Erich Zepler, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Erich Zepler

Electronics engineer, Chess problemist

Date of Birth: 27-Jan-1898

Place of Birth: Herford, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Date of Death: 13-May-1980

Profession: physicist, university teacher, chess composer, chess player

Nationality: Germany

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius


Show Famous Birthdays Today, Germany

👉 Worldwide Celebrity Birthdays Today

About Erich Zepler

  • Erich Ernest Zepler (27 January 1898 - 13 May 1980), later known as Eric, was a German-born electronics expert and chess problem composer. He studied physics in Berlin and Bonn before receiving his doctorate from the University of Würzburg.
  • He went on to work for Telefunken, becoming head of the radio receiver laboratories.
  • A Jew, he fled Germany in 1935, leaving behind all his possessions, and settled in England.
  • There, he dropped the H in his first name, becoming Eric, and found work with the Marconi Company.
  • In 1947 he founded the Department of Electronics at University College, Southampton (now the University of Southampton), one of the first in the world.
  • In 1949 the post of Chair of Electronics was created for him.
  • The department is now home to the Zepler Building, named after him.
  • He wrote several textbooks on electronics, the best known being his first The Technique of Radio Design.
  • It is said that many of his radios were used in World War II (on both sides).
  • Zepler was also a very significant figure in the field of chess problems.
  • One of the leading composers of the new German school (also known as the logical school), he mainly composed three- and more-mover directmates, and also produced a small number of endgame studies.
  • In 1957 he became an International Judge of Chess Compositions, and in 1973 an International Master of Chess Compositions.
  • He is the eponym of Zepler doubling, after his pioneer problem published in the Hamburgischer Correspondent, 1929. Zepler often worked with another German problemist, Adolf Kraemer; Im Banne des Schachproblems (1951, revised 1971) is a collection of their best work and considered one of the finest of all collections of chess problems.
  • The two also published Problemkunst im 20.Jahrhundert (1956), a compilation of what they considered to be the finest 20th century problems.
  • Their friendship was remarkable, since Kraemer was a member of the SA, and possibly of the SS. The mate in four to the right is one of Zepler's numerous First Prize-winners, and demonstrates his logical style well.
  • White would like to play 1.Ra2+ Qxa2 2.Qb4#, but the White queen is pinned to the king, making the mate impossible.
  • White must therefore move his king to a different square; the direct approach with 1.Kf8 or 1.Kg7 fails to 1...Qb2!, and moves to the e-file allow 1...Qe1+, so instead the unobvious 1.Bxf5! is needed.
  • After 1...Qxf5+ 2.Ke7 Qb1 (on any other checks, the queen is simply captured) we have the original position again except that the king is no longer on the a2-g8 diagonal, making the mate possible: 3.Ra2+ Qxa2 4.Qb4#. Zepler was also a strong chess player being a member of Southampton Chess Club.

Read more at Wikipedia

See Also