Walter Korn

Who was Walter Korn?

Walter Korn was a Czech-born, naturalised American author of books and magazine articles about chess. Despite his status as a writer, there is no known record of him playing tournament chess, and few chess players ever met him. Korn was a FIDE International Judge for chess compositions and contributed the entire topic of chess for the Encyclopædia Britannica.

Korn was the author of Modern Chess Openings, which was considered an authoritative work on the openings of chess. A new edition of MCO would come out every five years or so, and it was essential reading for tournament chess players.

In later years, Korn enlisted the help of top players, such as Grandmaster Larry Evans and Grandmaster Nick de Firmian, while continuing as a co-author.

Korn fled his homeland for London in 1939. Several years later, in Germany, he directed the U.N. Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, helping to relocate concentration camp survivors. In 1948, he served as national director of World ORT in Geneva. He immigrated to the United States in 1950, and lived in Detroit, where he worked as business manager of the Jewish Community Center. From 1960 to 1964, he lived in Israel, working for both the Joint Distribution Committee and the United Jewish Appeal.