Founded in 1809, the Zurich Chess Club is the world's oldest chess organization. Throughout its two centuries of existence it has been a meeting point for many remarkable personalities in the fields of art, literature, science, economy, politics and chess. This historical text examines how the club, a driving force behind Swiss chess, also became a major player on the international chess scene. Topics covered include the storied development of the club, its outstanding members and its memorable activities. Its historical tournaments are covered in-depth, including such competitions as those held in 1934 (Lasker, Alekhine, Euwe), 1953 (Smyslov, Bronstein, Reshevsky) and 1959 (Tal, Fischer, Keres). The tournament history culminates in the spectacular bicentenary celebrations in summer 2009, featuring the world champions Spassky, Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand and Topalov.

About the Author

Richard Forster holds a doctorate in computational linguistics and the international master title in chess. He works as a technical writer in information technology and is also the chess columnist of the Neue Zurcher Zeitung . He has participated in four chess Olympiads, and in 2010 he won third prize in the strongest Swiss championship to date, scoring his second grandmaster norm. He is the author of the highly-acclaimed chess biography Amos Burn (McFarland, 2004) and co-editor of the monumental German monograph Emanuel Lasker: Denker, Weltenburger, Schachweltmeister (Exzelsior Verlag, 2009).

Content:
001 Foreword by Vladimir Kramnik

003 Preface

Part I: History of the Zurich Chess Club

007 1. The Old Zurich Chess Club (1809-1842)

018 2. Reformation and Growth (1842-1887)

033 3. Two Prominent Presidents (1887-1922)

049 4. Change (1922-1953)

071 5. The Nagler Era (1953-1985)

090 6. Departing for New Shores (1985-2009)

099 Part II: Biographical Sketches of Notable Members

Part 111: Selected Games and Compositions

159 Games

242 Compositions

Part IV: Zurich Chess Tournaments

251 Baden 1825 - Switzerland's First Chess Tournament

253 Eastern Switzerland Chess Tournaments 1868-1879

256 Künstlergütli Tournament 1887

258 Swiss Championship 1889

262 Swiss Championship 1895

263 Swiss Championship 1903

265 Swiss Championship 1909

268 Regional Tournament 1918

269 Swiss Championship 1925

273 International Swiss Championship 1934

282 Easter Tournament 1936

284 Fritz Widmann Memorial 1938

285 Match Johner vs. Grob 1940

286 Swiss Extra Championship 1941-42

288 Training Tournament 1946

289 Clare Benedict Nations Cups 1952-1979

301 International Swiss Championship 1952

308 World Championship Candidates' Tournament 1953

315 Clare Benedict Grandmasters Tournament 1954

319 Jubilee Tournament 1959

330 Grandmasters Tournament 1961

334 Frascati Seniors Tournament 1962

335 Seniors Tournament 1966

337 Jubilee Tournament 1969

339 Fourth Agnes Litzenberger Young Masters Tournament 1970

340 International Swiss Championship 1975

345 Dr. Robert Blass Memorial 1979

348 Jubilee Tournament 1984

356 Hans Johner Memorial 1989

357 Young Masters Tournament 1991

358 Alois Nagler Memorial 1998

363 Jules Ehrat Memorial 1999

367 Korchnoi Birthday Rapid Tournament 2001

370 Chess Champions Day 2006

372 Jubilee Open Tournament 2009

385 World Champions Simultaneous Exhibition and Rapid Tournament 2009

Appendix A. Honor Role

399 Club Presidents

399 Honorary Members

400 Club Champions

Appendix B. Statistics and Achievements

402 Simultaneous Exhibitions

406 Club Matches

408 Swiss Team Championship

409 Other Team Events

411 Notes

419 Bibliography

429 Index