13 May 2025

Polish chess team, world champs 1924-39

My parents thought Russians were the most intelligent, and my in-laws thought Czechs were most cultured. So thanks to Culture.pl for these Polish data, totally new to me. 

In Interwar years, chess was very popular in Poland. It was endorsed by key political figures as a pastime that Polish citizens could adopt eg Marshal Józef Piłsudski prime minister (1926). Chairman of Poland’s Chess Association, Piłsudski also valued Jews because the Jewish communities promoted chess. But the first chess Olympiad was held in 1927 in London, won by Hungary. Poland was excluded, because the regulations still barred professionals.

Rubinstein vs Tartakower 1927

Teodor Regedzinski (1894–1954) played for Poland at 5 Interwar Olympiads, winning 5 medals. He had German roots and collaborated with the Nazis in the war, to provide security for his wife and son. So he was imprisoned by the Polish authorities after war ended.

Poland was a chess power in the Interwar era! All the Olympiads they participated in pre-WW2 ended with Poland being on the podium (except for 1933). There were many other competitors in Poland till 1939, but because the majority were Jewish, most were handed over to the Germans or shot; Poland’s chess prowess disappeared.

The July 1930 Hamburg Olympiad was the first where pros could play, against 17 other nations. Poland sent Akiba Rubinstein, Ksawery Tartakower, Dawid Przepiórka, Kazimierz Makarczyk, Paulin Frydman. The biggest rivals were Hungary & Germany. The Poles beat Hungary and drew with Germany, Poland winning 1.5 points over Hungary (win 1 point, draw .5, loss 0). Poland’s best player was Rubinstein (1880–1961), and the fine Hamburg victory remained Poland’s best-ever Olympic chess triumph!

Polish team, Chess Olympiad in Hamburg, 1930
(L) Frydman, Tartakower, Rotmil, Rubinstein, Makarczyk, Przepiórka, 
Culture.pl

In mid-1930s, Rubinstein’s depression worsened and he could no longer play competitively. Rubinstein was being taken care of by his wife, who’d opened a diner in Brussels. Despite being Jewish, the family survived the Holocaust; his wife died (1954) and Rubinstein died (1961) in Antwerp.

Ksawery Tartakower (1887-1956) was born in Rostov-on-Don in a Polish-Austrian Jewish family. Dad taught him chess but his parents tragically died in a 1911 pogrom, so he moved to Vienna to study Law. Ksaw was more drawn to chess, and after successes in 1909-13 tournaments, he chose chess over Law. In WWI he was in Austria’s army then moved to Paris. Post-war he played well in many tournaments and wrote chess theory for French and German press.

By 1920s he was a top 10 players globally. When Poland’s Chess Association started in 1926, Tartakower represented Poland. He was 2nd best of the 1930 team, winning 12 points in 16 games. In the 1930s Tartakower represented Poland at 6 chess Olympiads, winning gold medal in Hamburg, plus 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. And he won a silver in 1939 in Buenos Aires. He was still there when WW2 started, but he chose to go home. Too old to join with the Polish Army in France, he joined the French Foreign Legion. Tartakower survived and later, distrustful of Communist Poland, became a French national. He played for France at 1950 Dubrovnik chess Olympiad, and died in Paris in 1956.

Dawid Przepiórka (1880-1940) was born in Warsaw, son of a real estate owner. Young Dawid discovered chess in a Warszawski newspaper and fell in love. After dad’s death, Dawid inherited his parent’s tenement houses, becoming wealthy himself. In 1905 he moved to Göttingen then Munich to study maths. But he left uni, being more drawn into the chess world. In 1910 he married Melania Silberast in Munich, had 2 children & moved to Warsaw.

In 1924, Przepiórka came 2nd in a tournament in Gyor Hungary and 2 years later won a Munich tournament. 1926 also saw Poland’s 1st chess championship in Warsaw, with Dawid crowned winner. He was Poland’s 3rd strongest player at Hamburg’s Olympiad, taking 9 points in 13 games.

From 1928-33 Dawid became chess journal Świat Szachowy’s editor-publisher. As well as representing Poland in Hamburg, he competed at the 1931 Prague Olympiad. Alas Przepiórka lost to USA’s Israel Horowitz in a game that should have drawn, so Poland won the silver medal instead. Later he played a major role in sorting Warwaw’s 1935 chess Olympiad as head of the Technical Committee, winning the 1937 Golden Cross of Merit, a key Polish state award.

In WW2, Przepiórka stayed in Occupied Warsaw near a chess coffeeshop, filled with players playing after the Nazis closed official chess clubs. In Jan 1940, the Nazis raided and gaoled all of the clients, incl Przepiórka. Some were later freed but Jewish Przepiórka was shot and his wife and children also died. The Golden Cross of Merit protected no one.

