Events in chess in 1918:

Chess events in brief

  • Ossip Bernstein was arrested and imprisoned by the Cheka (Bolshevik secret police) in Odessa, during the Russian Civil War in 1918. Bernstein's crime was his role as a legal advisor to bankers. There was no court trial. A minor official had a firing squad line up Bernstein and a number of other prisoners against a wall to be shot. A superior official appeared and asked to see the list of prisoners’ names. Discovering Ossip Bernstein on the list, he asked Bernstein if he was the famous chess master. Not satisfied with Bernstein's affirmative reply, he made him play a game with him. If Bernstein lost or drew, he would be shot. Bernstein won in short order and was released. Soon, he escaped on a British ship and settled in France.[1]
  • The British Chess Problem Society held its inaugural meeting on 10 August. It is the world's oldest chess problem society.[2]

Tournaments

Matches

Births

  • 7 March – Miroslav Katětov, Prague City Champion, Czech IM.
  • 14 December – Kaarle Ojanen in Helsinki. Finnish Champion and IM.
  • 19 December – Max Blau in Munich, Germany. Swiss Champion and IM.

Deaths

References

  1. ^ "Ossip Bernstein by Bill Wall". Archived from the original on 2009-10-20.
  2. ^ Valois, Paul (July 1988). "The Founding of the BCPS". The Problemist. pp. 432–434.
  3. ^ "Roger Paige's Chess Site- 1918". Archived from the original on 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
  4. ^ "Short Matches of the 20th Century". Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  5. ^ http://www.chessmetrics.com Archived 2006-04-14 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Title Unknown". Archived from the original on 2009-10-19.