Peter Enders (1963-2025)

by André Schulz
2/8/2025 – Peter Enders was one of the greatest talents in the German Democratic Republic in the 1970s, but often came into conflict with the authorities. After reunification, Peter Enders was able to develop more fully, becoming an international champion and grandmaster. Peter Enders died on his 62nd birthday in Freyburg. | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

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Peter Enders, born on 2 February 1963 in Taucha, was considered one of the greatest talents in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). At the age of 15, he took part in the GDR state championships for adults for the first time in 1978 and was a regular participant in the following years. He played in several smaller invitational tournaments in Dresden. He also took part in tournaments in the GDR's "socialist brother countries" in the 1980s.

In his home country, he often came into confrontation with the authorities. Although Peter Enders had far exceeded the number of norms required for the title of International Master, the GDR Chess Federation did not send the applications for his title. In 1989, following a dispute, the GDR Chess Federation did not invite Peter Enders to the national championship, even though he was the third-best player in the country at the time.

After reunification and the accession of the GDR states to the Federal Republic of Germany, Peter Enders, then almost 30 years old, was able to develop his play in better conditions. In 1990, he became the German Blitz Chess Champion. In 1993, he was finally awarded the title of International Master. In the same year, Enders won the German Championship. In 1996, he became German Rapid Chess Champion. In 1997, he was also awarded the title of Grandmaster.

After reunification, Peter Enders took part in team competitions for various clubs. From 2002, he played for the Erfurter SK in the German League. He remained loyal to this team from that point on.

Peter Enders died on his 62nd birthday, 2 February 2025, in Freyburg (Unstrut).

