Cleveland Public Library
Aron Nimzowitsch (1886-1935) was born in Russia, but later made his home in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was considered one of the original “hypermodern” players, whose beliefs are that controlling the center squares is more important than actually occupying them. Chess Praxis and My System are two books written by Nimzowitsch that are still considered by many to be the foremost instructional publications on the game of chess.
The Nimzo-Indian Defense was named after him and is still often used among today’s grandmasters. Several of the French Defense variations are also named after him. In the late 1920s, Nimzowitsch was widely regarded as one of the top five players in the world, ranking just behind Capablanca and Alekhine. His notable tournament victories included Copenhagen 1923, Dresden 1926, and Karlsbad 1929. Nimzowitsch had an opportunity to challenge Jose Raul Capablanca for the world title 1925, but was unable to come up with the necessary finances for the match.
Here is one of his classic battles with fellow hypermodernist Richard Reti at the strong Marienbad (CZE) tournament in 1925:
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