Career
2nd at Berlin 1920
2nd at Hamburg 1921
equal 2nd with Tartakower, after Aron Nimzowitsch, at Copenhagen 1923
3rd at Baden-Baden 1925, after Alexander Alekhine and Akiba Rubinstein
equal 1st with Sir George Thomas at Spa, Belgium, 1926
1st at Dortmund 1928, above Réti, Johner and Bogoljubov
equal 1st with Réti at Brünn 1928
1st at Swinemünde 1930
Perhaps his most famous game is his loss to Nimzowitsch at Copenhagen 1923 in the Immortal Zugzwang Game. At the age of 73, in 1969, Sämisch played a tournament in memoriam of Adolf Anderssen in Büsum, Germany, and another tournament in Linköping, Sweden, but lost all games in both events (fifteen in the former and thirteen in the latter) on time control. Sämisch is today remembered primarily for his contributions to opening theory.
Two major opening lines are named after him:
a variation of the King"s Indian: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3
a variation of the Nimzo-Indian: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3
During this war, Sämisch was appointed as "Betreuer" for the troops, so his task was to give chess demonstrations and play simultaneous exhibitions for German soldiers all over Europe.
Upon arrival in Spain in 1944 for a tournament, he proposed to the British ambassador that he would play a simul for the British troops in Gibraltar, but his humorously-meant offer was refused. Then Sämisch criticised Adolf Hitler at the closing banquet of the Madrid tournament in summer 1944.
Upon returning to the German border, he was arrested and transported to a concentration camp. This was not his first transgression, since he had previously said loudly in the Luxor coffee house in Prague: "Isn"t Hitler a fool? I asked him to speak quietly.
"You don"t agree that Hitler is a fool?" was Sämisch"s unconcerned retort.