Casimir Makarczyk (1901-72) was born in Warsaw and attended Michał Kreczmar Middle School alongside noted literary Poles eg Leopold Tyrmand. In 1915 his family moved to St Petersburg where Kaz learned to play chess. Then he returned to Warsaw in 1918 where he began studying Law. But financial problems ended his education in 1922. He worked in a bank and edited chess sections in newspapers, while studying philosophy. In 1926 he editor at Świat Szachowy then worked at Ministry of Public Works

In 1927 he won silver at the Warsaw championship and bronze in Łódź. This streak granted him a place on the Polish team at 1928’s chess Olympiad in The Hague. Then he represented Poland at 5 chess Olympiads in the Interwar period, winning 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals. He was Poland’s 4th best player in the 1930 golden team in Hamburg, winning 7.5 points from his 13 games.

Christian Makarczyk joined the Polish resistance in WW2 and Warsaw Uprising. As a result he was taken into a German camp near Dresden & liberated in 1945. He returned to Poland, settling in Łódź where he was an aide at the Logic Dept of Lodz university. Non-Jews survived! In 1948, he became Poland’s new chess champion at a Kraków tournament, then won the Łódź title in 1949. In the 1950s, he was withdrawing from public chess life, dying much later.

Paulin Frydman(1905-82) was born into an educated Warsaw Jewish family. His uncle Szymon Winawer was a noted chess player, the uncle who introduced the lad to the game. Frydman took a liking for chess and when he was only 16, Czyn Journal published his chess puzzles. In 1922, he joined the Warsaw Society of Chess Supporters and at 19 won second place at their championship. He also medalled at Poland’s first championship in 1926, securing a place in Poland’s 1928 Olympiad team at the Hague.

Frydman then represented Poland at 8 Interwar Olympiads, taking 3 bronzes, 3 silvers and 1 gold - his chess career reflected the great strength of Polish chess pre-WW2, Frydman’s golden years. And he won Warsaw’s contests 5 times and came second in the 1935 Nationals.

At Buenos Aires’ 1939 Olympiad he won 13 points in 17 games, contributing largely to the team’s silver medal. Frydman stayed in Buenos Aires when war broke out, joining in Argentinian competitions until 1941. Then he ran a chess salon at Rex Coffee House Buenos Aires, creating a good income. Frydman’s life there was close to famous Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz. Frydman died in Buenos ires

Mieczyslaw Najdorf (1894-1954) was a Polish Jewish chess player in the later 1930s, a vital figure in Olympic teams. In 1939 he chose to stay in Argentina after the 1939 Olympiad. Post-war he won the status as a top player anywhere, before making headlines creating new world records in Blind Chess, playing 45 opponents simultaneously! Having survived the war, Najdorf later retained his excellence.

A simultaneous chess game with Dawid Przepiórka
Society of Chess Lovers in Kraków, 1927
Culture.pl

Like other great Jewish competitors in Poland pre-WW2, most lived in a huge, educated community (30% of Warsaw) that had supported Poland’s 1930 gold-winning team. Antoni Wojciechowski (1905–38), one of the best Poles of that era, represented Poland at Munich’s 1936 Olympiad in great games. His style was risky and very entertaining for viewers. Sadly he died pre-war from pneumonia.

It’s accurate to say that Poland was a chess power in the Interwar era. All the Olympiads they participated in pre-WW2 ended with Poland being on the podium (except for 1933 Folkestone). There were many other competitors in Poland till 1939, but because the majority were Jewish, most were handed over to the Germans or shot; Poland’s chess prowess disappeared.




24 comments:

roentare said...

Poland’s interwar chess scene was not only world-class but deeply interwoven with Jewish life and tragic wartime histories

Hels said...

roentare
it doesn't make sense when the Poles knew why their team was so successful and should have wanted to protect their best players. Even anti-Semites wanted Poland to keep winning chess championships.

Student said...

Emanuel Lasker was born in Poland and became a German chess master, and world champion until after WW1. And he was clever other than chess, getting his PhD in maths from the German University of Erlangen. But why oh why did he play for Germany and not Poland?

Hels said...

Student
Lasker was the World Chess Champion title holder for 27 years, so clearly he made a very good decision.
A few possible reasons regarding Lasker becoming a German citizen occur to me. Firstly borders moved back and forward all the time, so lots of people had to choose which nationality they wanted. Secondly his parents deliberately sent young Emanuel (and his older brother) to top Berlin university to study maths. Thirdly it is possible that Lasker didn't like Poland as much as he liked Russia and Germany.

Wilmington Dumpster Rental said...

I helped a young couple move into a house and in their attic, they found more than 20 chess sets, many had missing pieces, and had to get thrown in their dumpster rental but it was awesome to see.

My name is Erika. said...

I knew chess was popular, but I didn't know there were chess Olympiads. I knew there were major chess tournaments though. Perhaps they are the same thing or perhaps modern tournaments morphed from these earlier championships.

hels said...

