Viktor Karlovich Knorre (; 4 October 1840 – 25 August 1919) was a Russian astronomer of German origin. He worked in Nikolaev, Pulkovo and Berlin and is best known for having discovered 158 Koronis and three other minor planets. Knorre's father, Karl Friedrich Knorre, and grandfather, Ernst Friedrich Knorre, were also prominent astronomers. Recently, the main-belt asteroid 14339 Knorre was named in honor of the three generations of Knorre astronomers. According to the ChessMetrics site, He was ranked among top 50 players in the world at his peak.

In the Two Knights Defense, the Knorre Variation (ECO code C59) is named after him. Continuing from the main line, it is characterized by the moves 8.Be2 h6 9.Nf3 e4 10.Ne5 Bd6 11.d4 Qc7 12.Bd2. The Knorre variation of the Open defense in the Ruy Lopez, characterized by the move 6. Nc3, is also named after Knorre.

References

  • M. Ebell: Obituary on Viktor Knorre, in: Astronomische Nachrichten, 1919, volume 209, p. 367 (in German)
  • Biographical information on Viktor Knorre