Artur Yusupov v. Peter Enders - German Championship 1998

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1.d4       Knaak Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Nf3 cxd4 7.exd4 d5 8.0-0 dxc4 9.Bxc4 h6!? You have to hand it to Peter Enders! It is hard enough to reach a completely new position after only 9 moves these days, but to then win with black against a Grandmaster whose understanding of chess is in the very top flight is quite an achievement. Enders is one of those players for whom apparent fearlessness can on occasions prove his downfall, but is frequently too his greatest asset. The move is a declaration of intent to capture on c3. Since blacks' knight stands on c6 rather d7, black cannot afford to exchange on c3 and allow white to play Bc1-g5 since the pin would be very likely to prove intolerable. Although this position is completely new as far as I can see, the idea is not unknown. Now would be a good moment to look at a couple of other treatments, which might perhaps give a clue as to white's best course: Knaak: 'Diesen Zug würde ich zumindest als sehr gewagt bezeichnen, aber mit dem Erfolgreichen läßt sich schlecht hadern.' 9...0-0 10.a3 Bxc3 11.bxc3 h6 12.Qd3 12.Bb2!? b6 13.Bd3 Bb7 14.c4 This plan deserves consideration. The pressure mustered against white's hanging pawns is not particularly great, and the potential potency of white's bishop pair seems greater than in some other set-ups. Rc8 15.Rc1 Na5 16.Re1 Re8 17.Ne5 Nc6 18.Bb1 Nxe5 19.Rxe5 Nd7 20.Re3 b5!? 21.d5!? 21.cxb5! the d5 square does not look sufficient compensation, and if Qg5 22.Qf1 21...bxc4 22.dxe6 Rxe6 23.Rg3 23.Rxe6 fxe6 24.Qg4 Qg5 25.Qxe6+ Kh8 26.Qg6∞ 23...Ne5 24.Bf5 Rd6 25.Qe1! 25.Rxg7+?! Kf8! 26.Qh5 c3 ∆27.Rh7 Qa5! 25...Rc5 26.Rxg7+ 26.Bxe5 Rxe5 27.Qxe5 Rd1+ 28.Qe1 Rxe1+ 29.Rxe1 g6 26...Kxg7 27.Bxe5+ f6 28.Bxd6 Qxd6 29.Rd1 Qc7?? 29...Re5∞ 30.Rd7+ 1-0 Marinelli,T-Morin,Y/Cannes 1995/CBM 46 ext. 12...b6 13.Bf4!? I also have some sympathy for this idea. White takes key squares away from black's queen, and in some cases may prepare Ne5 and recapture with the bishop. Black's coming ...Nh5 at least misplaces his knight. Bb7 14.Rfe1 Nh5 15.Bd2 Qf6?! 16.Ba2 Ne7 17.Ne5 1-0 Clement Gomez,J (2200)-Carlier,B (2415) Benidorm op 1989 10.Re1 0-0 11.a3 Since black has a heavy preferance for ...Bxc3 in any case, it would be worth trying to do without this. However, of course then white is restricted to plans compatible with a subsequent ...Be7. 11.Qd3!? 11...Bxc3 12.bxc3 b6 13.Qd3 13.Bb2!? Bb7 14.Bd3 Rc8 15.c4 see note to black's 9th. 13...Bb7 14.Ba2?! Other things being equal, white should line-up on the b1-h7 diagonal with his bishop on c2 rather than b1, for the sake of both his development and the health of his back rank. Jussupow preferred to bring his rook around the second rank, but his later vulnerability to Enders' combination speak for themself. 14.Bb3 Qd6 15.Bc2 Rfd8 16.Bb2!? 14...Qd6 15.Bb1 Rfd8 16.Ra2 Rac8 17.Rae2 Knaak: 'Bis hier hat Weiß scheinbar nichts falsch gemacht; die Läufer stehen auch auf der Grundreihe prächtig und die Türme sowieso.' Nb8! A nice, simple move, which coordinates white's minor pieces well. The noteworthy thing about Enders whole plan is that he gets the traditional play against white's pawns c3+d4 by exchanging his bishop, rather than as so often the f6 knight. At first sight this would seem to leave his king-side vulnerable to sacrifices on h6, but if these do not materialise ( and they do not seem to! ) then the knight on f6 is the perfect defensive piece. Jussupow's long rook manouevre to the third is time-consuming and rather clumsy. Knaak: 'Ein beachtlicher Zug: Schwarz führt diesen Springer nach f8, deckt damit das Feld h7 und entlastett den Sf6.' 18.Re3 18.Ne5 Qd5 19.f3 19.Qg3 Rxc3 19...Ba6 18...Nbd7 19.Nh4 Nf8 20.Rh3 Knaak: 'Scheinbar ein normaler Angriffszug.' Be4‼       Commencing a beautiful combination which devastatingly exploits white's queen's rook's desertion of the back rank. Knaak: 'Ein echter Knaller, der vor allem darauf basiert, daß Weiß seine Grundreihe nicht genügend decken kann.' 21.Rxe4?! After 21.Qb5 a6 21...Bxb1 Knaak 22.Qxb1 g5 23.Nf3 g4 22.Qb3 Bxb1 23.Qxb1 Nd5 black's advantage is considerable, but it is positional rather than material! 21...Nxe4 22.Qxe4 Qxd4! Knaak: 'Als ich diesem Moment vorbei schlenderte, konnte ich es kaum fassen, denn ich hatte 4:1 auf Jussupow gesetzt, aber seine Stellung war eine Ruine.' 23.Qxd4 23.Qe1 Qd1 24.Kf1 24.Re3 Rxc3! 24...Qa4! Knaak: 'und mit dem falsch plazierten Turm auf h3 kann Weiß die Grundreihe nicht richtig verteidigen.' 25.Bd3 25.Bd2 Qb5+ 25...Rxd3 26.Rxd3 Qxh4 23...Rxd4 24.Bc2 Rxh4! Knaak: 'Nur so geht es weiter, und man beachte, daß Enders auch dieser Zug schon bei 20...Le4 berechnet haben mußte.' 25.Rxh4 Rxc3 26.Be3 Rxc2-+ 27.Rd4 Jussupow continues to struggle for some time without any real hope, presumably mostly suffering from shock. Knaak: 'Jussupow erhofft sich etwas von der Fesselung des Sf8.' Besser 27.Ra4 Knaak Rc7 28.Kf1 27...Ra2 28.h4 Rxa3 29.Rd8 f6 30.Ra8 Ra5 '!' Knaak. 31.Bd2 Ra1+ 32.Kh2 Kf7 33.Rc8 h5 34.Rc7+ Kg6 35.Bb4 Nh7 36.g3 a5 37.Be7 b5 38.Ra7 a4 39.Ra5 Rb1 40.f3 Rb3 From the games I have seen Peter Enders has quite impressive technique. Here it is not even called upon. 41.Kg2 e5 42.Ra7 f5 43.Bd6 e4 44.fxe4 fxe4 45.Bc5 Rd3 46.Rb7 Rd5 47.Bb4 Nf6 48.Kf2 Nd7 49.Ke2 Kf5 50.Ra7 g6 51.Ra8 Rd3 52.Rd8 a3 53.Ra8 Rxg3 54.Bxa3 Rg2+ 55.Ke3 Ra2 56.Kd4 e3 57.Kxe3 b4 58.Ra5+ Ne5 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Jussupow,A2640Enders,P24850–11998E54GER-ch 70th4

