Chess

"Vronsky could not answer questions, could not speak to anyone. He turned, and without picking up his cap that had fallen off, walked away from the race course, not knowing where he was going." (Lev Tolstoy)

Over the Board

Next to my academic activity, I used to be an avid chess player, particularly in team competitions. I was awarded the title of International Master at the age of 18; however, it took me about the same time (17 years) to become an International Grandmaster (GM). I obtained by chess education at Klub Kölner Schachfreunde ("KKS"). I played for many years at Godesberger SK and then for Schachfreunde Berlin in the German Bundesliga.

I always liked playing in teams. During my time in the Netherlands, I played for De Stukkenjagers and Leidsche Schaakgenootschap in the Netherlands. Finally, I regularly lined up for Šahovski Klub Brda (Split) in the Croatian team championship.

The picture was taken during my game against Peter Svidler in the European Club Cup in 2017. The position was in dynamic equilibrium for a long time, but at this point, things were going downhill and Svidler went on to clinch the full point.

Memorable Moments

I remember lost and drawn games better than wins. They tend to leave a stronger impression. The game against Xander Wemmers in the file below is a particularly good example.

Many of my games are replayable online, too. A notable win was this game against Latvian chess legend Aleksey Shirov, while this game shows a six-hour defense against a strong opponent. After saving that game, it was time for a beer in the train with a famous fellow traveller (Aleksey Shirov, again)!

(Beyond) The Stress of Chess

Chess can be painful. I have an avid interest in the psychology and "phenomenology" of chessplaying and have also written about the topic. If you want to understand what can happen in the head of chess players during a game, you should read the horse race scene from Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (the end is quoted above).

On the other hand, tournament play can bring you to beautiful places. This picture shows Mount Lovcen in Montenegro. For more impressions from this chess-based trip through the Balcans, visit the blog below.

Study Composition

Some years ago, I decided to stop regular tournament activity and I turned to composing endgame studies. They are, in a nutshell, stylized endgames where White has to find the unique way to draw or to win, dependent on the stipulation.

The artistic value of these compositions is promoted by the depth, the visual beauty and the economy of the (often surprising, but always unique) solution. In many endgame studies, there are also thematic tries ("false trails") which look almost like the solution, but fail to a clever defense by Black.

Below you can download six studies that I submitted for the WCCI 2019-21 tournament. Most of them made it into the FIDE Album 2019-21.

I owe a lot to my lessons from chess composition Grandmaster and current Vice World Champion Martin Minski, with whom I collaborate regularly. The picture shows me with Martin in Berlin 2024.

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