Kurt Richter

Alan McGowan has been associated with Cathcart Chess Club in Glasgow, Scotland and the Kitchener-Waterloo Chess Club in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.  He has helped edit Scottish Chess and Chess Canada Échecs and is the historian for Chess Scotland. He lives in Waterloo, Ontario.

“A wonderful biography.... The secret of a great biography is not only to describe the subject but also the era in which he lived. ...a wealth of detail.... I was more and more intrigued with every page I read. ...A treasure trove of games and a wonderful overview of the German chess scene of this period! 5 shining stars!”—New in Chess; “this sumptuous book has given me the taste for his approach to chess...heartily recommend...it’s very much a labour of love”—Chess; “It’s evident that McGowan has left no stone unturned in piecing together Richter’s story. This is a superlative work.” —US Chess Federation; “fantastic...a phenomenal effort in unearthing an incredible amount of interesting material and exciting attacking games...all those with an interest in chess history will support this magnificent work which has been so thoroughly researched, detailed and referenced...many hours’ worth of absorbing reading.”—American Chess Magazine; “a model of scholarship...this is a book you will certainly want to add to your reading list.”—The Chess Improver; “wonderful made McFarland Book.... The research of this book done by the author is more than impressive”—Chessbooks.nl; “full of brilliant games, deeply annotated...a fascinating reconstruction of Kurt Richter’s life...numerous, often truly outstanding, photos of chess masters.”—Kingpin Chess Magazine; “a highly readable chess biography...what the book does incredibly well is relate Richter’s career to the context of the times and, indeed, recreate the ambience of those often extraordinary years. It is lavishly illustrated with a treasure trove of contemporary photos.... The extensive background material is detailed and vivid.... The sheer amount of material - much of it original - which Alan has processed throughout the work is phenomenal...timeless..a fabulous biography...it is a pleasure to be able to immerse oneself in a work to which the author has devoted four decades of his life...recommend...highly...superb”—Chess Scotland; “A model of what a game collection and biography should be. This beautifully produced oversize red hardback with library binding covers everything related to the life of Kurt Richter. The close to 500 well-annotated games in this book feature a wealth of aggressive chess with beautiful combinations and sharp attacks throughout. The games are not only reason to buy this book. McGowan, who spent three decades researching and writing this work in what was clearly a labor of love, has uncovered a great deal of previously unknown material pertaining to not only Richter but his contemporaries. McFarland has published many outstanding books the past three-plus decades and Kurt Richter: A Chess Biography with 499 Games ranks right up there with the best. This is a wonderful book...highly recommended”—IM John Donaldson; “The book highlights not only Richter’s career, but also the German chess culture and the effect that the two world wars had on his play. A well-researched monograph that does a nice job of introducing the reader to all aspects of [Richter’s] life, especially those before the Second World War”—Mind’s Eye Press; “I haven’t had a more compelling chess book in my hand in a long time!”—Berlin Chess History

