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Aron Nimzowitsch
Image:Aron Nimzowitsch.jpg
Aron Nimzowitsch
Full name Aron Nimzowitsch
Country Flag of Denmark Denmark
Born November 7, 1886(1886-11-07)
Riga, Latvia, USSR
Died March 16, 1935 (aged 48)
Title Grandmaster (unoffical)[1]

Aron Nimzowitsch (Latvian: Ārons Ņimcovičs; born Aron Niemzowitsch[2] and also known as Nimzovich) (November 7, 1886 – March 16, 1935) was a Latvian-born Danish unofficial chess grandmaster[1] and a very influential chess writer. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat Year 1886 ( MDCCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat Year 1886 ( MDCCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. He was the foremost figure amongst the hypermoderns. Hypermodernism is a school of Chess thought which advocates controlling the centre of the board with distant pieces rather than with pawns, thus inviting the opponent

Contents

Life

Born in Riga in Livonia, then part of the Russian empire, the Jewish German-speaking Nimzowitsch came from a wealthy family, where he learned chess from his father, who was a merchant. Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. Livonia (Līvõmō Latvian and Livonija Estonian: Liivimaa; Finnish: Liivinmaa; German and Swedish: Livland The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. In 1904, he traveled to Berlin to study philosophy, but set aside his studies soon and began a career as a professional chess player that same year. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language

During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Nimzowitsch was in the Baltic war zone. He escaped being drafted into one of the armies by feigning madness, insisting that a fly was on his head. He then escaped to Berlin, and gave his first name as Arnold, possibly to avoid anti-Semitic persecution. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. [3]

Nimzowitsch eventually moved to Copenhagen in 1922 (some sources say 1920), which coincided with his rise to the world chess elite. Copenhagen (ˌkəʊpənˈheɪgən ˌkəʊpənˈhɑːgən ˈkəʊpənˌheɪgən ˈkəʊpənˌhɑːgən kʰøb̥ənˈhɑʊ̯ˀn kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn is the capital and largest city He obtained Danish citizenship and lived in Denmark until his death from cancer in 1935. Cancer (medical term Malignant Neoplasm) is a class of Diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled He is buried in Bispebjerg Cemetery in Copenhagen. Bispebjerg is one of the 15 administrative statistical and tax city districts ( bydele) comprising the municipality of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Chess career

The height of Nimzowitsch's career was the late 1920s and early 1930s. Chessmetrics places him as the third best player in the world, behind Alexander Alekhine and Jose Capablanca, from 1927 to 1931[4]. Chessmetrics is a system for rating Chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (alʲɛkˈsandr̠ alʲɛkˈsandr̠ovʲiʨ aˈlʲɛxin Russian Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Але́хин) (October His most notable successes were first place finishes at Copenhagen 1923, Dresden 1926, the Carlsbad tournament of 1929. Copenhagen (ˌkəʊpənˈheɪgən ˌkəʊpənˈhɑːgən ˈkəʊpənˌheɪgən ˈkəʊpənˌhɑːgən kʰøb̥ənˈhɑʊ̯ˀn kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn is the capital and largest city Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Drježdźany is the Capital city of the German Carlsbad or Karlsbad is a German placename meaning "Charles's spa" Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. and second place behind Alekhine at San Remo in 1930. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Nimzowitsch never developed a knack for match play though; his best match success was a draw with Alekhine (though this match was only two games long and was in 1914, 13 years before Alekhine became world champion). Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

Although Nimzowitsch did not win a single game against Capablanca, he fared better against Alekhine. He even beat Alekhine with the Black pieces at St. Petersburg 1914. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year One of Nimzowitsch's most famous games is his celebrated immortal zugzwang game against Sämisch at Copenhagen 1923. Zugzwang ' is also a musical work by Juan Maria Solare. Zugzwang' ( German for "compulsion to move" ˈtsuːktsvaŋ Friedrich (Fritz Sämisch ( September 20, 1896, Berlin &ndash August 16, 1975, Berlin) was a German Copenhagen (ˌkəʊpənˈheɪgən ˌkəʊpənˈhɑːgən ˈkəʊpənˌheɪgən ˈkəʊpənˌhɑːgən kʰøb̥ənˈhɑʊ̯ˀn kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn is the capital and largest city Another game on this theme is his win over Paul Johner at Dresden 1926. Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Drježdźany is the Capital city of the German When in form, Nimzowitsch was very dangerous with the Black pieces, scoring many fine wins over top players.

