WÅ‚odzimierz Schmidt

Włodzimierz Schmidt ( born April 10, 1943 in Poznań ) is a Polish chess master. He was the leading Polish player in the 1970s and 1980s.

Schmidt learned chess as a 9- year-old, two years later he began training hours in the chess club. He took 1957-1960 participated in four Polish Junior Championships, which he won two. In 1962 he first played with at a national championship of adults and achieved third place. After studying at the Technical University of Poznan, he devoted himself from 1966 onwards intensive chess. Until 1994, he participated every year at the Polish National Championship, which he ruled seven times for themselves.

Schmidt is not merely record holder in appearances at the National Championships ( 28 times ), but also in participation in Chess Olympiads: he made his debut in 1962 in Varna, where he scored 67 percent ( 8, -3, = 4) of the possible points. Until 1990 he represented his country in 13 Olympic Games and played 176 games and reached here a success rate of 57 percent ( 55, -29, = 92).

1968 FIDE awarded him the title of International Master in 1973 he gave up an academic career and opted for the professional chess games. In the same year he won in Leipzig the first standard for the Grandmaster title. In 1976, when he met his second grandmaster norm in Polanica- Zdrój, this title was given to him as the first Polish player. Schmidt is currently one of the most popular chess coach in his home country. Since 2004, he has the title FIDE Senior Trainer. His Elo rating was most recently 2410 (October 2007).