During the winter-months of 1996/97 grandmaster Artur Jussupow together with Horst Leckner had the idea, to hold a great open chess-tournament at the beautiful lake of Tegernsee. In contrary to the traditional "Berliner Sommer" they wanted to create a "Bavarian Winter". The organisational experience of Horst and Thomas Leckner together with Artur Jussupow's relationships and know-how in chess were neccessary for creating an outstanding chess-event. With support of the tourist-authority of Bad Wiessee and the Swiss Bank Hofmann as main-sponsor, we managed to organise a great event even in our first tournament in 1997. Also the prize-funds of the first tournament were sensational DM 36.000.

The great success of the first event showed cleary, that the health-resort of Bad Wiessee and the fantastic hall "Wandelhalle" was the right place to hold great international chess-events. Indeed also our first tournament had nearly 300 participants. A lot of famous chess-players came to us, e.g. the female world champion Xie Jun from China and even the World-Champion Alexander Khalifman from Russia.

Together with Jussupow's chess-academy the chess-club of Tegernsee organised also the 2nd OIBM in 1998 and the German Championship of Seniors in 1999. In 1999 Artur Jussupow and his family left Bad Wiessee. From this date the chess-club of Tegernsee (TV Tegernsee), under the leadership of Horst and Thomas Leckner, organised the OIBM alone. In cooperation with the tourist-authority of Bad Wiessee ("Kuramt") we continued the tradition and in 2001 we had even more 500 participants. 

In the meantime the Bad Wiessee Open became famous for creating ideal conditions for all participants. Top-players feel like being home, same to amateuers and hobby-players. Chess-entuthiast from all continents come to the lake Tegernsee to be part of a great event. Only in Bad Wiessee also hobby-players get the great chance, to compare with the eminent authorities of chess - in one field, one section - one common tournament!

For the area of the Tegernsee valley the OIBM has become a fixed annual touristical highlight, which attracts a lot of people from all over the world for more than one week.

Also for future-events the chess-club of Tegernsee guarantees, to try everything to organise outstanding chess-tournaments with a special flair, and special participants. This is also what our new main-sposor, the Kreissparkasse Miesbach-Tegernsee, expects for us.