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Wilhelm
Steinitz, "The
Father of Modern Chess", was born in Prague (Czech
Republic) on May 17th, 1836. He was considered the
last unofficial world chess champion from 1866-1886.
But, more importantly, he was the very 1st official
chess champion of the world from 1886-1894.
He revolutionized the game of chess with his theories on
defense, tactics, and incremental advantages.
Born
to a
large family of Jewish faith, Steinitz first learned the
game of chess at the age of twelve, but only played
recreationally in his early years. In 1958, he
moved to Vienna to pursue a career in journalism.
It was in this same time period that the world was
taking notice of the great Paul
Morphy, who was quickly revitalizing world interest
in the game of chess.
It was this time that Steinitz decided to dedicate
himself to the game and he quickly worked his way up to
being the best player in Vienna by the age of 26.
In 1862, he represented Austria in a powerful
international tournament in London. He honorably placed
6th and served notice that he was a player to be taken
seriously. Encouraged by his result in England, he
challenged the 5th place finisher Serafino Dubois
to a match, winning five games, losing three, and
drawing one.
Steinitz decided to move to London and become a chess
professional. He then challenged the English
grandmaster Joseph Blackburne in 1863, winning a
decisive victory with 7 wins, 3 losses, and 2 draws.
This match firmly established Steinitz as one of the top
players in the world and also got the attention of
unofficial world champion Adolf
Anderssen.
By
1866, Steinitz would get his match against the German Anderssen and
defeat him by a score of 8 wins and 6 losses. In many people’s
minds, Steinitz was now the unofficial champion of the world. That
same year, he won a match against another top player, Henry Bird
(7 wins, 5 losses, 5 draws). A crushing match victory over his
one time pupil, Johannes Zukertort in 1872 (7 wins, 1 loss, 4
draws), and clear first at the 1872 London International cemented his
claim as the best chess player in the world.
Up
to this point Steinitz had played in the normal attacking style of
that age, but then he chose to completely change his style of play,
concentrating on positional play as opposed to tactical
aggressiveness. He first showcased his new style at an international
tournament in Vienna in 1873. The result was a tournament
championship, an impressive 16-game victory streak, and a 2-0 result
over Anderssen, Blackburne, and Louis Paulsen.
After his stunning tournament result in Vienna, perhaps feeling that
were no more "mountains to conquer", Steinitz took a nine-year hiatus from chess (the only exception was a 7-0
match rout of Blackburne in 1876). Then, in 1882, he returned to
the chess scene with match wins over top rated opponents and several
impressive tournament victories. Among those tournaments was Vienna
1882, considered by many to be the strongest tournament of the
19th century.
Steinitz immigrated to the
United States in 1883. It was at this time that detractors
started to tout Zukertort as the best player in the world. This
ridiculous assertion was based on the fact that many people simply did
not like Steinitz. He was considered by many to have an
overbearing personality, a sharp tongue, and a violent temper.
On top of this, his seemingly endless domination over other chess
professionals was not
liked by most of his contemporaries. This led to the organization of a match between the two
great players in 1886, with
the provision that the winner would be declared the first official World
Chess Champion.
Zukertort was quite popular to all chess fans. He possessed an enormous chess talent, he spoke nine languages, had
acquired a doctorate of medicine at Breslau University, was a
decorated soldier (he was reportedly once left for dead on a
battlefield),
edited a political paper, was a music critic, and had a photographic
memory.
All
of the fan sentiment and amazing characteristics could not save
Zukertort over the chess board against his superior opponent.
The match score read 10 wins, 5 losses, and 5 draws in favor of
Steinitz. Now the official World Champion, he defended his title
against Mikhail Chigorin in 1889 (10 wins, 6 losses, 1 draw), Isidor
Gunsberg in 1890
(6 wins, 4 losses, 9 draws), and Chigorin again in 1892 (10 wins, 8
losses, 5 draws).
At
this point Steinitz’s opponents gave up, sure that was some type of chess
god and that he was never going to be dethroned. It was not
until a very talented, younger Emanual Lasker
came along that the then 58-year old Steinitz faltered in 1894,
finally losing his title (5 wins, 10 losses, 4 draws). At
the age of 60, Steinitz tried to recapture his title in a rematch with
Lasker, again falling to his younger opponent by a score of 2 wins, 10
losses, and 5 draws.
Steinitz
began to suffer from mental illness after the rematch, spending many
of his last years in New York institutions. His impressive chess
career had not produced any type of wealth and he died in poverty in
the year 1900. He is buried in the Cemetery of the Evergreens in
Brooklyn, New York. His mark on the game of chess will never be
forgotten and he will always be gratefully remembered as the
"Father of Modern Chess".
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