di ...

ahead of

Edward Lasker Edward Lasker (born Eduard Lasker) (December 3, 1885 – March 25, 1981) was a German-American chess and Go player. He was awarded the title of International Master of chess by FIDE. Lasker was an engineer by profession, and an author of ...

, John Stuart Morrison,

Norman Tweed Whitaker Norman Tweed Whitaker (April 9, 1890 – May 20, 1975) was an American International Master of chess, a lawyer, a civil servant, and a chess author. He was convicted of several crimes, was disbarred from the practice of law, and served seve ...

and H. Hahlbohm, September 22–28. *

(''Quadrangular''), won by

Emanuel Lasker Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champ ...

ahead of Rubinstein, Schlechter, and

Siegbert Tarrasch Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century. Life Tarrasch was born in Bresla ...

. September 28 - October 11. *

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

(''Quadrangular''), won by

Jan Willem te Kolsté Jan Willem te Kolsté (11 September 1874, in Utrecht – 31 January 1936, in The Hague) was a Dutch chess master. Te Kolsté participated many times in unofficial and official Dutch championships, and won at Utrecht 1907. He also took 4th at Utre ...

and

Gerard Oskam Gerard Cornelis Adrianus Oskam (12 April 1880, The Hague – 7 May 1952) was a Dutch chess master. He won at Groningen 1900, took 2nd at Leeuwarden 1904, tied for 2nd–3rd at Amsterdam 1905, took 12th at Scheveningen 1905, took 4th at Amsterdam ...

, ahead of Marchand. October 12–13. *

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

(rapid tournament), won by Jaffe and Kostić, ahead of Jacob Rosenthal. October 1918. *

(Manhattan CC), won by

José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. Capablanc ...

followed by Kostić,

Frank James Marshall Frank James Marshall (August 10, 1877 – November 9, 1944) was the U.S. Chess Champion from 1909 to 1936, and one of the world's strongest chess players in the early part of the 20th century. Chess career Marshall was born in New York Cit ...

, Chajes,

Dawid Janowski Dawid Markelowicz Janowski (25 May 1868 – 15 January 1927; often spelled ''David'') was a Polish-born French chess player. The Janowski variations of the Old Indian Defense and of the Queen's Gambit Declined are named after him. Biography B ...

, Black, and Morrison. November 1918. *

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

(''Pentagonal''), won by Zoltán von Balla and Réti, followed by Breyer,

Kornél Havasi Kornél Havasi (10 January 1892 – 15 January 1945) was a Jewish-Hungarian chess master. He won at Budapest 1911; took 9th at Temesvár 1912 (HUN-ch, Gyula Breyer won); tied for 4-5th at Budapest 1917 (Breyer won); took 4th at Budapest 1918 ( Z ...

, and Schlechter. December 1918. *

, won by W. Fick ahead of

Henri Weenink Henri Gerard Marie Weenink (17 October 1892, Amsterdam – 2 December 1931) was a Dutch chess player and a problem composer. He took 2nd, behind Fick, at Amsterdam 1918/19; tied for 4-5th at Amsterdam 1919 (Richard Réti and Max Marchand won), ...

. December 1918 - January 1919.

Matches

won against

(3.5 : 2.5) in Berlin, January 21–29. *

Adolf Albin Adolf Albin (14 September 1848 – 22 March 1920) was a Romanian chess player. He is best known for the countergambit that bears his name and for authoring the first chess book written in Romanian. Life He was born in Bucharest, Romania t ...

beat

(1.5 : 0.5) in Vienna. *

defeated

(11 : 9) in New York.

Births

* 7 March –

Miroslav Katětov Miroslav Katětov (; March 17, 1918, Chembar, Russia – December 15, 1995) was a Czech mathematician, chess master, and psychologist. His research interests in mathematics included topology and functional analysis. He was an author of the Kat� ...

, Prague City Champion, Czech IM. * 14 December –

Kaarle Ojanen Kaarle Sakari Ojanen (4 December 1918 – 9 January 2009) was a Finnish chess player. Born in Helsinki in 1918, he became a Finnish National Master in 1938 and was the leading Finnish player between Eero Böök and Heikki Westerinen. He was perhap ...

in Helsinki. Finnish Champion and IM. * 19 December – Max Blau in Munich, Germany. Swiss Champion and IM.

Deaths

* Artur Popławski died in Warsaw. Polish master, Swiss Champion. * 10 April -

Peter Alexandrovich Saburov Peter Alexandrovich Saburov (22 March O.S./3 April 1835 – 28 March O.S./10 April 1918) was a Russian diplomat, collector of ancient Greek sculpture and antiquities, and an amateur chess player and patron of chess tournaments, as an honorary Pre ...

, Russian master, died in Petrograd (St. Petersburg), Russia. * 23 August –

Erich Cohn Erich Cohn ( he, אריק קוהן, March 1, 1884, Berlin – August 28, 1918, France) was a German chess master. He won or tied for 1st in several tournaments in Berlin (1902, 1905, 1906, 1909/10, 1914). In strong tournaments, he tied for 11 ...

, German master, died in France in the western front as a field doctor, at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. * 27 December -

, Austrian grandmaster, died of malnutrition in Budapest, Hungary.

References

{{chess 20th century in chess Chess by year