Milan Vidmar (22 June 1885 – 9 October 1962) was a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n electrical engineer, chess player, chess theorist, and writer. He was among the top dozen chess players in the world from 1910 to 1930 and in 1950, was among the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE. Vidmar was a specialist in

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

s and transmission of electric current.

Early life, family, and education

He was born in a middle-class family in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now in

). He began to study

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

in 1902, and he graduated in 1907 at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

. He got his

doctor's degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' l ...

in 1911 from the Technical faculty in Vienna. The study of electrical engineering at the Technical faculty did not begin until 1904, so Vidmar had to take special examinations in the field basics. Between 1912-13 he worked at the famous

Ganz Works The Ganz Works or Ganz ( or , ''Ganz companies'', formerly ''Ganz and Partner Iron Mill and Machine Factory'') was a group of companies operating between 1845 and 1949 in Budapest, Hungary. It was named after Ábrahám Ganz, the founder and the ...

in Budapest as the assistant of Ottó Titusz Bláthy, one of the inventors and foremost experts on transformers which in turn became Vidmar's specialisation too. He was a professor at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

, a member of the Slovene Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the founder of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Between 1928 and 1929 he was the 10th Chancellor of the University of Ljubljana. In 1948 he established the Institute of Electrotechnics that now bears his name.

Chess career

Vidmar was also a top-class chess player, probably one of the best dozen players in the world from 1910 to 1930, all the while remaining an amateur. He was awarded the Grandmaster title by FIDE in 1950, when titles were introduced. His successes include high places at some of the top chess tournaments of his time, e.g. sixth at Carlsbad 1907, third at Prague 1908, first at Gothenburg 1909 (the 7th

Nordic Chess Championship The Nordic Chess Championship (''Nordiska Schackkongressen'') is a biennal chess tournament which determines the champion of the Nordic countries. The first edition took place in Stockholm in 1897. History The winners in the Nordic Championship in ...

), second at San Sebastián 1911 with

Akiba Rubinstein Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein (1 December 1880 – 14 March 1961) was a Polish chess player. He is considered to have been one of the greatest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Rubinstein was granted the title International Grandma ...

behind

José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. Capabl ...

, first at

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

1912, second at Mannheim 1914, first at

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in 1918, second at Košice 1928, third at London 1922, shared first with

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...

at Hastings 1925/26, third at Semmering 1926, fourth at New York 1927, fourth at London 1927, shared fifth at Carlsbad 1929, tied for 4–7th at Bled 1931, tied for 3–6th at Stuttgart 1939, second behind

Max Euwe Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. He served as ...

at Budapest 1940, first at

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

1952. Vidmar represented Yugoslavia in the

Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 an ...

s of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

1931 (, 8½/16) and Stockholm 1935 (board one, 8½/14). Vidmar became an arbiter, earning the title of

International Arbiter {{No footnotes, date=April 2022 In chess tournaments, an arbiter is an official who oversees matches and ensures that the rules of chess are followed. International Arbiter ''International Arbiter'' is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed ...

from FIDE, and was chief referee for the 1948 World Chess Championship in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

/Moscow.

Major writings

Books on chess: * ''Pol stoletja ob šahovnici'' (''Half a century at the chessboard'') (Ljubljana 1951) * ''Šah'' (''Chess'') * ''Razgovori o šahu z začetnikom'' (''Conversations on chess with a beginner'') * in German, ''Goldene Schachzeiten'' (''The Golden Times of Chess'') Others: * ''Transformatorji'' (''Transformers'') * ''Problemi prenosa električne energije'' (''Problems of electric energy transmission'') * ''Pogovori o elektrotehniki'' (''Talking about electrotechnics'') * ''Med Evropo in Ameriko'' (''Between Europe and America'') * augmented edition in German, ''Das Ende des Goldzeitalters'' (Berlin, 1942) * ''Moj pogled na svet'' (''My view of the World'') * ''Oslovski most'' (''Pons asinorum'') (Merkur, Ljubljana 1936)

Family

His younger brother,

Josip Vidmar Josip Vidmar (October 14, 1895 – April 11, 1992) was a notable Slovenian literary critic, essayist, and politician. From 1944 to 1946 he was speaker of the Slovenian People's Liberation Council (Slovenian Parliament). From 1952 to 1976 was pr ...

, was an influential Slovenian literary critic and public intellectual; his son, Milan Vidmar, Jr. was an International Master of chess.

Tributes

The Slovene Chess Federation organizes an international grandmaster tournament named the Milan Vidmar memorial.dr. Milan Vidmar memorial Tournaments
Slovenian chess federation

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vidmar, Milan 1885 births 1962 deaths Engineers from Ljubljana University of Vienna alumni University of Ljubljana faculty Chess grandmasters Chess Olympiad competitors Slovenian chess players Yugoslav chess players 20th-century Slovenian philosophers Slovenian writers Chess writers Chess arbiters Slovenian electrical engineers Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Burials at Žale Yugoslav engineers Engineers from the Austro-Hungarian Empire