Who was R. Schwarzschild?

[Gerard Killoran]

I have written a blogpost about someone who was briefly a member of Ilkley Chess Club.

http://ilkleychess.blogspot.com/2016/02 ... child.html

He seems to have lived in Berlin before the First World War and disappeared after the Second, having been a refugee in Britain in the 1930s and 1940s.

His claim to fame seems to be a position from a game against someone called Krueger, but was this a (joint) composition? If not, who was Krueger and when and where was the game played?

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Krueger"] [Black "Schwarzschild"] [Result "*"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r2r2k1/2p2ppp/p2bp3/q5P1/1p2Qn2/P4N2/1PPB1P2/2KR3R b - - 0 1"] 1... bxa3 2. Bxa5 a2 3. Qa4 *

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Forumites should probably avoid giving the solution to the problem here (as it is a competition running on the blog):

"It is Black to move and he takes the a-pawn, White takes the black queen and tries to stop the runaway pawn with Qa4, leading to [a] position where it is Black to play and win."

It is a really nice move!

[Matt Mackenzie]

It is a striking killing blow, yes.

And of course he would have had to have seen it a few moves beforehand to even concieve the combination.

[MJMcCready]

Was he Mr.Black's son?

[Brian Towers]

The black sheep of the Rothschild family?

I'll get my coat ...

[MJMcCready]

I had a look at that post, impressive as always Gerard, and I noted that he turned over Dunstable's J. M. Craddock, who as you probably know was British Boys' Champion from 1929-1931 but the only place I've ever seen his games published was in Abraham's 'The Chess Mind'.

[Richard James]

No idea whether or not it was the same person but there was a Robert Schwarzschild, born in Germany (possibly Frankfurt) in about 1882, who died in Hackney, London in the first quarter of 1950.

Genealogical records give (without sources) details of two sons, Peter Black, born 29 August 1908, died in Keighley, West Yorkshire in 1977 (which ties in with Ilkley, not far away), and Paul Emanuel Shields, born 8 April 1910, died in Bromley, Kent in 2000. Paul was awarded the OBE in 1970 for services to export. I note that Gordon Banks and the members of the Amadeus Quartet received the same award at the same time. The same records also mention a son, Alan Shields (1939-1996).

Schwarzschild is German for 'black shield', just as Rothschild means 'red shield' which would explain the change of names.

Robert was probably the Robert Schwarzschild who, along with Paul Rosenfelder, ran a trimmings business called Mayfair Tissue which was based at 32 Holmfield Avenue, Hendon, London NW4 in 1938, when they were granted permission to change their names under an exemption to the Alien Restriction (Amendment) Act of 1919.

I note also that a Robert B Schwarzschild or Shields married Elizabeth J Ullmann in Hendon in 1955. He may or may not have been related. I suppose it's possible he was Alan's older brother.

[Gerard Killoran]

Well done Richard, I'm sure you have the right man.

As for name changes, there was a chess player before WW1 called F. L. Anspach. The ever unreliable Chessgames site gives his full name as Frederick Lee Anspach. In fact he was Frederick Law Anspach. Anspach disappears from the chess records in about 1914, but after the war Surrey field a player by the name of F. L. Armstrong. In the book, 'The church of Saint Bride', there is a record of an inscription, "FREDERICK LAW ARMSTRONG, General Secretary of the Newspaper Society, WHO DIED JULY 24th 1925." The 'British and Colonial Printer and Stationer: And Newspaper Press' for 1925 reported his death, "Mr. F. L. Armstrong. ... the world and from all ranks of people bear testimony to the high place which the late Mr. F.L. Armstrong won for himself in newspaper and allied trade circles. ... From chess circles also Mr. Armstrong is sadly missed."

The London Gazette's record of deed polls has the explanation.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/iss ... 4/data.htm

Anspach, like the Royal Family, gave up his German surname and adopted a British one.

[AustinElliott]

I think Richard definitely has the right chap, and it seems one of the descendants has produced a detailed self-published family history, dealing with the 1850s onwards. You can see the early pages of it here. The contents page refers to a later chapter about Robert Schwarzschild 'the chess player', though that bit unfortunately can't be seen in the preview. It appears Robert's sons had settled in the UK, and then managed to bring their parents over in 1938. Other family members remaining in Germany perished in the Holocaust.

[Richard James]

I notice on p9 the acknowledgement to Leon Mestel for his invaulable knowledge of the family.

This is presumably this Leon Mestel, who has a rather famous son.

[AustinElliott]

I notice on p9 the acknowledgement to Leon Mestel for his invaulable knowledge of the family.

This is presumably this Leon Mestel, who has a rather famous son.

Good spot, Richard. Definitely that Leon Mestel, who as an astrophysicist would be familiar with the work of Robert Schwarzschild's elder brother Karl, astronomer and mathematician and contemporary of Einstein, and the latter's son Martin, another astronomer and latterly Professor at Princeton. There is an obituary of Martin Schwarzschild in the Independent written by Leon Mestel which discusses the Schwarzschild family history.

Apart from his chess prowess, Leon Mestel's son is of course himself a distinguished mathematician.

[Alan McGowan]

Just in case the following is of any interest:
Various issues of Ranneforths Schachkalender, a German yearbook, include this person's details.
From the volumes I have. The 1918, 1920 and 1925 editions show him as Schwarzschild, Robert, Fabrikant, Berlin W 30, Luitpoldstrasse 20.
The 1933 edition has him at Berlin-Wilmersdorf, Württembergische Str. 15. Same address in the 1934 edition. His name is not shown in the list of German players in the 1935 edition.
I believe 'Fabrikant' can be translated as Industrialist, or Manufacturer.

Alan McGowan
Historian, Chess Scotland

[John Saunders]

I found a game won by Robert Schwarzschild in CHESS, May 1939...

[Event "Civil Service v National Liberal Club"] [Site "London"] [Date "1939.??.??"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Craddock, James Marston"] [Black "Schwarzschild, Robert"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A30"] [PlyCount "32"] [EventDate "1939.??.??"] [EventType "team-match"] [EventRounds "1"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [SourceTitle "BritBase"] [Source "John Saunders"] [SourceDate "2023.06.27"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.06.27"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Civil Service"] [BlackTeam "National Liberal Club"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"] [BlackTeamCountry "ENG"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 e6 4. e4 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. e5 Ng4 7. f4 Nc6 8. Nf3 Be7 9. O-O h5 10. h3 c4 11. hxg4 Bc5+ 12. Kh1 hxg4+ 13. Nh2 Ke7 14. Nc3 Rxh2+ 15. Kxh2 Qh8+ 16. Bh3 Qxh3# {Source: CHESS, Vol.4/44, May 1939, p295 (n.b. CHESS gave Black's name as 'Schwartschild' - presumably Robert Schwarzschild, b 11 August 1882, Frankfurt-am-Main, d 1st qtr, 1950, Hackney, London. Internment record during WW2: addr. Flat 3, Granville Place, London NW3. Occ: iron founder. Exempt from internment, 27 November 1939.)} 0-1

Craddock was a strong player but this was not his finest hour.

This page has a little more about Schwarzschild's family history.

[Brian Valentine]

When I played my first adult league match, Craddock was the top board for my team.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

When I played my first adult league match, Craddock was the top board for my team.

In the 1939 register, James Marston Craddock is single and working as an assistant principal for the inland revenue. He's living with his parents in Woking. His father is an H.M. inspector of taxes. His mother, however, has a very interesting sounding job - bee expert for the Surrey agricultural committee!

James Craddock seems to have given up chess in the 1970s but he didn't die until 2001.