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 Chess HeritageLike Paul Morphy, he reportedly exhibited schizophrenic tendencies. Akiba Rubinstein was suffering from anthropophobia, a fear of people and society. He was one of the earliest chess players to take the endgame into account when choosing and playing the opening. He was exceptionally talented in the endgame, particularly in rook endings, where he broke new ground in knowledge. Jeremy Silman ranked him as one of the five best endgame players of all time, and a master of rook endgames. He originated the Rubinstein System against the Tarrasch Defense variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined: 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qb6 (Rubinstein - Tarrasch, 1912). He is also credited with inventing the Meran Variation, which stems from the Queen's Gambit Declined but reaches a position of the Queen's Gambit Accepted, with Black one move ahead. Today, he certainly has no shortage of lines named for him. The "Rubinstein Attack" often refers to 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 Be7 5 e3 0-0 6 Nf3 Nbd7 7 Qc2. The Rubinstein Variation of the French Defence arises after 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 (or 3 Nd2) dxe4 4 Nxe4. The Rubinstein Variation of the Nimzo-Indian is the most popular non-classical line of the Nimzo-Indian [9]: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3. Of course, there is also the Rubinstein Variation of the Four Knights Game which arises after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bb5 Nd4, and the Rubinstein Variation of the Symmetrical English, 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nc7, a highly complex system which is very popular at the grandmaster level. The Rubinstein Memorial tournament in his honor has been held annually since 1963 in Polanica Zdroj, with a glittering list of top-flight winners. Notable chess games: * George Rotlewi vs Akiba Rubinstein, Lodz 1907, Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation (D02), 0-1 A very impressive attacking combination; "perhaps the most magnificent combination of all time" (Carl Schlechter) * Akiba Rubinstein vs Emanuel Lasker, St.Petersburg 1909, Queen's Gambit Declined: Traditional Variation (D30), 1-0This game ends in an interesting position where Lasker has no good moves (zugzwang). * Akiba Rubinstein vs Karel Hromádka, Moravská Ostrava 1923, King's Gambit: Declined. Classical Variation (C30), 1-0A nice game full of tactics and hanging pieces. The former Czech champion Karel Hromádka fights well, but at the end Rubinstein prevails. * Akiba Rubinstein vs Carl Schlechter. San Sebastian 1912, 1-0 Capablanca has heaped enormous praise on this game, calling it "a monument of magnificent precision." A quintessential game of Rubinstein. * Hermanis Mattison vs. Akiba Rubinstein, Carlsbad, 1929, (C68), 0-1 A famous rook and pawn ending that seemed "hopelessly drawn", but was won by Rubinstein. The editor of the tournament book said that if this game had been played 300 years earlier, Rubinstein would have been burned at the stake for dealing with evil spirits. SOURCE: www.chess.com Biography - Akiba Rubinstein: He was Jewish, and his family planned for him to become a rabbi, yet he did not finish his studies and chose to devote himself to chess entirely. The decision came in 1903 after he won fifth place at a tournament in Kiev. He learned to play chess when he was 16 and had been training with the strong master Gersz Salwe in Łódź, and playing frequently against him. Rubinstein flourished especially from 1907 to 1912. Beginning from his win at Karlovy Vary in 1907, through a shared win at St. Petersburg in the same year, he culminated it in a record string of wins in 1912. He won five consecutive major tournaments that year: San Sebastian, Piešťany, Breslau (the German championship), Warsaw and Vilnius (although none of these events included Lasker or Capablanca). Some believe that he was better than world champion Emanuel Lasker at this time. Ratings from Chessmetrics support this conclusion, placing him as world #1 between mid 1912 and mid 1914. Reuben Fine, on the other hand, believed he was not quite as strong as Lasker, and was also eclipsed by José Raúl Capablanca after 1911. At the time when it