Legacy

Nimzowitsch is considered one of the most important players and writers in chess history. His works influenced numerous other players, including Richard Réti, Akiba Rubinstein, Bent Larsen, and Tigran Petrosian, and his influence is still felt today. Richard Réti ( 28 May, 1889, Pezinok (now Slovakia) &ndash 6 June, 1929, Prague) was an Austrian Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein ( 12 December, 1882, in Stawiski, Poland – 15 March, 1961 in Antwerp, Jørgen Bent Larsen (born March 4 1935, Thisted) is a Danish Chess Grandmaster. Tigran Petrosian (Տիգրան Պետրոսյան ( June 17, 1929 &ndash August 13, 1984) was World Chess Champion from 1963

He wrote three books on chess strategy: Mein System (My System) (1925), Die Praxis meines System (The Practice of My System) (commonly known as Chess Praxis), and Die Blockade (The Blockade). My System (Mein System is a Book on Chess theory written by Aron Nimzowitsch. The last of these has just been reissued in a volume containing both the German original and the English translation published by Hardinge Simpole. However, much that is in it is covered again in Mein System. It is said that 99 out of 100 chess masters have read Mein System; consequently, most consider it to be Nimzowitsch's greatest contribution to chess. It sets out Nimzowitsch's most important ideas, while his second most influential work, Chess Praxis, elaborates upon these ideas, adds a few new ones, and has immense value as a stimulating collection of Nimzowitsch's own games, even when these games are more entertaining than instructive.

Nimzowitsch's chess theories flew in the face of convention. Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. While there were those like Alekhine, Emanuel Lasker, and even Capablanca who did not live by Siegbert Tarrasch's rigid teachings, the acceptance of Tarrasch's ideas, all simplifications of the more profound work of Wilhelm Steinitz, was nearly universal. Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (alʲɛkˈsandr̠ alʲɛkˈsandr̠ovʲiʨ aˈlʲɛxin Russian Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Але́хин) (October For other persons named Lasker see Lasker#People with the surname Lasker. Siegbert Tarrasch ( March 5, 1862 &ndash February 17, 1934) was one of the strongest Chess players and most influential chess Wilhelm (later William) Steinitz ( May 17, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian - American That the center had to be controlled by pawns and that development had to happen in support of this control — the core ideas of Tarrasch's chess philosophy — were things every beginner thought to be irrefutable laws of nature, like gravity. The pawn (♙♟ is the weakest and most numerous piece in the Game of Chess, representing Infantry

Nimzowitsch shattered these assumptions. He discovered such concepts as overprotection (the least important of his ideas from a modern standpoint though still interesting and sometimes applicable), control of the center by pieces instead of pawns, blockade, and prophylaxis — playing to prevent the opponent's plans. This page explains commonly used terms in Chess in alphabetical order Prophylaxis ( Greek προφυλαξις "prophylaxis" guarding or preventing beforehand) or a prophylactic move in Chess stops the opponent He was also a leading advocate and exponent of the fianchetto development of the bishops. In Chess the fianchetto (/ˌfiən'kɛto/ Italian "little flanking" is a pattern of development wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank A bishop (♗♝ is a piece in the Board game of Chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops Nimzowitsch also formalised strategies using open files, outposts and invasion of the seventh rank, all of which are widely accepted today. Others had utilized such ideas in previous years, but he was the first to knit them together into a cohesive whole.

International Grandmaster Raymond Keene writes that Nimzowitsch "was one of the world's leading Grandmasters for a period extending over a quarter of a century, and for some of the that time he was the obvious challenger for the world championship. The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Raymond Dennis Keene OBE (born 29 January 1948) is a Chess grandmaster, but is better known as a chess organiser columnist and author . . . [He was also] a great and profound chess thinker, second only to Steinitz, and his works-Die Blockade, My System and Chess Praxis-established his reputation as one of the father figures of modern chess. " [5] GM Robert Byrne called him "perhaps the most brilliant theoretician and teacher in the history of the game. The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Robert Eugene Byrne (born April 20, 1928, New York City) is a leading American Chess player a Grandmaster, and a " [6]