Jan Timman v. Peter Enders - Bundesliga 1998

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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.0-0 c6 8.h3 Nd7 9.e4 N5b6 10.Qe2 e5 11.Rd1 exd4 12.Nxd4 Qe7 13.Nc3 Re8 14.Be3 Nc5 15.Rac1 Be6 16.b3 Rad8 17.Qc2 Bc8 18.f4 Ne6 19.Nde2 Rxd1+ 20.Nxd1 Rd8 21.Nf2 f5 22.e5 Bf8 23.a4 Qa3 24.Nd1 Nc7 25.Ndc3 Bc5 26.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 27.Kh2 Be6 28.Rd1 Rxd1 29.Qxd1 Nbd5 30.Qd3 Kf7 31.Nd1 Ke7 32.Nd4 Bf7 33.Ne3 Nxe3 34.Qxe3 Ne6 35.Nxc6+ bxc6 36.Qd2 a5 37.Qd3 Be8 38.Qa6 Bd7 39.Qa8 g5 40.Qh8 gxf4 41.Qxh7+ Kd8 42.Qxf5 fxg3+ 43.Kxg3 Qe3+ 44.Bf3 Qg1+ 45.Bg2 Qe3+ 46.Bf3 Ng5 0–1
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Timman,J2635Enders,P25250–11998D74Bundesliga 98996.4

John Nunn v. Peter Enders - Bundesliga 2000

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1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.h4 Qc7 8.h5 h6 9.Nf3 b6 10.Rh3 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Qd3 Nb8 13.Nh4 Nd7 14.Rg3 cxd4 15.cxd4 Nxe5 16.Qe3 Nc4 17.Qf3 Rg8 18.Kf1 Qd7 19.Bf4 0-0-0 20.a4 Nc6 21.Qc3 Kb7 22.Nf3 f6 23.Kg1 Rc8 24.Re1 Rge8 25.Rg6 Qf7 26.Re2 Ne7 27.Rg3 Nf5 28.Rh3 Qd7 29.Qa1 Na5 30.c3 Rc4 31.Ra2 e5 32.Be3 Nxe3 33.fxe3 e4 34.Nd2 Rc7 35.Rc2 Rec8 36.Rh4 Nc4 37.Nf1 Qe8 38.Qa2 Qe6 39.Rf4 Qd6 40.Rf5 a6 41.Qa1 Ka7 42.Qa2 Rd8 43.Qa1 Rb7 44.Rff2 Qd7 45.Rf4 Rc8 46.Ra2 Rc6 47.Rc2 b5 48.axb5 Rxb5 49.Qe1 Qc7 50.Rg4 Rb7 51.Ng3 Rcb6 52.Nf5 Rb1 53.Rc1 Rxc1 54.Qxc1 Qc8 55.Rf4 a5 56.Rf1 Qd7 57.Qd1 a4 58.Qg4 a3 59.Ra1 Rb2 60.Qf4 a2 61.Kh2 Kb7 62.Qf1 Kb6 63.Kg3 Kc6 64.Kh4 Rb1 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nunn,J2601Enders,P24780–12000C19Bundesliga 99009.4

Obituary by the Erfurt Chess Club

The Master is dead.

We were deeply saddened to hear the news of the death of our long-time club member, Grandmaster Peter Enders. Peter was a passionate chess player. He was "chess mad" in the truest sense of the word. In the 1980s, he achieved his first notable successes, particularly in blitz, where he became GDR champion, both individually and with his team.

With Peter Enders, Mikroelektronik Erfurt won the GDR team championship for the first time in 1988. Peter achieved a perfect 4 out of 4 on the last weekend in Berlin. With his help, Erfurt managed to break into the phalanx of the big GDR clubs, with SG Leipzig and Buna Halle.

After reunification, Peter Enders played for various clubs in the Bundesliga. He became German blitz chess champion in 1990. In 1994, he was crowned German champion at the 66th tournament in Binz. Peter Enders probably achieved his best tournament performance at the 1998 DEM in Bremen with a spectacular victory over world-class player Artur Yusupov. From 2002, he played for Erfurter SK again and remained a valuable member of the first team for more than twenty years. He repeatedly showed his class in various team tournaments.

Most recently, he played against two Berlin teams in the Oberliga Ost in Plauen in January.

Peter Enders - a life for chess!

- The board of the Erfurt chess club

Obituary at Erfurter SK...


André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.

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