This book is in both the English and German language.Schmidt´s own, brief, recollections are included and his family has provided materials of all aspects of his life.
Our small family (my father, my mother and I) came to America in March of 1952, after crossing the ocean in a re-fitted troop carrier named the “General Stewart”.
Not only did he (and we) keep up the German language, but he also stayed current in Russian by reading profusely (his favourite author was the poet Alexander Pushkin).
Years later, he told me that being a scientist was the only truly fascinating profession. Every evening he would study his journals, and then often finish up re-playing chess games from a book or magazine. I can remember him playing chess on a little hand-held “pocket” chess set.
My father stayed in touch with a variety of chess masters in the U.S. and Europe. Most notable was the Czech and German champion Ludek Pachman, who once came to visit him in Allentown. The last chess tournament he played in was a correspondence tournament in 1983/84, involving Estonian players.
Eva Regina Magacs was born in Heidelberg, Germany to Paul F. and Eva L. Schmidt. As a five-year old she accompanied her parents as they immigrated to the United States. She holds a Master’s degree in German and Spanish and has taught both subjects. Regina lives with her husband Jim and their dog Ebony in upstate New York. They are the parents of three children and have three grandchildren. She enjoys gardening, crewel embroidery, and cooking. This book is her first major translation work.
Michael Negele was born in Trier, Germany, in 1957 and lives in Wuppertal. A chemist, he has a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry and works in Dormagen near Cologne. Since 1972 he has been passionate about chess, excited by nearly all aspects of the Royal Game. Since 2000 he has contributed more than 70 articles with a historical chess background to the German chess magazines Kaissiber, KARL and SCHACH. In 2003 he was a founder of the Ken Whyld Association for the bibliography and history of chess. Michael was one of the editors of the monograph Emanuel Lasker - Denker Weltenbürger Schachweltmeister (Exzelsior, 2009) and he contributed to Schauspiel des Geistes (Exzelsior, 2012) with an historical review of blindfold chess.