Many chess openings and variations are named after Nimzowitsch, the most famous being the Nimzo-Indian Defence (1. The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a Chess opening characterised by the moves 1 d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4) and the less often played Nimzowitsch Defence (1. This article is about the opening moves 1e4 Nc6 For the more common 1 e4 Nc6). Nimzowitsch biographer Grandmaster Raymond Keene and others have referred to 1. The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Raymond Dennis Keene OBE (born 29 January 1948) is a Chess grandmaster, but is better known as a chess organiser columnist and author Nf3 followed by 2. b3 as the Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack. Larsen's Opening, also called the Nimzo-Larsen Attack or Queen's Fianchetto Opening, is a Chess opening starting with 1 Keene wrote a book about the opening with that title. All of these openings exemplify Nimzowitsch's ideas about controlling the center with pieces instead of pawns. Nimzowitsch was also vital in the development of two important systems in the French Defence, the Winawer Variation (in some places called the Nimzowitsch Variation; its moves are 1. The French Defence is a Chess opening. It is characterized by the moves 1 The French Defence is a Chess opening. It is characterized by the moves 1 e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4) and the Advance Variation (1. The French Defence is a Chess opening. It is characterized by the moves 1 e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5). He also pioneered two provocative variations of the Sicilian Defence, both regarded as dubious today: the Nimzowitsch Variation, 1. The Sicilian Defence is a Chess opening that begins with the moves 1 The Sicilian Defence is a Chess opening that begins with the moves 1 e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6, which invites 3. e5 Nd5, similarly to Alekhine's Defence, and 1. Alekhine's Defence is a Chess opening beginning with the moves 1 e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 d5?!

Personality

There are numerous entertaining anecdotes regarding Nimzowitsch—some more savory than others. For example, he once missed the first prize of a great rapid transit tournament in Berlin by losing to Sämisch; immediately upon learning this, Nimzowitsch got up on a table and shouted, "Why must I lose to this idiot?" Nimzowitsch had lengthy and somewhat bitter dogmatic conflicts with Tarrasch over whose ideas constituted 'proper' chess.

Nimzowitsch was annoyed by his opponents' smoking. A popular, but probably apocryphal, story is that once when an opponent laid a cigar on the table, he complained to the tournament arbiters, "he is threatening to smoke, and as an old player you must know that the threat is stronger than the execution". [7]

Nimzowitsch's vanity and faith in his ideas of overprotection provoked Hans Kmoch to write a parody about him in February 1928 in the Wiener Schachzeitung. Johann Joseph ("Hans" Kmoch ( July 25, 1894 – February 13, 1973) was an Austrian Dutch - American chess This consisted of a mock game against the fictional player "Systemsson", supposedly played and annotated by Nimzowitsch himself. The annotations gleefully exaggerate the idea of overprotection, as well as asserting the true genius of the wondrous idea. Kmoch was in fact a great admirer of Nimzowitsch, and the subject of the parody himself was amused at the effort. [8]

Also, Hans Kmoch had written a manuscript containing some of the following excerpts of his nine years with Nimzowitch:

Nimzovich suffered from the delusion that he was unappreciated and that the reason was malice. All it took to make him blossom, as I later learned, was a little praise. His paranoia was most evident when he dined in company. He always thought he was served much smaller portions than everyone else. He didn't care about the actual amount but only about the imagined affront. I once suggested that he and I order what the other actually wanted and, when the food was served, exchange plates. After we had done so, he shook his head in disbelief, still thinking that he had received the smaller portion.

Nimzovitsch's colleague Tartakower observed of him, "He pretends to be crazy in order to drive us all crazy. Ksawery Tartakower (Russian Савелий Григорьевич Тартаковер generally known as Saviely or Savielly Tartakower in English less often "

Notable chess games

Further reading

References

  1. ^ a b Aron Nimzowitsch (1987). My System, Reprinted, B. My System (Mein System is a Book on Chess theory written by Aron Nimzowitsch. T Batsford Ltd. ISBN 9-7134-5655-8.  
  2. ^ http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/pics/cn3506_nimzowitsch_document.jpg
  3. ^ Grandmasters I Have Known - Aaron Nimzovich, by Hans Kmoch, The Chess Cafe
  4. ^ Chessmetrics Summary for 1925-1935, Chessmetrics web site, accessed 7-May-2007
  5. ^ Raymond Keene, Aron Nimzowitsch: A Reappraisal, David McKay, 1974, p. Johann Joseph ("Hans" Kmoch ( July 25, 1894 – February 13, 1973) was an Austrian Dutch - American chess Chessmetrics is a system for rating Chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. 1. ISBN 0-679-13040-3.
  6. ^ Anothy Saidy and Norman Lessing, The World of Chess, Random House, 1974, p. Norman Lessing (born June 24 1911 New York City; died October 22 2001 Santa Monica, California) was an American Television 161. ISBN 0-394-48777-X.
  7. ^ A Nimzowitsch Story, Edward Winter (chess historian)
  8. ^ The full text of the parody is reprinted at Chesscafe.com and in Keene's biography on Nimzowitsch (Chapter "A parody by Hans Kmoch")

External links

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