Ignác Kolisch

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Baron Ignaz von Kolisch, or Kolisch Ignác báró (April 6, 1837, Bratislava– April 30, 1889, Vienna) was a Slovak merchant, journalist, and chess master.

Kolisch was born into a Jewish family in Bratislava (Pozsony, Pressburg), Austria–Hungary. Both in business and as a chess-player he was eminently successful. In his early years he was the private secretary of the Russian Prince Urusov. Later he moved to Vienna and met Albert Rothschild in 1868. He became involved in banking and became a millionaire and chess patron, organizing and sponsoring many chess tournaments in the 1870s and 1880s. He founded the Wiener Börse-Syndikatskasse in 1869, and in 1873 established a commission house in Paris; and by prudent management he acquired considerable wealth. In 1881 he was made a baron of the Austrian Empire.

As a chess-player Kolisch soon became known for his brilliant and aggressive style, but he was not a frequent participant in tournaments. In 1860 he won the first prize at the international tourney held at Cambridge, England; in 1861 he lost a match with Adolf Anderssen, the strongest player of the day, by one game only; the same year he drew a match with Louis Paulsen; and in 1867 at the Paris tournament he secured the leading position, defeating both Szymon Winawer and Wilhelm Steinitz.

Kolisch was the founder and editor-in-chief of the "Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung", to which, under the pseudonym "Ideka" (formed from the initials of his name), he contributed many feuilletons.

[edit] References

E. T. Blanchard, Examples of Chess Master-Play, 1st series (transl. from the German of Jean Dufresne), Index, New Barnet, 1893.
This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.