was common for the reigning world champion to handpick his challengers, Rubinstein was never given a chance to play Lasker for the world chess championship because he was unable to raise enough money to meet Lasker's financial demands. His plans were damaged by a poor showing at the St. Petersburg in 1914 (not placing in the top five). A match with Lasker was arranged for October 1914, but it never took place because of the outbreak of World War I. After the war Rubinstein was still an elite grandmaster, but his results lacked their previous formidable consistency. Nevertheless, he won at Vienna in 1922, ahead of future world champion Alexander Alekhine, and was the leader of the Polish team that won the Chess Olympiad at Hamburg in 1930 with a superb record of thirteen wins and four draws. A year later he won an Olympic silver. After 1932 he withdrew from tournament play, mostly because his schizophrenic tendencies became prevalent; he was suffering from anthropophobia, a fear of people and society. Although he lived for almost 30 years afterwards, he left behind no literary heritage like the other great grandmasters, which may be attributed to his mental problems. During World War II when the Nazis eventually arrived to haul the aged Jewish grandmaster from his asylum to the death camps, he was so patently insane that they abandoned the attempt. SOURCE: en.wikipedia.org |
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thanks, cyn! |
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You're Welcome, Professor! |
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Chess In The Year 1475 A.D. The poem is conceived as a chess game between Francesco di Castellvi and Narciso Vinyoles. Castellvi represented Mars, Love, and had the red pieces (White in modern chess). Vinyoles represented Venus, the Glory, and the green pieces (Black in modern chess). Mars tries to obtain the love of Venus. Mercury acts as an arbiter. The arbiter, Bernat Fenollar, comments and establishes the rules. The poem uses chess as an allegory for love. Its structure is based upon 64 stanzas, representing the 64 chessboard squares. The first stanza represents White’s move, the second stanza represents Black’s moves, and the third stanza is a comment on the rules of the arbiter. White makes 21 moves, expressed in 21 stanzas. Black makes 20 moves, expressed in 20 stanzas. The arbiter comments 20 times in 20 stanzas. There are three introductory stanzas explaining the allegory, which adds up to the sum of 64 stanzas. Francesco di Castellvi was a lord of several towns in the area of Jativa. He acted as a close advisor in the Aragonese court of King Ferdinand (1452-1516). Narciso Vinyoles was a politician and writer in Valencia. He belonged to a family of lawyers. In 1468 he was appointed a member of the City Council. He later became the supreme judge in civil cases. In 1495, King Ferdinand recommended him for the position of ‘Justicia Criminal.’ Vinyoles spoke Catalan, Castillian, Latin, and Italian. Vinyoles was married to Briandade Santangel, niece of the great banker that backed financially the first expedition of Columbus. The couple had no children. The first printed book, by Lambertus Pamert, appeared in Valencia in 1474. It contained poems by Fenollar, Castellvi, and Vinoyles. Here is the game that was supposedly played: www.chess.com |
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Akiba Rubinstein & Francesco di Castellvi and Narciso Vinyoles |
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Paul Morphy Chess Club The club was organized in May 1928, when several chess-playing gentlemen agreed to form a new club devoted exclusively to the game. Members were solicited, and the club soon had officers and a charter. New members decided to name the club after the local chess master they so revered. The club opened its doors to members for play on June 22, 1928, Paul Morphy's birthday. There is no longer a chess club by this name in New Orleans, but there are several in America, and there's even a Paul Morphy Chess Club in Sri Lanka. An earlier group called New Orleans Chess Club was founded in 1841, but it languished due to lack of interest. Later, many New Orleanians became interested in the game when young Paul Morphy burst on the scene. By the mid-1850s, the club