Friedrich Baumbach

Friedrich (Fritz) Baumbach (8 September 1935 – 24 April 2025) was a German International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster, most famous for being the eleventh ICCF World Champion, 1983–1989. He was also East German Champion in 1970.

Friedrich Baumbach

Baumbach in 2008
Personal information
Born	(1935-09-08)8 September 1935 Weimar, Gau Thuringia, Germany
Died	24 April 2025(2025-04-24) (aged 89) Berlin, Germany
Chess career
Country	Germany
Title	ICCF Grandmaster (1973) FIDE Master (1985)
ICCF World Champion	1983–89
FIDE rating	2131 (October 2021)
Peak rating	2460 (July 1971)
ICCF rating	2399 (October 2021)
ICCF peak rating	2562 (July 1994)

Biography

Baumbach tied for second place behind Mikhail Umansky in a "champion of champions" tournament, the ICCF 50 Years World Champion Jubilee. This was a special invitational correspondence tournament involving all living former ICCF World Champions.^[1]

He was a chemist by profession. He received his doctorate in 1966. From 2000 he worked as a freelance patent attorney.

Baumbach died in Berlin on 24 April 2025, at the age of 89.^[2]