Baron Ignatz von Kolisch (6 April 1837 – 30 April 1889), also Baron Ignaz von Kolisch (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

) or báró Kolisch Ignác ( Hungarian), was a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...

with Jewish roots. Kolisch was born into a Jewish family in Pressburg (known today as

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

). Both in business and as a chess player he was eminently successful. In his early years he moved to Vienna, then spent a year in Italy. In 1859 he arrived in Paris and in 1860–62 mostly sojourned in London, where he edited the '' Chess Player's Chronicle'' with Adolf Zytogorski and Josef Kling. In summer 1862 he accompanied the Russian Count Kushelev-Bezborodko to St. Petersburg, where he won a match against

Ilya Shumov Ilya Stepanovich Shumov (, 28 June 1819 in Arkhangelsk – July 1881 in Sevastopol) was a Russian chess master. He served as an officer in the Russian Navy until 1847, then worked as a civil servant in Saint Petersburg. He was invited, along with ...

. Later he moved to

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and in 1869 to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He became involved in banking and became a millionaire and chess patron, organizing and sponsoring important chess tournaments in the 1870s and 1880s. He founded the ''Wiener Börse-Syndikatskasse'' in 1869, and in 1873 established a commission house in

; and by prudent management he acquired considerable wealth. In 1881 he received the title of baron from Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. As a chess player, Kolisch soon became known for his brilliant and aggressive style, but he was not a frequent participant in tournaments. In 1860 he won the first prize at the international tournament held at

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. In 1861 he lost a match to

Adolf Anderssen Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen (6 July 1818 – 13 March 1879)"Anderssen, Adolf" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 385. was a German chess master. ...

, the strongest player of the day, by a score of 5–4. The same year, he drew a match with

Louis Paulsen Louis Paulsen (15 January 1833 in Gut Nassengrund near Blomberg, Principality of Lippe – 18 August 1891) was a German chess player. In the 1860s and 1870s, he was among the top players in the world. He was a younger brother of Wilfried Pa ...

. In 1867 at the Paris tournament he secured first place, defeating both

Szymon Winawer Szymon Abramowicz Winawer (March 6, 1838 – November 29, 1919) was a Polish chess player who won the German Chess Championship in 1883. Tournament and match results At the Paris 1867 tournament held at the Café de la Régence, his first inte ...

and

Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was a Bohemian-Austrian, and later American, chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and c ...

. Kolisch was the founder and editor-in-chief of the ''Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung'', to which, under the pseudonym "Ideka",Székely Dávid: Magyak irók álnevei a multban és jelenbe

p.18 (Budapest, 1904) he contributed many

feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of , the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle ...

s. The protagonist in the short story "The chessbaron" (A sakkbáró) by

Ferenc Móra Ferenc Móra (19 July 1879 – 8 February 1934) was a Hungarian novelist, journalist, and museologist. Life Ferenc Móra was born in Kiskunfélegyháza, into a financially poor family. His father Márton Móra was a tailor, and his mother ...

is based on him. He died of kidney failure in 1889.

References

* E. T. Blanchard, ''Examples of Chess Master-Play'', 1st series (transl. from the German of

Jean Dufresne Jean Dufresne (14 February 1829 – 13 April 1893) was a German chess player and chess composer. He was a student of Adolf Anderssen, to whom he lost the "Evergreen game" in 1852. Life Dufresne was born and died in Berlin. The son of a wealthy J ...

), Index, New Barnet, 1893. * * F. Zavatarelli, ''Ignaz Kolisch. The Life and Chess Career'', McFarland, 2015.

External links

* Hungarian chess players Chess players from Austria-Hungary Jewish chess players Chess patrons Hungarian Jews Austrian Jews 1837 births 1889 deaths Deaths from kidney failure Chess players from Bratislava 19th-century philanthropists 19th-century chess players {{Hungary-chess-bio-stub

See also

References

External links