sponsored weekly tournaments and membership increased rapidly. Morphy himself was elected president of the club in 1865. Earlier, when Morphy went to Europe in June 1858, the New Orleans Chess Club offered to pay his way. Morphy declined because he did not want to be considered a professional chess player. Another famous club in the Crescent City was the New Orleans Chess, Checkers and Whist Club. This organization was founded in 1880, shortly before Morphy's death. The club first met in July in a room at 128 Gravier St. There were 27 members. It was an immediate success and membership grew rapidly. New quarters had to be found, so the group relocated to Common Street and then to a three-story building at the corner of Canal and Baronne streets. Then disaster struck: A fire in 1890 burned the building to the ground. Lost in the fire was invaluable Morphy memorabilia. The owner of the structure agreed to rebuild, and soon the club was re-established in comfortable surroundings on the third floor. At this point, there were more than 1,100 members. In 1920, another move brought the club to 120 Baronne St., where the men played various games in splendor. It occupied four floors in a large building, which had many rooms for games, as well as dining rooms, a billiard hall, a library and bedrooms for men who lived at the club. It was after the death of Judge Leon Labatt — a strong supporter and member of the New Orleans Chess, Checkers and Whist Club — and a number of resignations that the members decided to form a new group: the Paul Morphy Chess Club." SOURCE: bestofneworleans.com |
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"How Paul Morphy Was Cheated Out of the World Chess Championship" Article from: The World and I Article date:September 1, 2002 Author: Hemphill, Thomas Copyright 2002 News World Communications, Inc. Thomas Hemphill is a retired city manager and freelance writer living in Highland, California. He recently won first prize in a California writers' club short story contest. "Some experts feel that the American who gave the United States the most prestige in Europe right before the Civil War was not Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, or even President Buchanan. Instead, it was probably Paul Morphy ..." SOURCE: www.highbeam.com |
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cyna 30-Aug-09, 23:29 |
Deleted by cyna on 30-Aug-09, 23:32.
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cyna 30-Aug-09, 23:31 |
Deleted by cyna on 30-Aug-09, 23:36.
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Andre Danican Philidor (1726-1795) _______________________________________________________________________________ Please see article below, with more biographical information on André Danican Philidor, by Bill Wall: "Francois-Andre Danican Philidor was born on September 7, 1726 in Dreux, France. He belonged to a family which had been connected for three generations with the band of the Chapel-Royal in Versailles. The first of the family, whose surname was Danican (Michel Danican, who died in 1659), succeeded an Italian wood-wind player named Filidori. The oboe (hautbois) was invented by Michel Danican and Jean Hotteterre in 1650. The family adopted that name after Louis XIII (1601-1643) had playfully used it in praise of his playing. Filidori had preceded Danican in that section of wood-wind players of the Versailles orchestra. Francois-Andre Danican Philidor's father, Andre Danican (1647-1730), was the keeper of the music for the royal family in France. He was an official musician of the court of King Louis XIV (1638-1643) Andre had 20 children and was 79 when Francois-Andre was born. Francois was the last child of Andre and the first son of his third wife. Andre's third wife was in her 20s. One of Andre's sons, Anne Danican (1681-1728), created the "Concert Spirituel," or Paris soncert series. In 1731 at the age of six, Francois-Andre entered the choir of the Chapel-Royal in Versailles. As a pageboy in the royal chapel, he studied music with Andre Campra (1660-1744). Philidor's father had died earlier and was living on a royal pension. The young Philidor was recognized as a musical prodigy among the 80 musicians. In 1736 at the age of 10, Francois-Andre was exposed to chess by the musicians who played chess