Johannes Minckwitz

Johannes Minckwitz (* 11 April 1843 in Leipzig; † 20 May 1901 in Biebrich bei Wiesbaden) was a German chess master, composer and publicist.

Life

Minckwitz was the son of the writer and philologist Johannes Minckwitz. His father chose a commercial career for him, but this later turned out to be an ordeal. At the age of 15, he joined a wholesale business, later became a bank accountant and authorised representative, then manager of an industrial establishment. For a time he was a self-employed businessman, before turning to writing and poetry. His real passion was chess. He received his first chess lessons from his father and was further inspired by Count Woldemar Vitzthum von Eckstädt, Otto Wigand, Hermann Hirschbach and the Illustrirte Zeitung.

The master's first chess exercises appeared as early as 1863. He subsequently received numerous honours for his compositions. He also made an appearance as a chess player around this time. At the tournament of the West German Chess Federation in Barmen in 1869, he came second behind Adolf Anderssen. In Krefeld in 1871, he came third behind Louis Paulsen and Adolf Anderssen. In 1880, he won together with Adolf Schwarz and Miksa Weiß in Graz. He had previously lost 4:5 (+2 =4 -3) to Adolf Schwarz in a match in Frankfurt am Main (1878).

From 1865 to 1876 and from 1879 to 1886, Minckwitz was the editor of the Deutsche Schachzeitung, as well as a prolific author of chess books.

Around 1883, a mental illness made itself felt. He became addicted to honour, tried to become a landowner and ennoble himself. In public, he emphasised the connection with the Saxon aristocratic family of the same name, which his father had already claimed, by adopting the predicate von erregt. Minckwitz was later transferred to a mental hospital. From 1894, he was no longer allowed to take part in chess tournaments, but he continued to write for a long time. In 1901, he was run over by a tram - the circumstances made it seem possible that he had intended to commit suicide - and died the following day.

One variation in the Spanish Game, the Minckwitz Variation with the ECO key C67, was named after Johannes Minckwitz.

Source: wikipedia.de

Another source reports on his life:

Johannes von Minckwitz
M. studied economics and specialised in literature. He learnt to play chess at the age of eleven and was successful in numerous championships and tournaments, which earned him honorary membership of several chess clubs. From 1865 to 1876 and from 1879 to 1886, he edited the "Deutsche Schachzeitung", a chess journal published in Leipzig. In 1877 he was involved in the founding of the "German Chess Federation". - In 1872, M. joined the Leipzig banking company and in 1876 took over the management of extensive coal works and brickworks in Silesia. In 1878, M. founded his own commercial business in Leipzig. - From 1882 he devoted himself exclusively to writing and chess. Around 1889, the first signs of a mental disorder appeared, which eventually led to his admission to an asylum in 1893. M. committed suicide in 1901.

Source: saebi.isgv.de