Klaus Junge
Klaus Junge | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Klaus Junge |
| Country |  Nazi Germany Germany |
Klaus Junge (born 1 January 1924 at Concepción, Chile – died 17 April 1945, at Welle, Germany) was one of the youngest German chess masters.
Biography
On 11-20th August 1939, he along with Wolfgang Unzicker (14 years old), Edith Keller (17), Rudolf Kunath (15) and Karl Krbavic (17), played in Fürstenwalde (Jugendschachwoche) near Berlin.[1] In 1941, at the age of 17, Klaus Junge was considered one of the strongest players in Germany. In 1941, he won the championship of Hamburg. In May 1941, he won at Bad Elster (qual. GER ch.). In August 1941, he tied for 1st with Paul Felix Schmidt at Bad Oeynhausen (8th German Championship), although he lost a playoff match against Schmidt for the title at Bromberg (+0 –3 =1). In October 1941, he took 4th, behind Alexander Alekhine, Schmidt, and Efim Bogoljubow, at Krakow/Warsaw (the 2nd General Government-ch).[2]
In January 1942, Junge won at Dresden. In 1942, he took 2nd, behind Walter Niephaus, at Leipzig. In April 1942, he took 2nd, behind Carl Carls, at Rostock. In June 1942, he tied for 3rd-4th with Schmidt, behind Alekhine and Paul Keres, at the Salzburg 1942 chess tournament. In Sempember, he took 7th at the Munich (1st European Championship), won by Alekhine. In October 1942, he took 2nd, behind Alekhine, at Warsaw/Lublin/Krakow (the 3rd GG-ch). In December 1942, he tied for 1st with Alekhine at Prague.[3] In 1942–1943, he played three correspondence tournaments, beating among others Rudolf Teschner, and Emil Joseph Diemer.
As a lieutenant in the German army, he lost his life in combat against Allied troops in Welle, on the Lüneburger Heide, close to Hamburg, three weeks before World War II ended.
In 1946, Regensburg hosted the first Klaus Junge Memorial. The event was won by Fedor Bohatirchuk, ahead of Elmars Zemgalis, Wolfgang Unzicker, etc.[4]
According to Dr Robert Hübner, Klaus Junge was the greatest German chess talent in 20th century.
Notable chess games
- Kurt Richter vs Klaus Junge, Bad Oeynhausen 1941, GER-ch, Trompowsky Attack, A45, 0-1
- Klaus Junge vs Paul Mross, Krakow 1941, Nimzo-Indian, Rubinstein Variation, E47, 1-0
- Alexander Alekhine vs Klaus Junge, Salzburg 1942, Semi-Slav Defense, Marshall Gambit, D31, 0-1
- Klaus Junge vs Čeněk Kottnauer, Prague 1942, Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, D46, 1-0
- Klaus Junge vs Emil Josef Diemer, XVII.corr. tournament 1942-43, King's Gambit Accepted, C34, 1-0
- Klaus Junge vs Walter Sahlmann, Hamburg 1944, Sicilian, Scheveningen Variation, B84, 1-0
References
- Helmut Riedl: Das Leben und Schaffen von Klaus Junge. Unterhaching 1995. ISBN 3-9804896-0-4