Johannes Minckwitz

John Minckwitz (* April 11, 1843 in Leipzig, † May 20 1901 in Biebrich ) was a German chess master, composer and publicist.

Life

Minckwitz was a son of the writer and philologist John Minckwitz. His father intended for him a mercantile career, but later became his torment. At 15, he entered a wholesale business, was later bank accountant and authorized representative, then director of an industrial establishment. Temporarily he was an independent merchant, then turned to the profession of a writer and poet. His real passion was chess. He received his first chess lessons from his father, further suggestion to do so by Graf Vitzthum Woldemar of Eckstadt, Otto Wigand, Hermann Hirsch Bach and the Illustrirte newspaper.

Already in 1863 published the first chess problems of the Master. In the following period, he received numerous awards for his compositions. He also appeared around this time as a chess player in appearance. At the tournament in the West German Chess Federation in Barmen in 1869, he finished second behind Adolf Anderssen. In Krefeld 1871 he was third behind Louis Paulsen and Adolf Anderssen. In 1880 he won together with Adolf Black and White Miksa in Graz. Adolf Schwarz was defeated earlier ( 1878) in a competition in Frankfurt am Main with 4:5 ( 2, -3, = 4).

In the years 1865 to 1876 and from 1879 to 1886 was editor of the German Chess Minckwitz newspaper, besides a diligent author of chess books.

Around 1883, a mental illness became noticeable. He was ehrsüchtig, landowners tried to be and to ennoble themselves. In public, he brought the already claimed by his father related to the same Saxon noble family by adoption of the predicate of excited to advantage. Later Minckwitz was transferred to a mental hospital. From 1894 onwards they would not let him in chess tournaments, but as a writer he was far more active. In Not advised he was run over by a tram in 1901 - the circumstances were a suicidal seem possible - and died the next day.

Works

• The ABC of chess, Leipzig 1879
• Humor in chess, Leipzig 1885
• The decisive battle between W. Steinitz and Zukertort JH for the championship of the world, Leipzig 1886 (reprint Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-283-00122-7 )
• The small chess king, Leipzig, 1889
• Also: Tournament books to Krefeld in 1871, 1876 Dusseldorf, Cologne 1877, Frankfurt / Main 1878, Hamburg 1885.