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| Mikhail Chigorin | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Mikhail Chigorin | ||
| Full name | Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin | |
| Country |  Russian Empire | |
| Born | 12 November 1850 Gatchina, Russia | |
| Died | January 25, 1908 (aged 57) Lublin, Poland | |
Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin (12 November 1850, Gatchina, Russia – 25 January 1908, Lublin, Poland) was a leading Russian chess player. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link Gatchina (Га́тчина is a city in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located 45 km south of St Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Lublin is the largest city in eastern Poland and the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 355954 Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link Gatchina (Га́тчина is a city in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located 45 km south of St Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Lublin is the largest city in eastern Poland and the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 355954 Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. He served as a major source of inspiration for the "Soviet school of chess," which dominated the chess world in the middle and latter parts of the 20th century. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991
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Chess career
Chigorin was born near to Saint Petersburg and moved to the city some time later. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River He became serious about chess uncommonly late in life; his schoolteacher taught him the moves at the age of 16, but he did not take to the game until around 1874, having first finished his studies before commencing a career as a government officer.
Once smitten with the game, he terminated his employment and started life as a chess professional. He played a series of matches with established masters Emanuel Schiffers (1878-1880) and Semyon Alapin (1880) and notched up a large plus score against each. Emanuel (Emmanuel Stepanovich Schiffers (Эммануил Степанович Шифферс &mdash) was a Russian Chess player and chess writer Semyon Zinovievich Alapin (1856–1923 was a Lithuanian ref name="chesshistory"> Chess and Jews by Edward Winter Chess It was not long after that he was regarded as the best player in the city and possibly the whole of Russia.
His first international tournament was Berlin 1881, where he was equal third with Szymon Winawer, behind Johannes Zukertort and Joseph Henry Blackburne. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Szymon Abramowicz Winawer ( March 6 1838 – January 12 1920) born in Warsaw, Poland, was a leading Chess player Johannes Hermann Zukertort ( 7 September 1842 &ndash 20 June 1888) was a leading Chess master of German - Polish Joseph Henry Blackburne ( December 10, 1841 – September 1, 1924) nicknamed "Black Death" dominated British Chess At the great London tournament of 1883, he finished fourth behind Zukertort, Wilhelm Steinitz and Blackburne. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Wilhelm (later William) Steinitz ( May 17, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian - American
He played two matches against Steinitz for the World Chess Championship; the first in 1889 he lost 10½–6½, and the second in 1892 he lost 12½–10½. See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess His overall record against Steinitz was nevertheless respectable (+24-27=8). He also played a much publicised 'telegraph match' against Steinitz in 1890, devised to settle a theoretical argument. Chigorin had the slight advantage of choosing the openings in advance from a list supplied by Steinitz and duly won both games.
Towards the end of the century, his standing at home and abroad continued to rise, and he joined the ranks of the world's top four or five players. His reputation as a match player too, continued to grow. He drew an 1893 match with Siegbert Tarrasch in Saint Petersburg (+9-9=4) and in his lifetime, maintained a narrow plus score against the German (+14-13=8), who was a fearsome player in his own right. Siegbert Tarrasch ( March 5, 1862 &ndash February 17, 1934) was one of the strongest Chess players and most influential chess Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River In other matches he had the measure of Richard Teichmann (+8-3=1) but struggled woefully against David Janowski (+4-17=4). Richard Teichmann (1868&ndash1925 was a leading German Chess player easily of grandmaster strength Dawid Markelowicz Janowski (in English usually called David Janowski) ( 25 May, 1868, Wołkowysk, – 15 January, 1927,
In all likelihood, his best performance occurred at the Hastings 1895 chess tournament, where he placed second, ahead of reigning world champion Emanuel Lasker, Tarrasch and former world champion Steinitz. The Hastings 1895 chess tournament was a Round-robin tournament of Chess conducted in Hastings, England from August 5 to September 2 1895 For other persons named Lasker see Lasker#People with the surname Lasker. All of the greatest players of the time participated in the event and Chigorin's outstanding result included winning his individual encounter with tournament victor, Harry Nelson Pillsbury. Harry Nelson Pillsbury (b Massachusetts USA December 5, 1872 - June 17, 1906) was a leading Chess player Pillsbury had great respect for Chigorin's ability and for good reason, as the Russian secured a marginal plus score against him (+8-7=6). Although Chigorin had a poor record against Lasker in serious play (+1-8=4), he was victorious with the black pieces in their first game of this tournament, which resulted in a classic two knights versus two bishops ending, where Lasker's bishops were better, but he underestimated Chigorin's strategy. The knight (♘ ♞ sometimes referred to by players as a 'horse' is a piece in the Game of Chess, representing a Knight (armoured cavalry A bishop (♗♝ is a piece in the Board game of Chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops [1].