during spells of inactivity. Cards were forbidden to pass the time, so chess was played. He learned the game by watching the band members play. He later visited the Cafe de la Regence in Paris and spent much of his time playing chess there. In 1737, at the age of 11, his first music composition, a religious piece, was played before King Louis XV. He left the Chapel Royal choir in 1740 when his voice changed. In 1740 he went to Paris where he earned a living by copying music and giving music lessons. In 1741 Philidor was being instructed by M. de Kermur, Sire de Legal (1702-1792), the leading French chess player. Legal initially gave Philidor rook odds. For the next three years Kermur taught Philidor until Philidor was too strong for his teacher. In 1744 Philidor played two chess games blindfolded simultaneously in public in Paris. He said he had learned how to do this when he could not sleep at night and played chess without sight of a board. This was the first time blindfold play against 2 opponents was recorded. This performance was chronicled in the article on chess by the Chevalier de Jaucourt for the great Encyclopedie of Diderot and D'Alembert in 1751. Philidor played chess with Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, both persistent but weak chess players. In December, 1745, Philidor went to Rotterdam to assist in presenting concerts with Geminiani and Lanza. The musical tour involved a 13-year old girl who played the harpsichord. However, she died during the concert tour. Later, the concerts were cancelled because of the girl's death and he was stranded in the Netherlands with no money. He supported himself by teaching and playing chess and Polish draughts (10 by 10 checker board), especially to English army officers at The Hague. The English officers suggested that Philidor could make a living playing chess in England. In 1747 he went to London and started playing chess at Slaughter's coffee-house. There, he beat Phillip Stamma and Sir Abraham Janssen (1720-1795), two of England's top chess players, in chess matches. Philidor challanged Stamma to a 10-game match and he stipulated that Stamma was to have White in all games and that draws were counted victories for Stamma. Philidor won 8 games, lost 1, and drew 1. He also beat Janssen with 4 wins and 1 loss. From that time on, Philidor was the unofficial champion of the world. In 1748 Philidor, age 22, returned to Holland and wrote (i>>L'analyse du jeu des Eschecs (Analysis of the Game of Chess). Philidor went out to find subscribers for the book before it was published to pay for publishing costs. Lord Sandwich subscribed to 10 copies. The Duke of Cumberland subscribed to 50 copies. The English army officers subscribed to 119 copies. The moves were written out as full sentences. In 1749 433 copies of his Analysis of Chess were published in London. Two more reprints occurred in 1749 and an English version followed in 1750. The book was the first chess book translated into Russian (1824) and was one of the favorite books of Thomas Jefferson. The book analyzed 4 games and 10 variations of games. Philidor favored the Bishop's Opening and frowned upon the King's Knight Opening as weak. The book has gone through more than 100 editions, 4 in the first year. Philidor's chess books was the first chess book that organized the openings, that explained the middlegame, the overall strategy of chess, and the importance of pawn formation. In his book he made the observation that 'Les pions sont l'ame du jeu' (the pawns are the life of the game). This phrase has become "the pawns are the soul of chess." His book was also the first to examine the R+B vs. R endgame. It also had some analysis of 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6, the Philidor's Defense. By 1750 Philidor was considered the strongest player in France, England, and the Netherlands. The French Ambassadaor, the Duke of Mirepoix, invited Philidor for his weekly chess dinners. In 1751 Philidor left England for Prussia, playing before King Frederick (Frederick the Great) at Potsdam. He then visited Berlin where he played 3 blindfold games simultaneously, winning them all. He then returned to England. In November 1754 he returned to France after being gone for 9 years. He started composing music again. He did not return to