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Alois Wotawa

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Sketch of Alois Wotawa

Alois Wotawa (11 June 1896 – 12 April 1970)[citation needed] was an Austrian composer of chess problems and endgame studies. He was born and died in Vienna. He was a prosecutor and a member of the Nazi Party.[1]

Composition career

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Wotawa composed more than 350 endgame studies, which were published particularly in German-speaking countries. Wotawa also composed some problems that he called "bungled endgames".[2]

In 1966, FIDE honored Wotawa as an International Master of Chess Composition.

Example endgame study

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In the following study, White finds an amazing move to force a draw.

Alois Wotawa
Österreichische Schachzeitung, 1952
abcdefgh
8
d7 black rook
f7 white knight
g7 black pawn
a6 black bishop
b2 black king
f2 white king
f1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
White to move and draw

Solution:
1. Ne5 Rd2+
2. Ke3 Re2+
3. Kd4 Rxe5
4. Rf6!! Forks the bishop and rook. If Black protects both with 4...Ra5, 5.Rg6 wins the pawn and draws. There remains only 4...g7xf6 stalemate.

Works

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  • Alois Wotawa: Auf Spurensuche mit Schachfiguren - 150 Endspielstudien [German language]. Vienna, 1965

References

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  1. ^ Dwie Twarze Doktora Wotawy by Tomasz Lissowski
  2. ^ Source for this and the following: Friedrich Chlubna: An Artist has left us, in: EG Vol. 20, pp. 119 to 121. August 1970 (in PDF at [1] Archived 3 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine.)