Patience and perseverance

To be world chess champion - that was the plan when he was just eight years old. Although Gustav Holzegel did not achieve his aim, he can still be satisfied. The mathematician is a recognised expert in the field of General Relativity and has undertaken research at leading international institutes. Since November he has been a professor at the University of Münster supported by a recently awarded a Humboldt professorship, the most valuable research award in Germany.

Holzegel, now 40, enjoyed logical thinking from an early age - whether as a child playing chess or as a senior student at school who was fascinated not only by mathematics but also by the complex grammar of Latin and Ancient Greek. ...