Emil Josef Diemer, RIP

Today is the 22nd anniversary of Diemer's death on 10 October 1990. After receiving the news of his passing I wrote a short tribute, which surveyed commentary in German newspapers and chess magazines. It originally appeared in the January 1991 issue of BDG World.

You can see the article here.

Diemer's birthday: it's today!

Drawing by Rob Rittenhouse
for BDG World

Oh my. I almost forgot, even though I'd left a note on the wine cabinet to  write something about it.

Today is the 104th anniversary of E. J. Diemer's birth on 15 May 1908 in Bad Radolfzell. There's been a lot written about Diemer, the good and the bad. His friend Georg Studier wrote the definitive biography. Gunter Müller wrote a little summary for me years ago, which I posted here previously. You can see it here.

Whatever you think, Diemer was one of a kind. Kinda like the BDG.

Happy birthday, EJD. Next year I'll remember to bring flowers.

Meine Schülerin

In Vom ersten Zug an auf Matt Diemer refers to “meine Schülerin, Frau Oesterle.” The noun would normally translate as the feminine form of student, or pupil, but in Diemer’s case I would imagine that he intended it more in the sense of “my disciple.” Still, he was not too proud to include this miniature in his book:

 

Decades later, not long before her death, Elisabeth Oesterle spoke of Diemer as he was in those days:

Her husband operated a little cheese dairy in Biesenberg. Diemer often visited her. He was very poor and she gave him to eat and to drink. Once she presented him with a coat (I believe a winter coat). Some days later she heard that he had sold it--probably to finance his worldwide correspondence. She was deeply saddened by this.

Related post: You don't bring me flowers...

Diemer and simultaneous exhibitions

E. J. Diemer wrote that although he learned chess at the age of nine from a schoolmate, he was in his twenties before he experienced the two events which most shaped his chess development. The first was his discovery (in 1931) of the games of Paul Morphy. The second was his introduction to Alekhine at Baden-Baden in 1934, and their association while Diemer was assisting with the organization for the world champion's second match with Bogoljubov.

Diemer played in several Hastings Chess Congresses, winning the Major A tourney two years running (1935/36 and 1936/37). A complimentary remark on Diemer's strength in combinations, made by Alekhine at one Hastings Congress, still made Diemer as happy as a child, even as an old man. This was particularly true since he so admired Alekhine, whom he had come to know well in Baden Baden.

During this period Diemer took the opportunity to play in simultaneous exhibitions given by both Bogoljubov and Alekhine, and in each case came away with a win. The games are disappointing because of weak play by the grandmasters—but they were simuls, after all.

Or maybe Diemer was casting spells?

[Photograph by Tom Purser at Fussbach, Germany, 1980]

The last time I saw Diemer...

It was in the spring of 1980. I was being reassigned back to the states, so I drove down to Fussbach, probably on a Saturday morning, to pay one last visit. As usual, we met at a small table in his “office” in the gasthaus across the street from his quarters. After some conversation over the chessboard (more listening than talking on my part), Diemer suggested we go outside for some air, and then led me on an hour-long walking tour about the village. During that walk I took a photo of him beside the sign welcoming visitors to Fussbach.

It just occurred to me that at the time of this photo, Diemer, born in 1908, was several years younger than I am now. I only mention that to provide some semblance of an excuse for posting my reminiscences.

Nakamura wins Wijk aan Zee

This morning I got up too late to watch GM Nakamura win the 2011 Tata Steel Chess Tournament. It's probably just as well since his final game was a 22-move draw with Wang Hao. But last week I watched some exciting, fighting chess from Nakamura (on Chessbomb, a great place to watch). Winning this venerable tournament was a significant accomplishment, as Nakamura finished ahead of Anand, Carlsen, Kramnik, and Aronian, among others.

I've long been attracted to this tournament, played on the coast at Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands, since 1968, and before that, since 1938, just inland at Beverwijk. Diemer played there, in the lower levels, several times, and in 1956, he won his section--without playing a single Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. For an account of Diemer's adventure there that year, see these previous posts.


The Beginning of His Best Year (Part 1)

The Beginning of His Best Year (Part 2)

The Beginning of His Best Year (Part 3)

The Beginning of His Best Year (Part 4)

And here's another post on Diemer's game with Durao from the tournament.

E. J. Diemer, RIP

Today is the eighteenth anniversary of Diemer's death. After receiving the news of his passing I wrote this tribute, which surveys commentary in German newspapers and chess magazines. It originally appeared in the January 1991 issue of BDG World.