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction♦ Prologue. 1900–1918The 1914–1918 War and Its AftermathFirst Chess Club: ­Springer–Berlin♦ Part 1. 1919–1924 Venturing Forth19191920Berlin 1920—German Chess Federation Congress1921Berlin Championship 1921Maróczy and TartakowerPublished Chess ProblemsBlitz Tournament and Consultation Game1922Berlin Championship 1922—First Tournament SuccessClub EventsBad Oeynhausen 1922—22nd Congress of the German Chess Federation1923Berlin Championship 19231st Congress of the Brandenburg Chess AssociationFrankfurt 1923Winners’ Group1924Berlin Championship 1924New Chess PeriodicalWinter Tournament of the Schachverein 1876♦ Part 2. 1925–1929 Signs of Progress1925Jägerklause Tournament 1925Berlin Championship 19251926Berlin Championship 1926A Change of ClubsBerlin Club Championship 1926Scharfrichter: The Executioner of Berlin1927Berlin Championship 1927Berlin 1927—2nd Congress of the German Chess AssociationBerlin Team Championship 1927-28Employment1928First Editorial PositionFreie Schachvereinigung 1928Gaining the Master TitleWiesbaden 1928No Respect for the LawBerlin–Stockholm Match 1928First International Masters’ TournamentBlitz TournamentsBerlin Club Championship 1928-291929Copenhagen–Berlin Match 1929Berlin Chess CafésBerlin Championship 1929Bremen Chess PromotionGerman Championship—Duisburg 1929♦ Part 3. 1930–1932 Making His Mark1930Wilmersdorf Jubilee 1930Berlin, Four Masters Tournament 1930Naming Rights … and WrongsBerlin Championship 1930Swinemünde 1930Hamburg Olympiad 1930Berlin Club Championship 1930-31Berliner Schachgesellschaft Championship 1930Yearbook—Berliner Schachführer1931Then He Took Berlin: Stoltz of SwedenAleister Crowley in BerlinGerman Championship—Swinemünde 1931Prague Olympiad 1931Bled 1931: Richter’s NonappearanceCottbus to BerlinBerliner Schachgesellschaft Championship 1931-32Here Be No Dragons1932Berliner Schachgesellschaft Winter TournamentSchachverein 1876 Club ChampionshipKiel 1932Richter’s Opinion about DrawsHamburg, Four Masters Match-Tournament 1932Berlin Championship 1932Swinemünde 1932Opening InnovationStargard 1932Bruno MoritzBerlin–Hamburg Telephone Match 1932Berliner Schachgesellschaft Championship 1932-33Bogoljubow Consultation Game and Interview♦ Part 4. 1933–1935 Adapting to Change1933“Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation”Berlin Championship 1933Reorganization of German ChessBad Aachen 1933Germany and FIDESwinemünde 1933Bad Pyrmont 1933Bad Salzbrunn 19331934Promoting ChessBerlin (West District) Championship 1934Physician Heal Thyself: Richter and “Dr. Zabel”New Chess Pieces (Schachfiguren Bundesform)Bad Niendorf 1934Drawing ConclusionsGerman Team Championship 1934“Dr. Zabel” Consults AgainEn Passant: Deaths1935Berlin Master Tournament 1935Move to KarlshorstOlympiad TrainingBerlin Team Tour 1935Swinemünde 1935German Champion—Bad Aachen 1935Berthold KochBad Nauheim 1935Losing Beautifully: A Combinational MasterpieceZoppot 1935♦ Part 5. 1936–1939 At His Creative Best1936German Team Championship 1935-36Berlin Championship 1936Opening IdeasPublication of KombinationenRecuperationSwinemünde 1936Poděbrady 1936Munich 1936—The Unofficial Olympiad1937Berlin Championship 1937Berliner Schachgesellschaft Jubilee Tournament 1937Berlin–Hamburg Telephone Match 1937Bad Elster 1937Bad Saarow 1937Tournament LossesGerman Championship 1937A Forced MoveBerlin 1937 (Christmas)En Passant: Deaths1938Berlin Club Championship 1938Germany–Austria Friendship Tournament 1938An Opening InnovationBerlin Championship 1938Germany–Scandinavia Match 1938Bad Harzburg 1938Polishing the PolishGerman Championship 1938En Passant: Deaths1939Berlin Club Championship 1939Best GamesGermany–Hungary Match 1939Stuttgart 1939German Club Championship—Stuttgart 1939Bad Oeynhausen 1939Olympiad and WarCorrespondence Chess♦ Part 6. 1940–1945 The War Years1940Berlin Club Championship 1940Schachgesellschaft Club Championship 1940Berlin–Karlsbad Match 1940Schachgesellschaft Training Tournament 1940Schlage Memorial Tournament, Berlin 1940Chess for the MilitaryGerman Championship—Bad Oeynhausen 1940Cracow–Krynica–Warsaw 1940KrynicaWarsaw1941Schachgesellschaft Club Championship 1941Berlin Club Championship 1941Berlin Championship 1941German Championship—Bad Oeynhausen 1941Munich 19411942DraftedPublishing SuccessMunich 1942Pressing ProblemsPublish and Be Praised1943–1944A Deteriorating Situation1945Fall of BerlinPrisoner of War♦ Part 7. 1946–1949 Rebuilding1946–1947Starting OverChess LifeSoviet Military AdministrationChess PeriodicalsLooking for ProblemsSurfacing SlowlyPublishing Success1948Berlin Championship 1948Chess JournalismRadio1949Four Cities ­Match-Tournament 1949Berlin Championship 1949German Championship 1949A New PhaseAnother Visit from the DoctorBerlin–East Germany Match♦ Part 8. 1950–1959 The Two Germanys1950Berlin Team Championship 1950Berlin Championship 1950A New GenerationInternational AffairsLocal MattersBerlin–East Germany Match1951Berlin Championship 1951Berlin–East Germany MatchPublic Relations1952Berlin Championship 1952Short Games, Long PraiseConsecutive Losses1953A New Phase“My Opinion on the Chess Problem” East Berlin–West Berlin Match1954–19561957Berlin–Hamburg Match 1957Berlin Championship 1957More of Richter’s Opinions1958Munich Olympiad 1958: Richter Honored1959♦ Part 9. 1960–1969 The Final Years Memories of 50 Years in ChessEndgame PreparationIn MemoriamLast Words and Recommended ReadingRichter’s Burial PlotAppendices♦ Appendix A: Additional Games♦ Appendix B: Tournament and Match ResultsBerlin ChampionshipGerman ChampionshipOthersMatches—Team and Individual♦ Appendix C: Richter’s Openings with WhiteQueen’s Pawn: Richter’s OpeningSicilian Defense: ­Richter-Rauzer VariationThe Positional ApproachAnd Then Along Came RauzerFrench DefenseWinawer Variation: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4Rubinstein Variation: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 d×e4Burn Variation: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 d×e4 McCutcheon Variation: 4. … Bb4Anderssen-Richter: 4. … Be7 5. B×f6 B×f6 6. e5 Be7 7. Qg4Ruy LopezRuy Lopez: Open VariationRuy Lopez: Steinitz Defense Deferred♦ Appendix D: Richter’s Openings with BlackBudapest DefenseBudapest Gambit: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. d×e5 Ne41. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. d×e5 Ne4 4. various1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. d×e5 Ne4 4. Nf3 Nc61. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. d×e5 Ne4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Nc5Polish Defense: 1. d4 b5 and 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b51. d4 b51. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b5Scandinavian Defense: 1. e4 d51. e4 d5 2. e×d5 Nf61. e4 d5 2. e×d5 Nf6 3. d4…NotesBibliographyIndex of OpponentsIndex of AnnotatorsIndex of Openings—Traditional NamesIndex of Openings—ECO CodesGeneral Index