In other major competitions, he was joint winner at Budapest 1896, and beat Rudolf Charousek (+3-1) in the playoff. Budapest ( also /ˈbʊ-/) is the capital city of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary it serves as the country's principal Political, Rudolf Charousek (Hungarian Rezső Charousek (19 September 1873 Prague &ndash 18 April 1900 Budapest) was a Hungarian - Jewish Chess At Cologne in 1898, he was equal second with Charousek and Wilhelm Cohn after Amos Burn. Wilhelm Cohn (born 6 February 1859 Berlin – died 17 August 1913 Charlottenburg was a German chess master Amos Burn (1848&ndash1925 was an English Chess player one of the world's leading players at the end of the 19th century and a chess writer His 7th place finish at London 1899 was disappointing in comparison, but this was another tournament notable for its impressive list of participants. At Monte Carlo 1901, he placed equal third after Janowski and Carl Schlecter. Monte-Carlo ( Occitan: Montcarles, Monégasque: Monte-Carlu) is one of Monaco 's various administrative areas sometimes erroneously Carl Schlechter ( March 2, 1874 - December 27, 1918) was a leading Austrian Chess master at the turn of the 20th century
A highly skilled exponent of gambit lines, he won the King's Gambit-themed Vienna Tournament of 1903 and defeated Lasker (+2-1=3) in a sponsored Rice Gambit tournament in Brighton. The King's Gambit is a Chess opening that begins 1 e4 e5 2 f4 White offers a pawn to divert the Black e-pawn Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. The Rice Gambit is a Chess opening that arises from the King's Gambit Accepted Brighton ( is a town on the south coast of England and with its neighbour Hove, forms the city of Brighton and Hove. The latter was however something of a hollow victory, as it was emerging that the Rice Gambit was unsound and so, playing the black side in each game gave him a distinct advantage. At Lodz 1906, in a four person event, he finished second to Akiba Rubinstein. Łódź is Poland 's third largest city with population of 753192 in 2007 (lost its second rank to Krakow in 2007 Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein ( 12 December, 1882, in Stawiski, Poland – 15 March, 1961 in Antwerp,
Alongside these international events, he also entered and won the first three All-Russia Tournaments of 1899, 1900/01 and 1903. These prestigious successes further cemented his reputation as Russia's best player. Upon losing the fourth such event in 1906, he challenged the winner Gersz Salwe to a match and came out the victor (+7=3-5). Gersz (Hersz Georg George Henryk Jerzy Salwe (Salve ( 12 December 1862, Warsaw – 15 December 1920, Łódź) was a
Style and demeanour
His playing style featured a well honed tactical ability and an imaginative approach to the opening. He rejected many of the inflexible doctrines put forward by Tarrasch and Steinitz, but accepted Steinitz' teachings about the soundness of the defensive centre. Indeed, he went on to add to the development of the concept through the work he carried out with closed variations of the Ruy Lopez. The Ruy Lopez, called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game outside English speaking countries, is a Chess opening characterised by the moves He also pioneered some variations of the Slav Defence. The Slav Defense is a Chess opening that begins with the moves 1
Although a large bearded man, Chigorin was also described as 'decidedly handsome'.
