Efim Bogolyubov

Efim Bogolyubov, around 1925
Association	Russia (until 1917) Soviet Union (1922 to 1927) German Empire (1927 to 1945) Federal Republic of Germany (from 1949)
Born	April 1, 1889 or April 14, 1889 Stanislavchik , Russian Empire
Died	June 18, 1952 Triberg in the Black Forest
title	Grand Master (1951)
Best Elo rating	2768 (January 1927) ( historical rating )

Efim Bogolyubov ( Russian Ефим Дмитриевич Боголюбов / Efim Dmitriyevich Bogolyubov , scientific. Transliteration Efim Dmitrievič Bogoljubov * April 1 or 14. April 1889 in Stanislawtschik , Kiev Governorate , Russian Empire ; † 18 June 1952 in Triberg in the Black Forest ) was a Russian -German chess grandmaster.

Life

Youth in the Tsarist Empire

Bogolyubov first studied theology , but then switched to the Polytechnic University in Kiev . He learned chess , which after great success became his main profession, at the age of 15.

His first successes in tournaments date back to 1909: in Kiev he won the club tournament and in Odessa he came second in the South Russian Championship. In 1911 he became champion of Kiev and took part in tournaments in Saint Petersburg and Warsaw (fourth behind, inter alia, Akiba Rubinstein ). In Vilnius in 1912 he finished second in the main tournament and won the same year in Łódź . In 1913 he defeated Georg Salwe in a competition 6: 4 (+5 = 2 -3) and received the title of Russian champion .

First World War and new residence in Germany

At the beginning of the First World War in 1914 he stayed at his first tournament abroad in Mannheim and was interned in Triberg as well as Alexander Alekhine , Alexei Selesnjow and Ilja Rabinowitsch . Bogoljubow married a German and stayed in Triberg during and after the war . Numerous games of local tournaments and competitions between Bogolyubov and other internees have survived from 1914 to 1919.

In 1919 Bogolyubov won in Berlin and came third in Stockholm . In 1920 he lost to Akiba Rubinstein 5.5: 6.5 (+4 = 3 −5) in a competition in Stockholm and Gothenburg , but won a match against Aaron Nimzowitsch in Gothenburg with 3: 1. In 1921 he won in Kiel, in 1922 in Piešťany before Alexander Alekhine , in the same year in Hastings . In Karlsbad in 1923 he won together with Alexander Alekhine and Géza Maróczy .

From October 1920 to August 1921 he won a correspondence chess competition against players and chess clubs from Sweden (+19 = 5 −1).

On the way to world class and the world championship fights

He received German citizenship in 1927. Before that, he was a citizen of the Soviet Union and also took part in USSR championships: in 1924 and 1925 he was USSR champion . He celebrated his greatest success in Moscow in 1925 when he won the international tournament in front of José Raúl Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker . In 1928 he won against Capablanca in Bad Kissingen .

In April / May 1928 and at the turn of the year 1928/1929 Bogoljubow defeated the future world champion and Dutchman Max Euwe (venues were different cities in the Netherlands) with 5.5: 4.5 each (+3 = 5 -) in two competitions organized by FIDE 2 and +2 = 7 −1). This earned him the title of " World Chess Federation Champion " . His successes encouraged patrons in Germany and the Netherlands to fund a world championship match against Alexander Alekhine that came about in 1929. Bogolyubov was clearly defeated with 9.5: 15.5 (+5 = 9 −11).

In 1925 in Breslau in front of Aaron Nimzowitsch and Akiba Rubinstein , in 1931 in Swinoujscie after a playoff with Ludwig Rödl and in 1933 in Bad Pyrmont in front of Rödl and Georg Kieninger , Bogoljubow won the individual championships in Germany . In 1927 he was second at the German championship in Magdeburg (Spielmann first). In Bled 1931 he finished second behind Alekhine. In 1932 he was defeated by Rudolf Spielmann with 4.5: 5.5 (+3 = 3 −4) at Semmering . In 1934 there were again chess-loving patrons in Germany who organized a competition against world champion Alekhine : this time Bogolyubov was defeated with 10.5: 15.5 (+3 = 15 −8).

With the German national team, Bogoljubow took part in the 1931 Chess Olympiad in Prague , where he achieved the second-best result on the top board.

Best chess player in Germany

Bogolyubov's best time was over, although he was still considered the strongest player in Germany. However, after 1933 he was denied participation in the “Championship of Germany” because, according to the laws in force at the time, he was a German citizen , but not “of German blood ”. In the period up to the Second World War he won 1935 in Bad Nauheim and Bad Saarow , 1936, 1937 and 1938 in Bad Elster , 1938 in Karlsruhe , 1939 in Stuttgart . In the same year he was defeated by the promising young talent Erich Eliskases in a competition with 8.5: 11.5 (+3 = 11 −6). In 1941 he lost to Max Euwe in Karlsbad with 3.5: 6.5 (+2 = 3 −5). During the war, Bogoljubow accepted an invitation from the chess-loving "Governor General" of occupied Poland, Hans Frank (who also hosted world champion Alekhine for a long time in Cracow), and moved to the General Government , where he took part in various tournaments and chess events , also worked as a translator in the Cracow administration. After the war, his reputation at FIDE was damaged as a result. When he was awarded the title of grandmaster in 1950 to honored masters, he was passed over. It was not until 1951 that he received the title.

