Arthur Kaufmann

Olimpiu G. Urcan is a Singapore-based chess historian. He contributes regularly to Edward Winter’s Chess Notes and is the author of several chess biographies published by McFarland. Peter Michael Braunwarth is a scholar and professor in Vienna, Austria.

“Excellent research”—Dale Brandreth, Caissa Editions; “a fascinating study!”—British Chess Magazine; “Olimpiu Urcan and Peter Braunwarth have breathed life into an obscure—if not forgotten—academic scholar...Urcan and Braunwarth have treated Kaufmann’s life with respect...tightly written, expertly annotated, and well-diagrammed. [This book] will appeal to players with a penchant for history and an interest in the golden age of early twentieth century chess. Urcan and Braunwarth have saved Kaufmann from obscurity and have enriched us with moments of culture from the game’s treasured past and of the larger Viennese world of theater and art...a sensitive portrayal of an intelligent and noble man caught up in turbulent times: an account of a scholar both on and off the board in an age both bittersweet and tragic”—ChessCafe.com; “a new peak for McFarland Publications; very highly recommended”—ndzeven; “a book which might be integrated in the literature about Schnitzler around his 150th birthday.”—Der Neue Merker; “this is a worthy tribute to one of Caissa’s forgotten soldiers and will be read with pleasure by fans of the chess scene pre 1920”—IM John Donaldson (JeremySilman.com); “besides many interesting and annotated chess games, this masterly edited and lavishly illustrated book also presents the relationship between Kaufmann and Schnitzler over several decades”—German Quarterly; “fascinating”—The Compulsive Reader; “a fitting tribute to Kaufmann’s life”—David G. Mills.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments     Foreword by Mihail Marin      Preface      A Note to the Reader      PART I—The Life (1872–1938) and Chess Career      1. 1872–1900: A Student in Vienna      2. 1901–1910: Intermission      3. 1911–1914: Back to Chess      4. 1915–1916: Chess in a “Gigantic Hospital”      5. June 1917: Breakdown      6. 1918–1919: Out of Vienna to Mariazell and Kiev      7. 1919–1920: Taking On Einstein      8. 1920–1922: Altaussee      9. 1923–1938: An Inscrutable Endgame      PART II—The Chess Games      PART III—Appendices, Sources and Indexes      Appendix A: Kaufmann and Chess Theory      Appendix B: Tournament Crosstables      Appendix C: Kaufmann’s Tournament and Match Record      Appendix D: Kaufmann’s Results Against Leading Masters      Appendix E: Two More Kaufmann Games?      Appendix F: An Encounter with Alekhine?      Appendix G: A Kaufmann Imaginary Letter      Appendix H: The Unpictured Kaufmann      Appendix I: Brief Biographies of Notable Players      Sources and Bibliography      Index of Openings      Index of Opponents      Index of Illustrations      Index of Other Games      General Index