Sammi Fajarowicz

Sammi Fajarowicz (born June 5, 1908 in Möckern (today a district of Leipzig), † July 4, 1940 in Leipzig ) was a German chess player .

Life

Fajarowicz's parents came from Galicia and Kiev . His father was a leather goods merchant. Fajarowicz graduated from high school in the mid-1920s , but was denied study due to the economic decline of his father. Instead, he took on various odd jobs. After the seizure of power of the NSDAP the Fajarowicz 'was German citizenship revoked and were given an alien's passport, followed by further reprisals. For financial reasons, emigration was not possible for the Jewish family. In 1938 Sammi Fajarowicz went to France, was expelled there for taking up work illegally, remained in a psychiatric clinic in Luxembourg between January 1939 and March 1940 and was again deported to Germany. When he returned to Leipzig, he was admitted to the Leipzig Israelite Hospital and died of tuberculosis in July 1940 .

Chess career

Fajarowicz learned to play chess together with his twin brother Edi at an early age . As a 20-year-old Sammi Fajarowicz was one of the strongest chess players in Saxony. In 1928 he was third in the Leipzig championship, in 1929 second behind Max Blümich , in 1930 he finished the winning group of the championship tournament tied with Blümich, but lost the subsequent playoff with 1: 3 in 3 draws. In the same year he took part in the excellent 18th congress of the Saxon Chess Federation in Zwickau , whose championship tournament was won by Karl Helling in front of Salo Flohr , Max Blümich, Karl Gilg , Jacques Mieses and Friedrich Palitzsch . In 1931 and 1933 he won the Leipzig championship. After the NSDAP came to power, Fajarowicz was excluded from participating in German championship tournaments because of his "race". In 1935, Fajarowicz took part in an international tournament in Great Yarmouth , won by Samuel Reshevsky , and finished fourth. In December 1935, he finished in 1st to 3rd place at the 1st German Jewish Championship , which took place in Leipzig, and the title "Jewish Chess Master " was not awarded. In Frankfurt am Main he won undisputed and became "Jewish Chess Master of Germany for 1937".

Theoretical contribution

The Fajarowicz Gambit is named after Fajarowicz, which Fajarowicz used for the first time publicly in a game at a tournament in Wiesbaden in 1928 against Herman Steiner . Fajarowicz lost the game, but he had reached a promising position, which has been investigated by various theorists.

literature

• Alfred Diel : Alien passport no. 16. The short life of the Saxon master Sammi Fajarowicz. In: Kaissiber 16 / January – March 2001, pp. 20–39.
• Alfred Diel, Stefan Bücker : Reading traces: Sammi Fajarowicz. In: Kaissiber 16 / January – March 2001, pp. 41–57.
• Peter Anderberg : Sammi Fajarowicz 100 Years , in Kaissiber 32 / July – September 2008, pp. 62–74.

Web links

• Blümich against Fajarowicz