Düsseldorf Chess Club from 1854
The Düsseldorf chess club from 1854 is one of the oldest German chess clubs . In the 19th century he played a decisive role in the formation of the first chess federation in Germany and continental Europe.
From 1861 the Düsseldorf chess club, together with the Elberfeld chess society and the Krefeld chess club , took the initiative to found the West German Chess Federation . This hosted the Rhenish Chess Congresses in the following two decades and is considered to be the forerunner of the later German Chess Federation . The first Rhenish chess congresses in 1861 (without a tournament) or in 1862, 1863 and 1864 and another congress of the West German Chess Federation in 1876 took place in Düsseldorf.
Another highlight in the club's history was the year 1908. The club invited to the congress of the German Chess Federation - Frank Marshall won the championship tournament - and organized the first part of the world championship match between Emanuel Lasker and Siegbert Tarrasch in the Kunstpalast .
The most famous player that the Düsseldorf Chess Club has produced is Ludwig Engels , who was a member of the German Olympic team on several occasions . After winning the Olympics at the 1939 Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires , he did not return to Germany because of the outbreak of war. Other well-known members of the association before the Second World War were Alfred van Nüß , Georg Kieninger and the painter Balduin Wolff , who was appointed honorary chairman in 1899.
After the Second World War, the traditional club "DSV 1854" lost its importance. In recent times, however, the club has taken part in the game again with a larger number of teams and, especially since the merger in 2007 with the "Düsseldorfer Schachzentrum 2000", has again achieved a leading position in the Lower Rhine Chess Association.
literature
- Düsseldorf chess club from 1854: 150 years for 64 fields , Düsseldorf 2004 (self-published)