He was born on 3 June 2011 in Bursa, Turkey. On April 1st (no April Fool's joke) the twelve-year-old, playing in the very strong GRENKE Chess Open, Yagiz Kaan Erdpgmus scored 7.0/9 points with a 2646 performance. With that he had fulfilled his final GM norm and become the youngest grandmaster in the world – the fourth youngest in chess history. We will be watching this young boy carefully. | Photo Ugur Medya
As expected after the penultimate round, the German teams obtained a double victory at the Mitropa Cup and the Women’s Mitropa Cup. Germany competed with almost all of their best players and had a successful dress rehearsal for the upcoming Chess Olympiad in Budapest in September. | Photos: Frank Hoppe, Katharina Reinecke (German Chess Federation)
Klaus Darga was one of the best German players in the 1960s and 1970s. Darga represented Germany in team events multiple times and belonged to the extended world elite before he gave up his career for professional reasons around 1970. He later worked as a national coach for the German Chess Federation. Today he is celebrating his 90th birthday, making him the oldest chess grandmaster in the world.
Today is the 100th anniversary of the death of Curt von Bardeleben. A wealthy privateer, he was one of the best German chess players in the 1880s and 1890s. He lost his fortune during the First World War and fell seriously ill. On 31 January 1924 he fell to his death from a window.
Hans-Joachim Hecht, a Grandmaster since 1973, was a member of the successful German national team in the 1960s and 1970s, became German team champion eight times with his clubs SG Solingen and Bayern Munich and won the European Cup once. Today he celebrates his 85th birthday. Congratulations to him! | Photos: German Chess Federation, Münchener Schachakademie