courtesy of Deutsches Ärzteblatt:

Maus, Josef
Doctor´s chess championship: A continuous passion!

Original title: Ärzte-Schachmeisterschaften: Eine ungebrochene Leidenschaft
Deutsches Ärzteblatt 99, Heft 13 vom 29.03.02, Seite A-840
THEMEN DER ZEIT

 

After the championships in Baden-Baden, Wiesbaden and Bad Homburg this year the 10th chess championship of the Deutsches Ärzteblatt took place in Bad Neuenahr in the middle of March 2002.

The passion is strong as ever: Also this time 150 doctors from all over Germany fought against each other. In nine rounds  AIPs (doctor in internship), medical directors and practicioners as well as beginners and retired docs were sitting opposite to each other at a chess board. Like always since the beginning in 1993 besides the sportive motivation the exchange between colleagues and the fun of playing was the most important.

Horst Metzing the manager of the German chess association said that this championship is one of the biggest events of chess in Germany. Though groups of other professionals tried to organize similar events the size of this one was neve reached.

In the 10 years of chess championship 14000 players have played 7000 games. There were about 350.000 moves, medical brilliant ideas with more or less lucky result. A special feature of this event is the large variety of levels beginning from the hobby player up to the semi-professional players of the "Bundesliga" (nationwide competition) who are all doctors in their main profession.

Premiere at age 91.
Also the range of age is interesting: In Bad Neuenahr Dr. med. Herbert Schütz had his premiere at an age of 91 years. He achieved three of nine possible points and left behind him a dozen or much younger colleagues.....

The first places were covered by nearly the same people as before: A field of about 20 exceptional players.
Dr. med. Stefan Müschenich won the competition for the first time with 8 points, followed by Dr. med. Reinhold Schnelzer (7,5 points), Nuradin Peci, Dr. med. Ralf-Alexander Schön and Professor Dr. med. Peter Krauseneck (each 7 points).

Nobody had to go home without any points, not even with empty hands: For the 10th anniversary everybody did not only receive the usual donation (the newest chess book of Dr. med. Helmut Pfleger) but also a printing or the Berlin artist Elke Steiner, a regular reader of the Deutsches Ärzteblatt, well-known by the comic strip Doc and Doctrix.

 

Concentration and tension: Grand master Wolfgang Uhlmann during his simultaneous game against 32 partners (photo above) and the other players in the big hall of the Kurhaus.

Fotos: Helmut Werner

At the opening evening Grand master Vlastimil Hort demonstrated a special chess art which was requesting the biggest respect: He played blind and simultaneously against eight partners (see the article "chess at its limits")!

Not blind but still simultaneously against 32 partners played the Dresden Grand master Wolfgang Uhlmann. Only two times at a few remis games he had to loose the game.

Thanks to good partners the spontaneous idea of Helmut Pfleger at the beginning of the ninties could become a traditional championship of this range: The German chess association and the German Pharmacist and doctors bank (generously supporting for years now). So Manfred Hermes gave significant money prizes to the five best, other prizes were distributed up to the 20th place.

Another plus of the event is the special athmosphere. For many participants the championship is a yearly occasion to follow their hobby far away from their professional loads which normally suffers from lack of time. From the meetings at the chess board many friendships have developped and old contacts form the University have been re-activated.

More than that there are chances to meet the great ones like Viktor Kortschnoi, Wolfgang Unzicker, Artur Jussupow, Lothar Schmid, Wolfgang Uhlmann and – last not least – Helmut Pfleger who´s engagement has supported this idea from the very beginning and assured a high image. He is not only international chess grand master but also doctor. The colleagues were lucky that he never participated at the competition but remained moderator, simultaneous player and chronist. He regularly writes the amusing and tricky chess tasks which are published in the "post scriptum" of the Deutsches Ärzteblatt. Though he knows the great games of the famous players mostly he presents ideas of his colleagues - picked up at these championships.....

The five best after nine rounds:

winner Dr. Stefan Müschenich, Nuradin Peci, Dr. Ralf-Alexander Schön, Prof. Dr. Peter Krauseneck and Dr. Reinhold Schnelzer (from the left). photo: Josef Maus

 

Josef Maus

See the ORIGINAL site of this story in German in the archive of the "Deutsches Ärzteblatt"!

 

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