Bad Aachen 1933, a Forgotten Tournament

 

Richter and Carls

    I discovered this tournament which I had never heard of more or less by accident. It was a National Masters tournament held in June, 1933 that was won by Efim Bogoljubow. The tournament was organized by the Grossdeutsche Schachbund, a new state-supported chess federation and by the time it was held, Jews had been excluded from nearly all activity in Germany. 
     In March 1933 the city of Cologne had prohibited Jews from using city playgrounds and sports facilities and in April the German Boxing Federation had excluded Jewish boxers from participating in competitive bouts and ordered the cancellation of all contracts involving Jewish promoters. And, also in March, the Reich Sports Office directed implementation of an "Aryans only" policy in all German sports and gymnastic organizations. Oddly, the order did not apply to Jewish war veterans or their descendants.
     In May the German Gymnastic Society decreed that Aryan ancestry is mandatory for membership in their organization and in June the Prussian Ministry of Science ordered all Jewish youths expelled from village, city, county, and district groups of physical education associations and organizations. 
     Following the June event in Bad Aachen (in July) the All-German Chess Convention excluded all Jews from its membership. The Grossdeutsche Schachbund was described as a Pan-Germanic League of Chess on National Socialist lines and the president had to be approved by Hitler himself. Players of Jewish origin were not eligible for membership in any of the chess clubs in Germany unless they had received the decoration of the Iron Cross or were combatants in World War One. Being of the “Aryan” race was a requisite for participation in national tournaments. 
     Otto Zander (August 11, 1886 - June 20, 1938, 51 years old) was the Federal Chairman of the from 1933 to 1938. Alfred Post served as his assistant and Joseph Goebbels had the title of "Honorary Chairman." 
     Their inaugural meeting took place in Bad Pyrmont on July 9, 1933. Zander gave a speech in which he announced the expulsion of all Jewish players from organized chess in Germany, saying, "We don't need Jews for our work, they have to disappear from our clubs, because they were the inventors and promoters of "Class Struggle" in Germany, and now they incite the other peoples against our Fatherland with their mendacious propaganda."
     Otto Zander was a minor master (EDO historical ratings puts him in the mid-2300s). He was a member of the Sturmabteilung (SA). Serving as a squad leader on a mission, he was killed on the night of June 20, 1938. 

1) Efim Bogoljubow 7.5 
2) Kurt Richter 7.0 
3-4) Carl Ahues and Ftitz Saemisch 6.5 
5) Gerhard Weissgerber 6.0 
6-7) Ludwig Rellstab and Alfred Brinckmann 5.5 
8-9) Ludwig Engels, Carl Carls 5.0 
10) Karl Helling 4.5 
11) Ludwig Roedl 4.0 
12) Alfred Van Nuess 3.0 

     The following game starts off kind of slow, but after black's slip on move 34, white gained the upper hand, but inexact play allowed black to equalize. Unfortunately for Carls, a mistake just two moves later allowed Richter to unleash one of his famous attacks.