Frank Marshall once commented on the highly agitated state that would possess Chigorin when faced with difficult positions. Frank James Marshall ( August 10 1877 &ndash November 9 1944) was the U Aside from the usual frantic foot-tapping and crossing of legs, he would occasionally become "a bundle of nerves", at which point his temperament could turn "quite fierce".
Later life
As an ambassador for Russian chess, Chigorin was a shining example; he gave many lectures, wrote magazine articles and chess columns and subsidised or otherwise supported a number of periodicals to keep them afloat despite low readership levels. He also founded a chess club in Saint Petersburg and tried for many years to establish a chess association, an attempt that finally succeeded just a few years after his death.
According to the Canadian International Master Lawrence Day, Chigorin travelled with the young Fedor Bohatirchuk to Russian events in the 1905-1907 period, helping to train him. Lawrence Day (born Ottawa, Canada, February 1, 1949) is a Canadian chess International Master, author and journalist Fedor Parfen'evych Bogatyrchuk (Bogatirchuk Bohatirchuk Bogatyrtschuk Bohatyrchuk Bohatyrczuk (in Russian: Фёдор Парфеньевич Богатырчук After moving to Canada following World War II, Bohatirchuk then trained Day. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page
In 1907, Chigorin failed badly in a chess tournament and clearly not in good health, was treated by doctors in Carlsbad for an advanced and incurable case of diabetes. Karlovy Vary ( pronounced, Karlsbad also known in English as Carlsbad) is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic This prompted a prediction that he had only months to live, whereupon he returned to his estranged wife and daughter in Lublin and died the following January.
Legacy
Through his original talent, lively games and prolific teachings, many Russians regard Mikhail Chigorin as the founder of their 'School of Chess', later to become known as the Soviet School of Chess. Overshadowed to some extent in the 1920s by the exciting new theories of the hypermodern movement, Chigorin's influence nevertheless demands a prominent and permanent place in the Soviet chess hegemony of the 20th century.
Chigorin has several chess openings or variations of openings named after him, the two most important being the Chigorin Variation of the Ruy Lopez (1. In Chess the word " opening " has two common meanings both of which are discussed in this article The Ruy Lopez, called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game outside English speaking countries, is a Chess opening characterised by the moves e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5) and the Chigorin Defence to the Queen's Gambit (1. The Chigorin Defense is a Chess opening named for 19th century Russian grandmaster Mikhail Chigorin. The Queen's Gambit is a Chess opening that starts with the moves 1 d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6). Whilst the former has remained popular through the 1900s, the latter struggled to attract a great many devotees until relatively recently. Igor Miladinovic has used the Chigorin Defence with great regularity, but its current revival owes much to the efforts of Alexander Morozevich, who has championed the opening both in play and in his book - The Chigorin Defence According To Morozevich (published 2007). Igor Miladinovic (born 25 January 1974) is a Serbian chess grandmaster. Alexander Morozevich (Александр Морозе́вич (born July 18, 1977) is a Russian Chess player
In popular culture
A famous Chigorin game played against Steinitz in 1892 is used as the base for the plot of The Squares of the City, a 1978 science-fiction novel by John Brunner. The Squares of the City is a Science fiction Novel written by John Brunner and first published in 1965 (ISBN 0-345-27739-2 John Kilian Houston Brunner ( September 24, 1934 &ndash August 26, 1995) was a prolific British author of Science fiction
References
- Hooper, David and Kenneth Whyld (1996). David Vincent Hooper ( 31 August 1915 - May 1998 born in Reigate, was a British Chess player and writer Kenneth Whyld ( March 6, 1926 - July 11, 2003) was a British Chess author and researcher best known as the co-author (with The Oxford Companion To Chess. The Oxford Companion to Chess is a reference Book on Chess written by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld. Oxford University. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.
External links
- Mikhail Chigorin at ChessGames.com
- Mikhail Chigorin download 171 of his games in pgn format. ChessGamescom is a large Chess community on the Internet with over 100000 members
- Statistics at ChessWorld.net
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