The notice in Schach Echo was brief. On a page with other "short reports from all the world" a single paragraph announced that "on 10 October [1990] the well-known Baden chess theoretician and tournament player, Emil Josef Diemer, died in south Baden Fußbach at the age of 82. ... born on 15 May 1908 in Bad Radolfzell ... work best known to many gambit friends... contributed authoritatively through his exploration of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit."

Should we have expected more from a "serious" chess magazine? Probably not. But notices in other German chess magazines were more generous. In a two-page article in Schach Woche Gerald Schendel printed two of Diemer's games, acknowledging his service to chess and that "the legacy of EJD endures in his Blackmar-Diemer Gambit."

Schach Magazin 64 reprinted the combination from his game with Kotek that appears in the Encyclopedia of Middlegames - Combinations "In Emil Josef Diemer one of the last 'chess originals' left us. In chess generally and in gambit play especially, to which he dedicated his entire life, his ardent, shining life was fulfilled."

In a long article in Europa-Rochade, Jürgen Gegner wrote, "In Master Diemer German chess loses one of its most significant personalities... We mourn a man who understood like no other how, with his own enthusiasm, to win youth to chess, to 'his' chess, where beauty and combination counted for more than dry positional play."

And in his chess column in the general circulation magazine, Stern, Manfred Mädler printed one of Diemer's games and observed that "With his Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, Emil Josef Diemer built his own monument in his own lifetime."

We have reviewed Diemer's tournament successes in previous issues and won't repeat that here. Readers may wish to revisit Gunter Müller's A Life for Chess and my The Beginning of His Best Year in Volume III, Number 3. In this issue we include an article by Diemer himself, featuring victories over a number of strong players, several of whom were, or later became, international masters.

As Mädler observed, Diemer simply loved chess too much to do anything else. He became a professional player as a young man, and struggled his entire life on a minimal existence scraped together from his writings, lectures, exhibitions and the charity of friends and supporters.

For perhaps the last quarter-century of his life, he lived in an altersheim, what we would probably call a nursing home, in the village of Fußbach. He often held court in a small gasthaus across the street from the home.

In the late 1970s I had the pleasure of spending several afternoons over a chessboard with him there, in the gasthaus Rebstock. One could not be long in his presence without sensing the strength of his personality and his unbridled optimism and passion for chess.

Diemer's eccentric preoccupation with interpreting the past and foretelling the future is well known. Thus it seems fitting that he and the chessplayer with whom his name will be forever linked, Blackmar, were born in the same month, May, and died in the same month, October. I'm sure he would have derived some special significance from that.

In the last decade of his life the old master's eyesight deteriorated so badly that he was unable to carry on the voluminous correspondence to which he was so accustomed. Although he still played on the top board for his chess club Umkirch, he had to do so with his nose on the chessboard - literally - to be able to see the pieces. A German player once said that "as soon as his eyesight has vanished and he can no longer play chess, he will die. He cannot live without chess."

In truth, he will live. After many of today's grandmasters and technicians are long forgotten, after Schach Echo is no more than crumbling yellowed paper in dusty and unattended archives, Emil Josef Diemer's name will endure in his beloved gambit, and his romantic, heroic spirit will abide in the hearts of all chessplayers who play the game vom ersten Zug an auf Matt!

The Beginning of His Best Year (Part 4)

Concluding an account of Diemer's success at the 1956 Premier Reserve Master Tourney at the Beverwijk Open...

In round eight Diemer faced another Yugoslavian master:


E. J. Diemer - V. Jovanovic
Beverwijk, 1956, Round 8
Alapin-Diemer Gambit Declined

1.d4 d5 2.e4 e6 3.Be3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bd3 cxd4 9.cxd4 Qb6 10.Qd2 Nb4

Black begins a time-wasting excursion on the Queenside that comes to nought.  

11.Be2 f5 12.Nc3 a6 13.h4 Qa5 14.Kf2 b5 15.Ng5 Qb6 16.a3 Bxg5

[Necessary, since 16...Nc6? leaves the e-pawn loose.]

17.hxg5 Nc6 18.Bh5+ Ke7

[18...g6? 19.Bxg6+]  

19.g4 fxg4 20.f5! Ndxe5 

[20...exf5?? 21.Nxd5+]  

21.f6+ 

21...Kf8

[21...gxf6? 22.gxf6+ Kf8 23.dxe5 d4 24.Bh6+ Kg8 25.f7# --Diemer)]  

22.dxe5 d4 23.Kg3 g6

[23...dxe3?? 24.Qd6+ Kg8 25.f7#] "What follows next is truly ingenious defense" --Diemer.  

24.Bxg6 Bb7 25.Bxh7 Nxe5 26.g6 dxe3 27.g7+ Kf7 28.gxh8Q Rxh8 29.Qh2!

