Wolfgang Heidenfeld
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| Wolfgang Heidenfeld, Darmstadt 1960 |
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| Association |
 Germany (until approx. 1935) South Africa (approx. 1935 to 1958) Ireland (from 1958)
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| Born | May 29, 1911 Schöneberg , German Empire |
| Died | August 3, 1981 Ulm |
| Best Elo rating | 2250 (July 1971 to July 1973) |
Wolfgang Heidenfeld (born May 29, 1911 in Schöneberg ; † August 3, 1981 in Ulm ) was a German- Irish chess player. Heidenfeld spent a long time in emigration in South Africa and later in Ireland.
biography
Heidenfeld was born in Schöneberg, which has been part of Berlin since 1920 . The enthusiastic chess player, who had started a law degree, felt compelled to flee Germany in the mid-1930s because of his Jewish descent.
He spent more than twenty years in exile in South Africa. He got by with a wide variety of activities. In addition to his chess activities, he wrote crossword puzzles , wrote short stories and worked as a journalist or sales representative . During the Second World War , Heidenfeld is also said to have helped the Allies to decode German messages .
Heidenfeld rejected the apartheid system prevailing in South Africa at the time , especially since he himself had been a victim of discrimination in his youth . In 1957 he decided to emigrate again and moved to Dublin . He had got to know his new adopted home Ireland the year before at a chess tournament.
However, his biography was marked by further changes of location. He lived in Frankfurt am Main for a few years before moving to Ireland for a longer period of time in 1963 with his new German wife. In 1979, Heidenfeld finally moved to Ulm with his family, where he died two years later.
Chess career
His chess career reflects Heidenfeld's unusual life. During his time in South Africa, he won the national chess championship eight times. Heidenfeld also represented the country in 1958 in Munich at the first Chess Olympiad , in which South Africa took part.
In his career he won games against such strong opponents as the former Dutch world champion Max Euwe or Miguel Najdorf . Even so, he never achieved the title of International Master . According to one version, Heidenfeld, who was known for his idiosyncratic character, had finally achieved the necessary qualifications, but rejected the award from the World Chess Federation .
Irish chess dominated Heidenfeld for around a decade. Between 1958 and 1972 he won the state championship six times. In the years 1966 , 1968 , 1970 and 1974 he was also a member of the Irish team at the Chess Olympiad in.
Heidenfeld was also active as a chess composer and was the author of several chess books, including the works in German, Große Drawpartien (1968) and Damen sind Luxus (1983).
In 1973, Heidenfeld accidentally castled twice in a game against Kerins in Dublin. Because the violation of the chess rules went unnoticed, he set a "record" for the largest number of castling in a tournament game.
German-Irish chess family
His son Mark Heidenfeld (* 1968) also excelled in chess and is an international champion . He won the Irish National Championship in 2000 and has represented Ireland at several Chess Olympiads since 1996.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Wolfgang Heidenfeld's results at the Chess Olympiads on olimpbase.org (English)
- ↑ Tim Krabbé: Chess Records (English)
Web links
- Portrait of Heidenfeld on the website of the Irish Chess Federation (English)
- Replayable chess games by Wolfgang Heidenfeld on chessgames.com (English)
- Compositions by Heidenfeld on the PDB server
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Heidenfeld, Wolfgang |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-South African-Irish chess player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 29, 1911 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin-Schöneberg |
| DATE OF DEATH | 3rd August 1981 |
| Place of death | Ulm |