Lodewijk Prins was a Dutch chess grandmaster and an international arbiter in chess. Born on January 27, 1913 in Amsterdam, he died in 1999 in The Hague. He received the titles of International Master (IM) and International Arbiter (IA) both in 1950, and the honorary Grandmaster (GM) title in 1982.
Prins played chess at a high level from the 1930s into the 1960s. He won the Dutch Chess Championship seven times (1948, 1950–52, 1955, 1958, 1965). Internationally, he played for the Dutch team in the Chess Olympiads ten times, and in the 3rd unofficial Chess Olympiad at Munich 1936. Prins also had a successful career as a chess arbiter, and officiated over numerous international events such as World Chess Championship matches.
Prins had a few well-publicized disagreements with Max Euwe, former World Chess Champion from the Netherlands. Prins accused him of being a Nazi collaborator during WWII, culminating in their legal battle in 1982 that ended in Euwe's favor.
Besides his chess career, Prins worked for the Amsterdam municipal archive until the Second World War. After the war, he became head of the information department at a large insurance company in Amsterdam. He retired in 1973, after which he moved to Portugal with his second wife.
His contributions to the chess world also included writings; he wrote a number of books, including "The Hanging Pawns" and "The Chess Openings", plus a collection of his best games.