"I have been living in Berlin since 1970, back then still West Berlin, but I originally come from Flensburg, in the far north of Germany, where I learned to play chess at the age of 12 from my eldest brother Jürgen. Back then, in 1964, he was already a member of the Flensburger Schachklub von 1876 , which I still belong to today out of old loyalty.

At first, it seemed hopeless to win a game against my adult brother, but he somehow managed to motivate me and convey to me that chess is a fascinating world of its own, where people can meet and share a lot with each other. This has shaped my attitude towards chess to this day and led me to make many friends among chess players and develop a lasting interest in chess history and culture.

Even back then, I gained my first experience in correspondence chess, but it wasn't until the mid-1980s – after several years' break, when I had already founded my chess publishing company Edition Marco and started a family – that I began to devote myself more intensively to my hobby.
This probably wouldn't have happened if I had actively entered politics after completing my studies in political science and pursued my journalistic ambitions in this field.

In Berlin, there was of course the opportunity to meet many strong players, true masters and also some originals, at the board and learn from them. However, the temptation to spend the nights in pubs was great. Back then, we would move from one chess pub to another until the early hours of the morning when they closed, playing endless rounds of blitz chess. Everyone knows how it works: the winner stays seated, Black offers a draw, weaker players can be given time on the chess clock. The tone was often harsh. - Unfortunately, many of my chess friends from back then are no longer with us. They remain unforgotten.

I also enjoyed travelling to chess tournaments in other German cities and abroad, e.g. preferably Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, France, Denmark, often in conjunction with holidays. One lifetime is not enough to travel everywhere.

Until the mid-1990s, I played correspondence chess almost exclusively in national competitions, which was an exciting thing during the “Wende” period when the Berlin Wall fell. I achieved my first GM norm in a semi-final group of the 63rd European Championship (EU/C63/sf06, 1999-2003) with 11 out of 13, the second with 12 out of 14 in the Jänisch Memorial (2000- 2002), both ahead of schedule, so that I already received the GM title in 2001.

From then on, things continued to improve in individual tournaments and team competitions. I had some spectacular wins, such as against correspondence chess world champion Joop van Oosterom (2007, rating 2777) and my match victory against the chess computer Hydra (2.5:1.5) in 2005. A total of 15 GM norms, three Olympic gold medals with the German team (17th, 18th, 20th finals). Only the world championship title eluded me in three final rounds (21st, 28th, 31st finals). But that's okay ;-)

What matters more to me is that correspondence chess retains its own identity and culture and that the influence of chess engines on tournament operations is reduced. In addition to suitable ideas for scoring modes, many more creative ideas are needed to achieve this."