Unagitated yet determined

It is not only among the German chess community that there is great consternation following the accidental death of the highly esteemed chess player, arbiter and organiser Gregor Johann.

Born in Koblenz in 1969, Johann enjoyed taking part in various tournaments in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland during his time as a computer science student in Kaiserslautern. Later, his work, most recently at SAP, left him little time as an active tournament player. Instead, Gregor Johann focused on promoting chess as a functionary, organiser and international arbiter. At the end of the 1990s, he took on the role of treasurer at the Palatinate Chess Federation, and from 2004 also at the Rhineland-Palatinate Chess Federation. Most recently, he was also the state game director for individual competitions there.

In 2013, Gregor Johann was appointed International Arbiter. Two years later, he was also awarded the title of International Organiser by FIDE. As an arbiter, Gregor Johann ensured that many national and international tournaments ran smoothly in his unagitated yet determined manner. Among other things, he was the lead arbiter at the first World Rapid Team Championship, which was held in Düsseldorf in 2023, and was an arbiter at the tournaments at Tegernsee, as well as at the Freestyle Chess Tournament of the world elite in Weißenhaus at the beginning of 2024.

From 2019, Gregor Johann managed and organised the German Chess Federation's tournament operations for four years as national tournament director. When the Covid pandemic temporarily put an end to public chess life in 2020, Gregor Johann was in charge of organising and running a German Chess Online League (DSOL) on behalf of the German Chess Federation, which was run virtually from scratch with up to 385 teams and 3,000 players using the relay system on ChessBase's Fritz server.

In 2022, Gregor Johann and his partner Sandra Schmidt took over the organisation of the German Chess Amateur Championship (DSAM) of the German Chess Federation, the largest amateur chess tournament in the country.

Gregor Johann was also a member of the Chess Sports Association, which was founded in 2022, and listed mountain hiking as a hobby. He had registered for the 33^rd Carinthian Chess Open (17-24 August) in Feffernitz, which also offered guided mountain hikes as part of the supporting programme. He slipped down a slope on the Emberger Alm during a mountain hike and suffered fatal injuries.

German chess will greatly miss Gregor Johann's great expertise, his drive and the sincere and straightforward manner in which he carried out his duties. Our sympathy goes out to his family and especially to his partner, Sandra Schmidt.

Gregor Johann was 55 years old.

Links

• Report of the fatal accident on Krone.at
• Obituary by the German Chess Federation