Diemer saw the Black Queen going to c7, and then threatening mate through Ng6+ and Qf5+.  

29...Qc7 30.Qh6 

[30.Qh5+?? Ng6+]  

30...Ng6+ 31.Kxg4 Qc4+ 32.Kh3 Bg2+ 33.Kg3 Rxh7 34.Qxh7+ Kxf6 35.Qh6 e5 

"And now something happened which I had never experienced...for a move and a half I no longer saw the Black Queen on c4!," wrote Diemer.  

36.Rhf1+ Bxf1 

And here Diemer was ready to play 37.Rxf1+?? when the Black Queen reappeared to him on c4. What to do? Why not another sacrifice?  

37.Nd5+! Ke6 38.Qxg6+ Kxd5 

 

39.Qf7+

[39.Rd1+!] 

39...Kd4 40.Qxc4+ bxc4 41.Rxf1 e2 42.Re1 Ke3 43.a4 e4 44.Ra1 a5 45.Kg4 Kd2 46.Kf4 

46...Kd3

[White wins after 46...e1Q 47.Rxe1 Kxe1 48.Kxe4]

47.Rh1 Kc2 48.Kxe4 Kxb2 49.Re1 Kb3 50.Kd4 c3 51.Kd3 c2 52.Kd2 Kb2 53.Rc1 Kb3 54.Kxe2 Kxa4 55.Kd2 Kb3 56.Rxc2 a4 57.Kc1 1-0

With one round remaining, Diemer had only to avoid a loss to win sole first place. In still another Sicilian Defense, "ein Schachmeister, der niemals auf Remis spielte," a chess master who never played for a draw, drew in 37 moves with another Amsterdam player named Donk. Diemer finished with 6.5 points, one-half point ahead of the second-place finisher, Crabbendam.

Although he went the entire tournament without playing a single Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, for E. J. Diemer it was a good beginning to what turned out to be a very good year.


(This article originally appeared in BDG World 20, May-June 1985.)

The Beginning of His Best Year (Part 3)

Continuing an account of Diemer's success at the 1956 Premier Reserve Master Tourney at the Beverwijk Open... In round three Diemer won again, over one Dr. Bergsma of Rotterdam, in an opening Diemer called a Sicilian Counterattack: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 Nf5 5.Qe2 Qc7 6.0-0 Ng4 7.h3 h5, 0-1 in 62 moves. Another chance with White in round four brought no BDG; Diemer won in 40 moves against a King's Indian by a player from Amsterdam named Frank. The streak ended in round five when another of his Sicilian Counterattacks lost in 34 moves to Ditt of Bremen in a game Diemer termed an "echtes Kunstwerk," a genuine work of art. Then in round six, against a master from Portugal (who later became an international master) came the following game. E. J. Diemer - J. Durao Beverwijk, 1956, Round 6 Hübsch Gambit 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e4 Nxe4 4.Nxe4 dxe4 5.Bf4

5...Nd7 6.f3 exf3 7.Nxf3 Nf6 8.Bc4

(to provoke Black's next)

8...e6 9.0-0 Be7 10.Qe1 0-0 11.Bd3 Nd5 12.Be5 Bf6 13.c4 Bxe5 14.dxe5 Nf4 15.Bc2 Qe7 16.Qe3 Ng6 17.Ng5 h6 18.Nxf7 Rxf7 19.Bxg6 Rxf1+ 20.Rxf1 Bd7 21.Rf7 Qd8 22.Qf3 1-0

Black saw no way to stop mate, e. g., 22...Bc6 23.Rxg7+

In round seven Diemer lost a 43-move Sicilian Defense to Crabbendam, a young master from Amsterdam.

There was a young master named Crabbendam, Who came down from the city of Amsterdam, In chess quite a schemer, He mastered Master Diemer, And said,"What a damn fine player I am!"

So after seven rounds, with two left to play, Diemer stood in great shape with five wins and two losses. His eighth-round game was to produce fireworks. (To be continued)

The Beginning of His Best Year (Part 2)

