Alois Wotawa (* 11 June 1896 in Vienna; † 12 April 1970 in Vienna) was an Austrian chess composer of endgame studies and public prosecutor. He lived and worked in Vienna. Wotawa died in 1970, two years after his closest friend Josef Halumbirek and his wife died within a few weeks of each other.

Chess composition

Alois Wotawa composed more than 350 chess studies and published mainly in German-speaking countries. Wotawa also created several problems. He described them as "botched endgames." Around 1960 he became friends with Friedrich Chlubna, who was just beginning to compose at the time. Most of Wotawa's chess studies appeared in the Deutsche Schachzeitung, where Josef Halumbirek, a friend of Wotawa's, was the editor of the endgame section.

Successes in chess composition

In 1966, Alois Wotawa was appointed International Master of Chess Compositions by FIDE. His chess studies are very popular with grandmasters in over the board chess.

Source: German Wikipedia