Johannes Minckwitz (April 11, 1843,

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

– May 20, 1901, Biebrich) was a German

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player and author.

Origins

He was the son of German classical scholar and author Johannes Minckwitz.

Chess play

His best achievement was 2nd place, behind

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. ...

, at Barmen 1869 (8th WDSB–Congress). He tied for 3rd-5th at Hamburg 1869 (2nd NDSB–Congress, Anderssen won); tied for 8-9th at Baden-Baden 1870 (Anderssen won); took 3rd at Krefeld 1871 (9th WDSB–Congress,

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 ...

won); took 4th at Frankfurt 1878 (12th WDSB–Congress, L. Paulsen won); took 11th at Leipzig 1879 (1st

DSB Congress The '' Deutscher Schachbund'' (DSB) was founded in Leipzig on 18 July, 1877. When the next meeting took place in the Schützenhaus on 15 July 1879, sixty-two clubs had become member of the chess federation. Hofrat Rudolf von Gottschall became Ch ...

Berthold Englisch Berthold Englisch (9 July 1851 in Hotzenplotz – 19 October 1897 in Vienna) was a chess master from Austria-Hungary. Englisch was born in Austrian Silesia, Austrian Empire into a Jewish family. He earned his living as a stock-market agent. He ...

won). He shared 1st with

Max Weiss Miksa (Max) Weisz (21 July 1857 – 14 March 1927) was an Austrian chess player born in the Kingdom of Hungary. Weiss was born in Sereď. Moving to Vienna, he studied mathematics and physics at the university, and later taught those subjects. Wei ...

and

Adolf Schwarz Adolf Schwarz (31 October 1836, Gálszécs, Hungary, now Sečovce, Slovakia – 25 October 1910, Vienna) was an Austro-Hungarian chess master. He took 10th in the Vienna 1873 chess tournament (Wilhelm Steinitz and Joseph Henry Blackburne won). I ...

at Graz 1880; tied for 3rd-5th at Braunschweig 1880 (13th WDSB–Congress, L. Paulsen won); took 8th at Wiesbaden 1880 (

Joseph Henry Blackburne Joseph Henry Blackburne (10 December 1841 – 1 September 1924) was a British chess player. Nicknamed "The Black Death", he dominated the British scene during the latter part of the 19th century. Blackburne learned the game at the relatively late ...

, A. Schwarz and B. Englisch won); tied for 7-8th at Berlin 1881 (2nd DSB–Congress, Blackburne won); took 10th at Hamburg (4th DSB–Congress,

Isidor Gunsberg Isidor Arthur Gunsberg (also spelled ''Günzberg'', ; 1 November 1854 – 2 May 1930) was a Hungarian chess player, best known for narrowly losing the 1891 World Chess Championship match to Wilhelm Steinitz. Biography Gunsberg began his caree ...

won); tied for 13-14th at Breslau (6th DSB–Congress,

Siegbert Tarrasch Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century. Life Tarrasch was born in Bresla ...

won), and took 9th at Berlin 1890 (

Emanuel Lasker Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher. He was the second World Chess Champion, holding the title for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially ...

and

Berthold Lasker Berthold Lasker (also, per birth registry Jonathan Berthold Barnett Lasker)per birth registry (Archiwum Państwowe Gorzów Wielkopolski, Sąd Obwodowy w Barlinku, Duplikaty księg metrykalnych gminy żydowskiej, signature 66/886/0/3/4, item 105 ...

won).

Last years and death

Around 1883, he began to show symptoms of mental illness for which he was hospitalized several times. On May 15, 1901, he threw himself under an electric train, losing both his arms, and died five days later

Chess literature

In 1865–1876 and 1879–1886, he was an editor of the ''

Deutsche Schachzeitung ''Deutsche Schachzeitung'' (English: "''German Chess Magazine''") was the first German chess magazine. Founded in 1846 by Ludwig Bledow under the title ''Schachzeitung der Berliner Schachgesellschaft'' and appearing monthly, it took the name ''Deuts ...

'' and author of ''Das ABC des Schachspiels'' (Leipzig 1879), ''Humor in Schachspiel'' (Leipzig 1885) and ''Der kleine Schachkönig'' (Leipzig 1889).Litmanowicz, Władysław & Giżycki, Jerzy (1986, 1987). Szachy od A do Z. Wydawnictwo Sport i Turystyka Warszawa. (1. A-M), (2. N-Z)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minckwitz, Johannes Von 1843 births 1901 deaths German chess writers German male non-fiction writers 19th-century German chess players 19th-century German sportsmen Chess players from Leipzig Suicides by train 1901 suicides