England until 1772. He applied unsuccessfully for the post of court composer at Versailles. A rumor had started that nobody could be a chess master and compose good music, so his church music was not really his own. His church music was not accepted by the French royalty because Philidor added an Italian influence to it, so he turned to comedy opera. In 1755 he beat Legal in a chess match at the Cafe de la Regence. On February 13, 1760, at age 33, he married Angelique Richer (1736-1809). He had 5 sons and 2 daughters with her. In 1761 he composed the opera Le Marechal ferrant. In 1764 he composed the opera Le Sorcier. In 1765 he composed the opera Tom Jones for the theater based on Fielding's novel. It was his 11th opera that he had composed since 1759. In 1771 and 1773 he made brief trips to London to play at the Salopian coffee house, Charing Cross, and the St. James Chess Club. He returned for seasonal chess lectures in 1775 and 1792. In 1774 the Parsloe's chess club on St. James Street, was formed in London, with a distinguished membership limited to 100. A fund was raided to enable Philidor to spend from February to June at the club. Philidor visited the club as resident master for 20 years. He gave lessons for a crown each. In 1777 he published a second edition of his book under the patronage of the London Chess Club at Parsloe's. There were 283 subscribers, including Lord Sandwich. Philidor added 6 other games to the original 4 games that he analyzed. In this book he described the rule for castling as we know it now. However, there was a footnote: "The old way of castling in several countries, and which still subsists in some, was to leave to the player's disposal, all the interval the King and the Rook, inclusively, to place there these two pieces." So, as recently as 1777, you could put the King and Rook anywhere you wanted on the back rank. The book was dedicated to the Duke of Cumberland. In 1779 he produced his major choral work, the Carmen saeculare, while in London. In 1780 he composed Persee. On May 27, 1782, Philidor played 2 games blindfolded simultaneously at the Parsloe's, drawing one (to Count Bruhl) and losing one (to Mr. Bowdler). On May 27, 1783 Philidor played 3 blindfold games simultaneously, winning 2 and drawing one. In 9 blindfold performances, Philidor won 10, drew 4, and lost 6. In 1783 a new chess club was established in Paris under the patronage of Louis XVIII with Philidor invited to teach and play chess. In 1785 he composed Themistocle. In 1790 (MDCCXC), Philidor published a third edition of his book, dedicating it to his friend and patron, Count Bruhl (1736-1809). The book is described as a "new edition, improved and greatly enlarged." It was printed for Peter Elmsly, bookseller in the Strand in London. Following the preface, there is a list of 66 subscribers. In December 1792, at age 65, he left France for England, never to return. His music was banned from France after the French Revolution (1789-1799) for political reasons. He had to leave his wife and children behind. Philidor wanted to return to France, but he was considered an imigre and would have been arrested or executed. Philidor's last blindfold performance was on June 20, 1795 at the London chess club. He played 2 games blindfolded and a third game with sight of the board. One of his opponents was George Atwood (1746-1807), the mathematician and churchman. On Monday, August 31, 1795, at age 68, he died in London. The newspaper obituary read, "On Monday last, Mr. Philidor, the celebrated chess player, made his last move, into the other world." He is buried at St James Church in London. Only 68 games from his last years have been recorded, either played blindfolded or at odds. Philidor was in his 60s when the games were recorded. Philidor wrote over 21 operas during his musical career. In 1835 George Walker published A Selection of Games at Chess: Actually Played by Philidor and his Contemporaries. It contains 47 of Philidor's games. It is based on the note-taking of George Atwood. In 1863 George Allen published The Life of Philidor, Musician and Chess-Player. His bust is carved into the Opera House in Paris, where it can still be seen along with his family coat of arms, which has a chessboard in it. Jean-Jaques Rousseau's Confessions mentions Philidor with reference to music and chess." SOURCES: en.wikipedia.org www.geocities.com |
