An obituary for Dr Thomas Thomsen (b. 1934; d. 2026)

April 15, 2026 HIS

Herbert Bastian, 14 April 2026

The chess world has suffered a great loss. On 2 April, the long-standing president of Chess Collectors International passed away at the ripe old age of 91. For many years, Thomas Thomsen organised extremely popular collectors’ gatherings in some of Europe’s most beautiful locations, most recently in Nuremberg from 31 October to 2 November 2025. On 5–6 September, he was still a welcome guest at the annual meeting of the Chess History & Literature Society (CH&LS) in Valencia, organised by José A. Garzón at the birthplace of modern chess. There, Thomsen acted as an interpreter, having grown up in Spain and being fluent in the local language (fig.).

Prof. Dr Frank Hoffmeister (President of CH&LS), a representative of the City of Valencia, Dr Thomas Thomsen and José A. Garzón.

Artistic chess sets of all kinds were Thomas Thomsen’s passion. Over the course of his life, he collected more than 800 such sets, made from a wide variety of materials and sourced from all over the world, at his home in Königstein, and presented them at numerous themed exhibitions, for which he himself produced the impressive catalogues. In 2022, Thomas Thomsen was officially honoured as a “Friend of FIDE”.

In the statement by Dr Ulrich Schädler, then director of the Swiss Museum of Games in La Tour-de-Peilz, who proposed the honour, it is stated: “Dr. Thomsen is undoubtedly one of the most important ambassadors of chess, its history and culture of our time. He was president of Chess Collectors International (CCI) for more than 20 years from 1992 to 2014, and is still honorary president of the organisation, which unites today about 2000 members from more than 34 countries (see: www.chesscollectorsinternational.org ).”

In 1991, Thomas Thomsen gave a significant boost to research into the origins of chess. Let us hear once again from Ulrich Schaedler: “August 2—4, 1991, Dr Thomsen, who always ascertained the collaboration of renowned scholars and scientists from different disciplines, welcomed 14 chess historians at his house in Königstein (Germany), to discuss issues of the origins and early history of chess. Among the participants were GM Yurij Averbakh, IM Ricardo Calvo, Irving Finkel, GM Lothar Schmidt, Isaak Linder and Egbert Meissenburg. From this first meeting originated the so-called “Initiative-Group Königstein”, dedicated to research in the early history of chess. Since then, members of the group have undertaken and published important studies on chess history and drawn attention to the importance of chess historical research […].”

From left to right: Prof. Dr. Joachim Petzold (Berlin), Manfred A. J. Eder (Kelkheim/Ts), GM Lothar Schmid, GM Yuri Averbakh (Moskau), Dr. Gianfelice Ferlito (Morosolo), Gareth Williams (London), Egbert Meissenburg (Seevetal), Rob Verhoeven (Den Haag), Dr. Isaak M. Linder, Dr. Thomas Thomsen, Victor Keats (London), IM Dr. Ricardo Calvo (Madrid), Dr. Irving Finkel (Cranbrook), Dr. K. G. Beauchamp (Lancaster).

Dr Thomas Thomsen at GM Yuri Averbakh’s 90th birthday celebration.

In recognition of these unprecedented achievements, the motion to honour him was approved at the 92nd FIDE Congress in Warsaw on 28 December 2021. A brief profile on the FIDE website can be found under Dr Thomsen, Thomas FIDE Profile. The certificate of honour was presented in person on behalf of FIDE by Willy Iclicki and Herbert Bastian in Königstein on 19 February.

Willy Iclicky (FIDE) und Dr. Thomas Thomsen (CCI)

Dr. Thomas Thomsen zum “Freund der FIDE” erklärt | ChessBase

Microsoft Word – Thomsen for FIDE_US.docx

Ausgabe 1/03 I Der Sammler Dr. Thomas Thomsen und die CCI (karlonline.org)