Wilmington
I tried to remember what families did to entertain themselves before tv (arrived in Melbourne in Nov 1956), computers and iphones. We listened to the radio, we played records and we had great games, including chess.

hels said...

Erika
There were chess like the competitions in the late 19th century, but nobody knew the word Olympiad till after the first Olympic Games in Greece. The first Chess Olympiad, after WW1, was also held every few years in different cities, like the long jumps and marathons

Margaret D said...

Such a popular game back then. I've never played chess always busy doing something else I suppose, even though I had a plastic chess set.
You put a lot of work into this post and all your posts Hels. Thank you.

Hels said...

Margaret
My parents were solo and bridge players, so I never learned enough about chess to know much about chess books, stars or tournaments. But I was a VERY keen bridge player, reading books and turning up to the local club every competition night. Omar Sharif was my hero.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

I know the basics of chess but really don't understand the game, any interesting post

Hels said...

Jo-Anne
I must admit I didn't really ever understand the minutiae of chess. But the history of Poland's magical period of world leadership in chess between the wars was well worth telling.
However I would have been much more impressed had Poland protected its chess champions from 1939 on.

Anonymous said...

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top most legendary Polish Chess Players of all time:
1. Emanuel Lasker (1868-1941)
2. Adolf Anderssen (1818-79)
3. Samuel Reshevsky (1911-92)
4. Siegbert Tarrasch (1862-1934)
5. Akiba Rubinstein (1880 -1961)
6. Johannes Zukertort (1842-88)
7. Miguel Najdorf (1910-97)

https://pantheon.world/profile/occupation/chess-player/country/poland

Hels said...

Pantheon many thanks.
Because I examined only the champions between the wars, I won't have known some of the names you included in the list of legendary Polish Chess Players. But I should have included Samuel Reshevsky, even though he was quite young when he moved to the USA.

Linda's Relaxing Lair said...

Fascinating post, Hels. I love the old photos, too. I used to play chess when I was in my 20's and 30's. I was not particularly good at it, but nonetheless, I still enjoyed it. I am 68 now and have those memories. Thank you so much for sharing.

Hels said...

Linda
The Poles were so proud of their competitions and star players during the inter-war era, they published heaps of amazing black and white photos. There is nothing like contemporary photography to show how proud the nation was.

diane b said...

Uh Oh my ignorance is showing again. I had no idea that chess was so well done in Poland nor that it was popular with the jews. I knew Russians were good at it. It's a great game for keeping the brain active.

Luiz Gomes said...

Bom dia. Uma excelente quinta-feira com muita paz e saúde. Confesso que nunca aprendi a jogar xadrez. Excelente matéria. Como os lugares que eu viajo e tiro fotos, fico sem das a resposta certa, pois não moro lá. Obrigado por sua visita e comentário.

Hels said...

diane
nothing to do with ignorance! I suggest chess was so popular then because:
1. Many mothers didn't want their precious sons damaging themselves by playing football, so chess was an excellent alternative;
2. Intellectuals were encouraged to promote Poland's premier position in at least chess.
3. There were no tvs, iPhones or computers to amuse the men at night
4. Chess was available to males, even if their families had limited finances.
5. Poland didn't destroy its population until WW2.

Hels said...

Luiz
were your parents happy for you to play vigorous sports? In the early 1960s my in-laws insisted that their son did not play soccer or cricket etc. Rather their sons HAD to stay inside during sport, playing chess instead. To protect their sons from injuries.

Daniel Ben-Sefer said...

In a recent JIFF (Jewish International Film Festival) there was a movie about the Polish Chess team.

Hels said...

Daniel
good to see you... many thanks for the reference to the film, Shattered Dreams at the JIFF. I wish I had seen the film before writing the blog post.

"Warsaw, 1929, the golden age of chess in Poland. Inspired by true events, this stylish period drama tells the story of the pre-war Polish national chess team - which stood at the forefront of the game worldwide for over a decade. The team prepares for the 1930 Hamburg World Chess Championship, against a backdrop of rising antisemitism and with war looming".

Ingrid said...

Interesting post ! I loved to play chess, my father taught me, but playing with him was a nightmare ! He wanted to win absolutely so he was very slow in playing, finally I took a book and read while he was thinking. Of course that was not a good idea, and we never played together again (I won ! that was terrible for him) Reading your comment on my blog, you have a lot of body damages ! I am lucky, I have nothing, no backache, nothing in the legs, I have never been in a hospital, only to give birth, but I have this lung disease, and this often prevents me from doing anything because I suffer from shortness of breath.

Hels said...

Ingrid
looking back at the photos and family stories before 1939, I don't think I saw females playing serious chess. The Polish Chess Federation didn't even have a formal women's competition before 1935. So even though you are talking about your family in a more modern era, you were (mainly :) fortunate to have a keen chess father.
By the way, the old age injuries came from spouse _and_ myself, not from me alone!