The Berlin Chess Championship is an annual chess tournament in Germany. The first unofficial Berlin Chess Championship was held in 1853, and Jean Dufresne won a match against Max Lange.[1] Since 1904, official Berlin championships have taken place. The first event was won by Horatio Caro, followed by Ossip Bernstein, Rudolf Spielmann, Wilhelm Cohn, Benjamin Blumenfeld, etc.[2] [3] As a result of the post-war division of the city into East Berlin and West Berlin, from 1953 until 1990 two separate championships were held.[4] Since the 1991 reunification of Germany, the Berlin championships are again held as single events.[5]
| Year | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| 1904 | Horatio Caro | |
| 1905 | Horatio Caro, Moritz Lewitt | |
| 1906 | Erich Cohn | |
| 1908 | Wilhelm Cohn | |
| 1909 | Moritz Lewitt | |
| 1910 | Richard Teichmann | |
| 1911 | Carl Ahues | |
| 1919 | Karl Stephan | |
| 1920 | Ernst Schweinburg | |
| 1921 | Willi Schlage | |
| 1922 | Kurt Richter | |
| 1923 | Kurt Richter | |
| 1924 | Carl Ahues, Richard Teichmann | |
| 1925 | Friedrich Sämisch | |
| 1926 | Willi Schlage | |
| 1927 | Berthold Koch | |
| 1928 | Karl Helling | |
| 1929 | Carl Ahues, Kurt Richter | |
| 1930 | Kurt Richter, Ludwig Rellstab, Simon Rotenstein | |
| 1932 | Karl Helling | |
| 1933 | Kurt Richter, Berthold Koch | |
| 1934 | Carl Ahues, Friedrich Sämisch | |
| 1935 | Efim Bogoljubow, Kurt Richter | |
| 1936 | Kurt Richter | |
| 1937 | Ludwig Rellstab | |
| 1938 | Kurt Richter | |
| 1939 | Franz Mölbitz | |
| 1940 | Rudolf Palme | |
| 1941 | Ludwig Rellstab | |
| 1942 | Josef Grammatikoff | |
| 1943 | Rudolf Teschner | |
| 1944 | Rudolf Teschner | |
| 1946 | Berthold Koch | |
| 1947 | Rudolf Teschner | |
| 1948 | Kurt Richter | |
| 1949 | Gerhard Pfeiffer | |
| 1950 | Rudolf Teschner | |
| 1951 | Berthold Koch | |
| 1952 | Rudolf Teschner |
| Year | West Berlin Winner | East Berlin Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | |||
| 1954 | |||
| 1955 | |||
| 1956 | |||
| 1957 | |||
| 1958 | Werner Golz | ||
| 1959 | |||
| 1960 | |||
| 1961 | Hermann Brameyer | ||
| 1962 | Klaus Tiemer | ||
| 1963 | Alfred Barwich | ||
| 1964 | |||
| 1965 | Hermann Brameyer | ||
| 1966 | Lothar Kollberg | ||
| 1967 | Hermann Brameyer | ||
| 1968 | Franz Stahl | ||
| 1969 | Bodo Starck | ||
| 1970 | Bodo Starck | ||
| 1971 | Bodo Starck | ||
| 1972 | Wolfgang Rohde | ||
| 1973 | Hans-Jürgen Meißner | ||
| 1974 | Bodo Starck | ||
| 1975 | Friedrich Baumbach | ||
| 1976 | Lothar Kollberg | ||
| 1977 | Joachim Fechner | ||
| 1978 | Wolfgang Thormann | ||
| 1979 | Lothar Kollberg | ||
| 1980 | Jörg Seils | ||
| 1981 | Wolfgang Thormann | ||
| 1982 | no contest | Ralf Rennoch | |
| 1983 | Bodo Starck | ||
| 1984 | no contest | Bodo Starck | |
| 1985 | Alexander Okrajek | ||
| 1986 | no contest | Jörg Seils | |
| 1987 | Alexander Okrajek | ||
| 1988 | Steve Brooke | Wolfgang Rohde | |
| 1989 | Jörg Seils | ||
| 1990 | no contest |
| Year | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Jörg Seils | |
| 1993 | Jörg Seils | |
| 1994 | Alexander Lagunow | |
| 1995 | Alexander Lagunow | |
| 1996 | Alexander Lagunow | |
| 1997 | Robert Rabiega | |
| 1998 | Manfred Glienke | |
| 1999 | Ulf von Herman | |
| 2000 | Robert Rabiega | |
| 2001 | Ulf von Herman | |
| 2002 | Sergey Kalinitschew | |
| 2003 | Jakov Meister | |
| 2004 | Jakov Meister | |
| 2005 | Jakov Meister | |
| 2006 | Ulf von Herman | |
| 2007 | Jakob Meister | |
| 2008 | Ulf von Herman | |
| 2009 | Ulf von Herman | |
| 2010 | René Stern | |
| 2011 | René Stern | |
| 2012 | René Stern | |
| 2013 | Sergey Kalinitschew | |
| 2014 | René Stern | |
| 2015 | Sergey Kalinitschew, Hendrik Möller | |
| 2016 | ||
| 2017 | ||
| 2018 | Atila Gajo Figura | |
| 2019 | Johannes Florstedt | |
| 2020-2021 | no championship | |
| 2022 | Johannes Florstedt |