Continuing an account of Diemer's success at the 1956 Premier Reserve Master Tourney at the Beverwijk Open... In the first round Diemer drew the Black pieces against the Yugoslavian master Pavlovic. The opening presaged all his attempts at gambits in Beverwijk--he couldn't give a pawn away! Pavlovic,B - Diemer,EJ Beverwijk (1), 1956 Soller Gambit Declined (? A40 1.d4 e5 2.d5 Bc5 3.e4 Qh4 4.Qe2 Nf6 5.Nd2 Ng4 6.Nh3 d6 7.Nb3 Bb6 8.g3 Qe7 9.f3 Nf6 10.Nf2 h6 11.Be3 c5 12.Nd2 Bc7 13.Bg2 a6 14.a4 b6 15.0-0 Nbd7 16.f4 Rb8 17.f5 Nh7 18.g4 Ng5 19.h4 Nh7 20.Nf3 Nhf6 21.Nh2 Nh7 22.Nf3 Nhf6 23.Qd2 h5 24.g5 Ng4 25.Bh3 Nxe3 26.Qxe3 Nf8 27.Kh2 Qd8 28.Rg1 g6 29.f6 Bxh3 30.Nxh3 Nd7 31.Nf2 Qc8 32.Nd2 Ra8 33.Ra2 Kf8 34.Qe2 Kg8 35.Rga1 Kh7 36.Nf1 Nb8 37.Ng3 Ra7 38.Kg2 Kg8 39.Qc4 Rb7 40.c3 Kh7 41.b4 Bd8 42.Qe2 cxb4 43.cxb4 Rc7 44.Rb1 Nd7 45.Rbb2 a5 46.bxa5 bxa5 47.Rb5 Nc5 48.Rxa5 Nb3 49.Rb5 Nc1 50.Qb2 Nxa2 51.Qxa2 Rc2 52.Qb1 Qc3 53.Rb7 Bc7 54.Qd1 Ra8 55.Nxh5 Rxa4 56.Ng3 Raa2 57.Ngh1 Rc1 58.Qg4 Qe1 0-1 How was this a Soller Gambit Declined when the f-pawn was not offered? Presumably, Diemer would have offered it had White taken the e-pawn on move two; at any rate he labeled this game a Soller Gambit Declined. In round two, Diemer saw another of his custom gambits declined (or more accurately put, avoided). Diemer, EJ - Tilstra Beverwijk (2), 1956 Alapin-Diemer Gambit Declined [A40] 1.d4 e6 2.e4 c5 3.c3 d5 4.Be3 cxd4 5.cxd4 Nc6 6.Nc3 Qa5 7.a3 Nf6 8.b4 Nxb4 9.axb4 Qxb4 10.Bd2 Bd7

11.e5 On 11.Nxd5? Tilstra planned 11...Nxd5 12.Bxb4 Bxb4+ 13.Ke2 Nc3+ 11...Qxd4 12.Nf3 Qg4 13.exf6 gxf6 14.h3 Qg7 15.Nb5 Bc5 16.Nc7+ Ke7 17.Nxa8 Rxa8 18.Rc1 b6 19.Nh4 a5 20.Bd3 a4 21.Qe2 Kd8 22.0-0 a3 23.Bb5 Bxb5 24.Qxb5 Qf8 25.Bc3 d4 26.Rfd1 Qd6 27.Bxd4 Bxd4 28.Qc4 e5 29.Nf5 b5 30.Qxf7 1-0

(To be continued)

The Beginning of His Best Year (Part 1)

E. J. Diemer was at the top of his playing form in the mid-1950s, and as Gunter Müller notes in A Life for Chess, the year 1956 was his most successful. He began that year with a fine victory in the Premier Reserve Master Tourney of the Beverwijk (Holland) Open, winning clear first over severa1 European masters. He finished the nine round robin with six and one-half points, a half point ahead of his nearest rival. Although he won all his games with White, he did not play a single BDG--his opponents wanted no part of one. Nevertheless, in the foreword to his book, Vom ersten Zug an auf Matt, Diemer credits his success in this tournament as leading directly to the publication of his book. It is also interesting that when he began the first round on January 7, 1956 Diemer had not played a tournament game for almost two years--since Easter, 1954. As he traveled to the site, Diemer was a guest of chess friends and clubs along the way. In his Blackmar Gemeinde he relates how on the evening of January 4th he visited at the club of his friend William Buis in Haarlem, and played the following game against the “Blitzmeister” of Holland. Diemer,EJ - Schneiders Haarlem, 1956 Lemberger Countergambit (Game 321 in BDG World) 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 e5

4.Nxe4 exd4 5.Bb5+ c6 6.Bc4 Be7 7.Qe2 Qc7 8.Nf3 Nd7 9.0-0 Ngf6 10.Bxf7+ Kxf7 11.Neg5+ Ke8 12.Ne6 Qd6 13.Nxg7+ Kf7 14.Nf5 Qc5 15.Ng5+ Ke8 16.Ng7+ Kd8 17.N5e6# 1-0

From then until the end of the tournament on January 15th, Diemer got no closer to a BDG than this. The tournament games would not be so easy, of course. (To be continued)