Difficult post-war period

Tomb of Efim Bogoljubow in the cemetery (field F) in Triberg (Black Forest)

In post-war Germany , Bogoljubow, as a professional player, was dependent on constant participation in tournaments, as he had to support his wife and two daughters: He won in Lüneburg , Kassel and Flensburg in 1947 . In 1949 he won the tournament for the championship of Germany in Bad Pyrmont for the third and last time (after 1931 and 1933). In the same year he won the well-attended tournament in Oldenburg, tied with Elmars Zemgalis . In 1950 and 1951 he defeated the German top players Georg Kieninger and Walter Niephaus in duels in Schwelm with 5: 3 (+3 = 4 −1) and Baden-Baden with 5: 1 (+5 = 0 −1). In Zurich 1951 he managed a 3: 3 (+2 = 2 −2) against the Argentine grandmaster Herman Pilnik . He died immediately after his return from an international chess tournament in Belgrade on June 18, 1952.

From 1948 until his untimely death Bogoljubow was a member of the Freiburg Chess Club from 1887 , whose chairman at the time, Friedrich A. Stock , donated his tomb in Triberg, among other things.

Theoretical contribution

A chess opening was named after Bogolyubov : the Bogolyubov-Indian Defense : 1. d2 – d4 Ng8 – f6 2. c2 – c4 e7 – e6 3. Ng1 – f3 Bf8 – b4 + . The Morphy- Bogolyubov variant in the Scottish four -knight game (1. e2 – e4 e7 – e5 2. Ng1 – f3 Nb8 – c6 3. Nb1 – c3 Ng8 – f6 4. d2 – d4 Bf8 – b4) also bears his name.

Well-known games

• Bogolyubov - Alekhine, Hastings 1922
• Keller-Herrmann - Bogoljubow, Dortmund 1951

Historical rating

Bogolyubov's best historical rating was 2768. This he reached in 1927. Accordingly, he was also number 1 in the world rankings for a short time.

composition

In his later years Bogolyubov also created a number of chess compositions , such as the following.

Efim D. Bogoljubow
Badische Illustrierte, 1951

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Checkmate in three moves

Solution:

1. e2 – e3! (takes the king the fields d4 and f4) h3-h2
2. Tc5xe5 + Ke6xe5
3. Da3-e7 matt
on any black king moves in the first train also follows the 2nd and 3rd Txe5 Qe7 matt (or 1 ... Ke7 second Txe5 + Kd8 3rd Da / f8 mate)

Works

• Chess school . Konkordia publishing house, Bühl / Baden 1925.
• Classic chess games from modern times , 3 vols. Berlin / Leipzig 1926–1928.
• The Moscow International Chess Tournament 1925 . Berlin / Leipzig 1927.
• The modern opening d2 – d4! Triberg 1928.
• Chess fight for the world championship . Karlsruhe 1935.

literature

• Alfred Brinckmann : Grand Master Bogoljubow . de Gruyter, Berlin 1953.
• WA Tscharuschin: Odna, no plamennaja strast [One, but a glowing passion]. Nizhny Novgorod 1995.
• Grigory Bogdanovich: The Creative Power of Bogolyubov . Volume 1. Elk & Ruby, Moscow 2020. ISBN 978-5-6040710-7-6 .

Web links

Commons : Efim Bogolyubov  - Collection of Images

• Literature by and about Efim Bogoljubow in the catalog of the German National Library
• Biography of Efim Bogolyubov at Leobw

Individual evidence

1. ↑ April 1st based on documents available from the city of Triberg in the Black Forest ( OTRS ticket 2015051010016249 )
2. ↑ April 1st according to the German calendar and April 1st, 1889 according to the Russian calendar in Badische Zeitung 1972 : Chess grandmaster Bogolyubov died 20 years ago .
3. ↑ April 1st on tombstone in Triburg
4. ↑ April 1st at leobw
5. ^ Munzinger
6. ↑ Jeremy Gaige
7. ↑ Johannes Fischer: Efim Bogoljubow: A German top player. April 14, 2019, accessed August 23, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Alfred Brinckmann: Grand Master Bogoljubow . Walter de Gruyter-Verlag Berlin 1953, p. 2.
9. ^ Klaus Lindörfer: Large chess dictionary . Mosaik-Verlag Munich 1981, p. 43, ISBN 84-499-8080-1 .
10. ^ E. Bogolyubov: Chess fight for the world championship between Dr. A. Alekhine (Paris) and E. Bogoljubow (Triberg) in Germany 1934. Macklotsche Druckerei und Verlag, Karlsruhe 1935.
11. ↑ German individual chess championship 1925 in Breslau on TeleSchach (cross table and games)
12. ↑ German individual championship 1931 in Swinoujscie on TeleSchess (table and games)
13. ↑ German individual chess championship 1933 in Bad Pyrmonat cross table and all games on TeleSchach
14. ↑ German individual chess championship 1927 in Magdeburg on TeleSchach (cross table and games)
15. ↑ Salo Flohr : 50 years since Bled 1931! Schach-Echo 1981, issue 17, pages 266 to 268 (report, photo, cross table, games).
16. ↑ Efim Bogolyubov's results at the Chess Olympiads on olimpbase.org (English)
17. ^ The international tournament 1935 in Bad Nauheim on TeleSchach
18. ^ The international tournament 1939 in Stuttgart on TeleSchach
19. ↑ Willy Iclicki: FIDE Golden book 1924-2002 . Euroadria, Slovenia, 2002, p. 74.
20. ^ German individual chess championship 1949 in Bad Pyrmont. Cross table and all games on TeleSchach
21. ↑ Pekka Kauppala, Peter Bolt: 100 years of chess in Freiburg . Festschrift on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Freiburger Schachfreunde 1887 e. V. Schachwoche Verlag 1987, Freiburg i.Br., p. 29.