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37 Years Ago Today In 1972, American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik, Iceland, as Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union resigned before the resumption of game 21. SOURCE: cbs2.com |
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Top 100 [Chess] Players September 2009 1 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2813 0 1975 2 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2788 0 1969 3 Aronian, Levon g ARM 2773 13 1982 4 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2772 10 1990 5 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2772 10 1975 6 Leko, Peter g HUN 2762 23 1979 7 Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2757 10 1987 8 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2756 42 1969 9 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2756 33 1968 10 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2750 18 1977 11 Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2742 24 1983 12 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2741 9 1976 13 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2741 9 1983 14 Gashimov, Vugar g AZE 2740 0 1986 15 Wang, Yue g CHN 2736 0 1987 16 Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2735 17 1987 17 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2733 0 1983 18 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2730 18 1972 19 Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2725 23 1985 20 Karjakin, Sergey g UKR 2722 13 1990 21 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2721 2 1985 22 Dominguez Perez, Leinier g CUB 2719 13 1983 23 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime g FRA 2718 31 1990 24 Eljanov, Pavel g UKR 2717 13 1983 25 Malakhov, Vladimir g RUS 2715 10 1980 26 Movsesian, Sergei g SVK 2711 9 1978 27 Motylev, Alexander g RUS 2710 0 1979 28 Bacrot, Etienne g FRA 2709 23 1983 29 Short, Nigel D g ENG 2706 10 1965 30 Rublevsky, Sergei g RUS 2703 0 1974 31 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam g UZB 2702 30 1979 32 Bu, Xiangzhi g CHN 2702 0 1985 33 Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2699 0 1975 34 Akopian, Vladimir g ARM 2698 13 1971 35 Jobava, Baadur g GEO 2696 9 1983 36 Vallejo Pons, Francisco g ESP 2696 9 1982 37 Moiseenko, Alexander g UKR 2694 20 1980 38 Kamsky, Gata g USA 2692 32 1974 39 Navara, David g CZE 2692 9 1985 40 Ni, Hua g CHN 2692 8 1983 41 Miroshnichenko, Evgenij g UKR 2690 28 1978 42 Wang, Hao g CHN 2690 0 1989 43 Bologan, Viktor g MDA 2688 8 1971 44 Tomashevsky, Evgeny g RUS 2688 7 1987 45 Nielsen, Peter Heine g DEN 2687 10 1973 46 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2687 0 1976 47 Naiditsch, Arkadij g GER 2685 10 1985 48 Almasi, Zoltan g HUN 2685 9 1976 49 Grachev, Boris g RUS 2684 11 1986 50 Adams, Michael g ENG 2682 25 1971 51 Najer, Evgeniy g RUS 2681 17 1977 52 Volokitin, Andrei g UKR 2681 2 1986 53 Vitiugov, Nikita g RUS 2681 0 1987 54 Sargissian, Gabriel g ARM 2678 10 1983 55 Sutovsky, Emil g ISR 2676 9 1977 56 Harikrishna, P. g IND 2673 8 1986 57 Tiviakov, Sergei g NED 2670 45 1973 58 Tkachiev, Vladislav g FRA 2669 11 1973 59 Kurnosov, Igor g RUS 2669 0 1985 60 Avrukh, Boris g ISR 2668 19 1978 61 Timofeev, Artyom g RUS 2668 10 1985 62 Cheparinov, Ivan g BUL 2667 20 1986 63 Areshchenko, Alexander g UKR 2667 9 1986 64 Guseinov, Gadir g AZE 2667 2 1986 65 Meier, Georg g GER 2664 18 1987 66 Inarkiev, Ernesto g RUS 2664 13 1985 67 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter g ROU 2664 11 1976 68 Georgiev, Kiril g BUL 2663 26 1965 69 Berkes, Ferenc g HUN 2663 18 1985 70 Pashikian, Arman g ARM 2663 18 1987 71 Dreev, Alexey g RUS 2662 27 1969 72 Caruana, Fabiano g ITA 2662 17 1992 73 Fridman, Daniel g GER 2661 26 1976 74 Sasikiran, Krishnan g IND 2661 9 1981 75 Andreikin, Dmitry g RUS 2659 9 1990 76 Milov, Vadim g SUI 2659 0 1972 77 Fressinet, Laurent g FRA 2658 23 1981 78 Roiz, Michael g ISR 2658 20 1983 79 Sokolov, Ivan g BIH 2657 10 1968 80 Beliavsky, Alexander G g SLO 2656 9 1953 81 Landa, Konstantin g RUS 2655 0 1972 82 Predojevic, Borki g BIH 2654 18 1987 83 Efimenko, Zahar g UKR 2654 0 1985 84 Postny, Evgeny g ISR 2651 33 1981 85 Krasenkow, Michal g POL 2651 27 1963 86 Van Wely, Loek g NED 2650 19 1972 87 Tregubov, Pavel V. g RUS 2649 9 1971 88 Smirin, Ilia g ISR 2648 17 1968 89 Kobalia, Mikhail g RUS 2648 9 1978 90 Lastin, Alexander g RUS 2648 0 1976 91 Zhigalko, Sergei g BLR 2646 32 1989 92 Baklan, Vladimir g UKR 2646 18 1978 93 Riazantsev, Alexander g RUS 2646 11 1985 94 Seirawan, Yasser g USA 2646 0 1960 95 Fier, Alexandr g BRA 2644 31 1988 96 Granda Zuniga, Julio E g PER 2644 27 1967 97 So, Wesley g PHI 2644 9 1993 98 Fedorchuk, Sergey A. g UKR 2643 37 1981 99 Amonatov, Farrukh g TJK 2643 13 1978 100 Kazhgaleyev, Murtas g KAZ 2643 9 1973 SOURCE: ratings.fide.com |
