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Arthur Kaufmann (4 April 1872 in
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
– 25 July 1938 in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
) was an
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n attorney, philosopher and chess master.


Life

Kaufmann was the second son of a wealthy, Jewish merchant family in Iaşi, Romania. In early childhood, he moved with his mother and siblings to Vienna, where he eventually attended university. He studied law and attended lectures on the history of literature and philosophy. He earned his doctorate in 1896. For a short period he worked as a legal apprentice, but his family's prosperous circumstance soon afforded him the means to live independently from his inheritance. Kaufmann considered himself primarily a philosopher. He worked for decades on a comprehensive philosophical opus, embracing
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...
and
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...
’s ideas in particular, but never completed it. His only publication was a piece on
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
's
Theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in ...
. A philosophical fairy tale is, as his whole bequest, lost. Kaufmann regularly attended the Viennese chess club and ultimately became an internationally recognized player. In 1892, he tied for 5-6th ( Adolf Albin won), shared 3rd in 1893/94 ( Jacques Schwarz won), twice took 2nd in 1896 and 1897/98, both behind
Georg Marco Georg Marco (29 November 1863 – 29 August 1923) was an Austrian chess player. He was born in Chernivtsi (Cernăuţi), Bukovina (then part of Austria-Hungary). He later settled in Vienna and was secretary of the Viennese Chess Association. I ...
. He drew a match with Marco (+5 -5 =0) in 1893. In 1914/15, he took 2nd, behind
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 Sch ...
, in Vienna ( Trebitsch Memorial). He took 3rd at Vienna 1915 (''Quadrangular'', Schlechter won), and 3rd place, behind Schlechter and
Milan Vidmar Milan Vidmar (22 June 1885 – 9 October 1962) was a Slovenian electrical engineer, chess player, Chess theory, 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 inaugu ...
, at Vienna 1916 (''Triangular''). He won matches against
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 ...
(+4 -1 =1) in 1915, and
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 ...
(+2 -0 =2) in 1916. In January 1917, with his best, historic ELO-stat of 2637, he was the eighth-best in the worldwide chess ranking (established thereafter). Due to unknown reasons, he ended his career as a chess player in 1917. Kaufmann was a close friend of the Austrian author,
Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. Biography Arthur Schnitzler was born at Praterstrasse 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire (as of 1867, part of the dual monarchy ...
, who mentioned his encounters with Kaufmann in his diary several times, expressing his appreciation of Kaufmann's personality and character. In his last will, Schnitzler appointed Kaufmann, in addition to the Austrian author,
Richard Beer-Hofmann Richard Beer-Hofmann (11 July 1866 in Vienna – 26 September 1945 in New York City) was an Austrian dramatist and poet. Beer-Hofmann was born to Jewish parents. His mother died within a week of his birth and after her death, he was adopted a ...
, as advisor to his son, Heinrich, in all issues regarding his literary legacy. Schnitzler's literary estate, with its notes and letters, comprises the main source of information on Kaufmann's life and ideas. Impoverished, due to World War I, Kaufmann and his younger sister, Malwine, moved from Vienna to
Mariazell Mariazell (Central Bavarian: ''Mariazöö'') is an Austrian city in the southeastern state of Styria. Well known for being a hub of winter sports and a pilgrimage destination, it is located north of Graz. It is picturesquely situated in the valle ...
in 1918, and then to
Altaussee Altaussee (Central Bavarian: ''Oid Aussee'') is a municipality and spa town in the district of Liezen in Styria, Austria. The small village is nestled on the shores of the Lake Altaussee, beneath the Loser Plateau. Occupying an area of 92  ...
in 1920, because life in the countryside was less expensive. Beginning in 1923, Kaufmann spent the next ten or so years as a guest of the Viennese industrialist, Wilhelm von Gutmann, in the castle of Würting, near Lambach, in Upper-Austria, before returning to Vienna. (For a number of years,
Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi Richard Nikolaus Eijiro, Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi (16 November 1894 – 27 July 1972) was an Austrian-Japanese politician, philosopher and Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi. A pioneer of European integration, he served as the founding president of ...
, the founder of the
Paneuropean Union The International Paneuropean Union, also referred to as the Pan-European Movement and the Pan-Europa Movement, is the oldest European unification movement. It began with the publishing of Count Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi's manifesto ''P ...
, also enjoyed the hospitality of the Gutmann-family at the castle of Würting.) According to the official announcement, Kaufmann died on the July 25, 1938, of “sudden cardiac death and arteriosclerosis”, but various indicators point to suicide. He was buried in the Jewish section of the Viennese Central Cemetery, where bombing in WW II devastated his grave. In his last will and testament, he appointed as his heirs, his nieces, Alice Kaufmann and Sophie Kaufmann (daughters of his brother, Ludwig Kaufmann), who at that time, and following WW II, lived in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, at rue Molitor 56. All attempts to find Kaufmann's written bequest, as well as photographs of him, have been unsuccessful so far.Regarding photographs of Arthur Kaufmann see Urcan/Braunwarth, p. 238-241


Publications

Arthur Kaufmann: Zur Relativitätstheorie. Erkenntnistheoretische Erörterungen. In: Der neue Merkur 3, 1919/20, p. 587-594.


References


Further reading

*Hans Blumenberg: ''Schnitzlers Philosoph''. In: Hans Blumenberg, ''Die Verführbarkeit des Philosophen''. Ed. by Manfred Sommer. Frankfurt/Main 2000: Suhrkamp. (German) *Jeremy Gaige: ''Chess Personalia: A Bio-Bibliography.'' Jefferson: McFarland 2005. S. 207. * *Kenneth Whyld, David Hooper: ''The Oxford Companion to Chess.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996. S. 195. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaufmann, Arthur Romanian chess players Austrian chess players Jewish chess players Austrian Jews Romanian Jews 1872 births 1938 deaths People killed by Nazi Germany