Person of day   -  20 SEPTEMBER 2023

FRIEDRICH ZÄMISCH

FRIEDRICH ZÄMISCH

The greatest success in his career was third place at a large tournament in Baden-Baden in 1925, where Alekhine came first. Sämisch also won a few tournaments, but they were less prestigious. For example, he won in Vienna in 1921, in Spa in 1926, in Dortmund and Brno in 1928 and Swinemunde in 1930. In1922, he won a match against Reti 3,5:2,5. 

Sämisch played for the German team at the 1930 Olympiad. He played with an attractive combinative style that won many prizes for artistic creativity. In individual games, he was a dangerous opponent for anyone, no matter how decorated. HedefeatedevenCapablanca. 

Samisch is remembered in chess history as an exceptional theoretician. Sämisch’s system in the King’s Indian Defence is one of the most popular in this opening- it was employed by most of the last century’s outstanding grandmasters. The system has not lost its relevance in the present age, and neither has Sämisch’s system in the Nimzo-Indian Defence.

Friedrich Sämisch lived a long life and survived two world wars. He played chess until the very end- history remembers an instance in 1969 in Linkoping, when the elderly grandmaster ran out of time in all 13 games. Sämisch died in August 1975 in West Berlin.