Chess Society Zurich
The Schachgesellschaft Zürich (SG Zürich) is the oldest existing chess club in the world. It organized major international chess tournaments , made a significant contribution to the development of the chess organization in Switzerland and is still one of the leading chess clubs in Switzerland.
history
Foundation and early years
The Chess Club (SG) was 1809 by the grocer founded Johann Escher, the state treasurer Sigmund Spönli, the paper manufacturer Leonhard Ziegler and the painters Henry Maurer, Carl Schulthess and Heinrich Schulthess. Heinrich Maurer became the founding president, subsequently the language teacher Heinrich Meister took over the presidency.
The first Swiss club competition between SG Zurich and the Winterthur chess company is documented in 1822 . Three years later the chess society organized the first "Federal Chess Tournament". After Heinrich Meister's death in 1836, Johann Escher took over the presidency. In 1840 the club member Conrad von Orelli published his "little chess book", a "vivid representation of the rules of chess and the most ingenious moves of famous players for beginners". In 1867 the statutes of the association appeared in print for the first time. From 1868 to 1879 ten chess tournaments from Eastern Switzerland took place with participants from Sankt Gallen, Zurich, Winterthur, Lucerne, Wil, Schaffhausen, Bern, Glarus and Basel.
The Pestalozzi / Thomann era
In 1887, when the SG Zurich only had fifteen members, Max Pestalozzi took over the presidency. In 1888 and 1898, German master Emil Schallopp and world chess champion Emanuel Lasker played simultaneously in Zurich . In 1889, the SG Zurich continued the tradition of chess tournaments in Eastern Switzerland and held a two-day chess tournament, which was later called the First Swiss Chess Tournament and which was to establish a long tradition. The Swiss Chess Association (SSV) was founded on the occasion of this tournament . In 1893 the chess society succeeded in persuading the Neue Zürcher Zeitung to set up a chess column. In 1901 the SG accepted women as members for the first time in its history. Max Pestalozzi was succeeded as President by Eduard Thomann, who held the office until 1922. In 1905, the then eighteen year old Aaron Nimzowitsch was a student in Zurich. In 1909 the 100th anniversary was celebrated with the organization of a chess tournament and a ceremony. With over 100 members, the SG Zurich was by far the largest section in the SSV. In 1916 and 1919 Emanuel Lasker played again simultaneously in Zurich. In 1922 there was a simultaneity by Alexander Alekhine .
International chess tournaments in Zurich
In 1925, member Paul Johner won the 25th edition of the Swiss chess tournament organized by SG Zurich on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the first federal chess tournament. Parallel to this tournament, FIDE, founded in 1924, held its first assembly of delegates. In 1925, 1928 and 1931 Alexander Alekhine, Efim Bogoljubow and Aaron Nimzowitsch visited the chess society.
On the occasion of its 125th anniversary in 1934, the chess society organized an international championship tournament for the first time in the club's history and in the history of Swiss chess. Alexander Alekhine won ahead of Max Euwe and Salo Flohr . The Second World War brought chess life to a standstill in Switzerland too. As early as 1946, the SG Zurich hosted a five-master tournament again, which was won by Bogolyubov. In 1952 Erik Lundin won the 53rd Swiss chess tournament ahead of Martin Christoffel and Max Euwe.
The absolute highlight in the club's history was the organization of the candidates' tournament for the 1953 World Cup. SG Zurich with its tournament director Alois Nagler had been given a large part of the implementation responsibility from the SSV. The winner was Vasily Smyslov against David Bronstein , Paul Keres and Samuel Reshevsky . David Bronstein wrote a book about the tournament that is one of the classics of chess literature. After the candidates tournament, Alois Nagler took over the presidency of the SG. The American writer Clare Benedict provided funds that allowed him to organize regular international team tournaments, the “Clare Benedict tournaments”, for the next two decades.
In 1953, SG Zurich won the Swiss team championship, in which they participated for the first time. In 1956, a thousand spectators saw the world champion Mikhail Botvinnik watch a simultaneous watch . For the 150th anniversary, a world-class tournament was held again, which was won by Michail Tal ahead of Svetozar Gligorić , Bobby Fischer and Paul Keres. In another Grandmaster tournament in 1961, Paul Keres won ahead of Tigran Petrosjan and Svetozar Gligorić.
The latest time
In 1971, Werner Hug from Zurich became the first and so far only Swiss junior world champion in Athens . On the occasion of its 175th anniversary in 1984, the SG again hosted a grandmaster tournament as an international open, in which John Nunn was victorious. On the shared second place among others Boris Spasski and Viktor Kortschnoi .
In 1993 Viktor Kortschnoi joined the SG Zurich. In 1998, the SG held a tournament based on the Scheveningen system in honor of Honorary President Alois Nagler, who died in 1996 , in which top Swiss players met chess legends such as Viktor Kortschnoi, Vasili Smyslow, Bent Larsen , Svetozar Gligoric and Wolfgang Unzicker . On the occasion of Viktor Korchnoi's 70th birthday, the SG organized a rapid tournament in which the world champions Vladimir Kramnik , Boris Spasski and Garry Kasparov took part.
In 2009, the Zurich Chess Society celebrated its 200th anniversary as the world's oldest chess club. On this occasion, three major events took place in August in the Kongresshaus and in the Zurich main station: an open tournament, a simultaneous of eight world-class players against 200 amateurs (according to the motto for every year one game, with each of the eight simultaneous donors in the history of chess as World Champion is immortalized, including Garry Kasparov, who has retired from active tournament chess, the strongest chess player of all time for many experts) and a top-class rapid chess tournament ("Rapid Champions") with world champion Viswanathan Anand , Anatoli Karpow , Viktor Korchnoi, Vladimir Kramnik, Wesselin Topalow , Ruslan Ponomarjow , Judit Polgar , the strongest chess player of all time, and the aforementioned former junior world champion and SG club member Werner Hug.
Today the SG Zurich has around a hundred members and takes part in Swiss games with several teams. President is Christian Issler . The SG has its own centrally located game room (Olivengasse 8, near Kreuzplatz), which members can use at any time outside of the regular game evening (Friday). The SG is 25 times Swiss team champion and was last champion of the National League A in 2016. The best active players are Christian Bauer , Yannick Pelletier , Alexandra Kostenjuk , Lothar Vogt , Lucas Brunner and Werner Hug.
literature
- Richard Forster: Schachgesellschaft Zürich: 1809 to 2009. Schachgesellschaft Zürich, Zürich 2009. ISBN 9783033019171 .