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Samuel Loyd, American chess player As a chess composer, he authored a number of chess problems, often with witty themes. At his peak, Loyd was one of the best chess players in the U.S., and was ranked 15th in the world, according to chessmetrics.com. His playing style was flawed, as he tried to create fantastic combinations over the board, rather than simplifying and going for the win. Following his death, his book Cyclopedia of 5000 Puzzles was published (1914) by his son. Loyd was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame." SOURCE: www.chess.com |
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Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin, Russian chess player His first international tournament was Berlin 1881, where he was equal third with Szymon Winawer, behind Johannes Zukertort and Joseph Henry Blackburne. At the great London tournament of 1883, he finished fourth behind Zukertort, Wilhelm Steinitz and Blackburne. At the very strong tournament of New York 1889 he was equal first with Max Weiss. Following this great success he challenged the world champion Steinitz for a match with the World Championship at stake. The match was played at Havana in 1889, but he lost 10½–6½. A second match was played also at Havana in 1892, but he still lost 12½–10½. His overall record against Steinitz was very close (+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. 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. He also pioneered some variations of the Slav Defence. Frank Marshall once commented on the highly agitated state that would possess Chigorin when faced with difficult positions. 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". 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. In 1907, Chigorin failed badly in a chess tournament and clearly not in good health, was diagnosed by doctors in Carlsbad with an advanced and untreatable case of diabetes. 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. In 1909, a Chigorin Memorial tournament was played in St. Petersburg, after that many more followed, from 1947 onwards mainly in Sochi and from 1990 back in St. Petersburg. 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." SOURCE: www.chess.com |
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Top 100 Women Chess Players Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Day 1 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2687 0 1976-07-23 2 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2595 25 1987-03-31 3 Hou, Yifan g CHN 2585 9 1994-02-27 4 Zhao, Xue g CHN 2542 8 1985-04-06 5 Kosintseva, Tatiana m RUS 2536 11 1986-04-11 6 Cramling, Pia g SWE 2535 35 1963-04-23 7 Dzagnidze, Nana g GEO 2535 27 1987-01-01 8 Muzychuk, Anna m SLO 2533 18 1990-02-28 9 Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2527 29 1979-04-19 10 Sebag, Marie g FRA 2519 10 1986-10-15 11 Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2516 0 1984-04-23 12 Chiburdanidze, Maia g GEO 2506 0 1961-01-17 13 Hoang Thanh Trang g HUN 2501 0 1980-04-25 14 Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2501 0 1985-03-09 15 Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan g SCO 2499 18 1968-07-19 16 Kosintseva, Nadezhda m RUS 2493 11 1985-01-14 17 Danielian, Elina m ARM 2489 20 1978-08-16 18 Zhu, Chen g QAT 2488 18 1976-03-13 19 Ruan, Lufei wg CHN 2486 0 1987-10-02 20 Xu, Yuhua g CHN 2485 0 1976-10-29 21 Lahno, Kateryna g UKR 2483 9 1989-12-27 22 Dembo, Yelena m GRE 2482 26 1983-12-08 23 Paehtz, Elisabeth m GER 2482 20 1985-01-08 24 Cmilyte, Viktorija m LTU 2477 19 1983-08-06 25 Socko, Monika g POL 2476 27 1978-03-24 26 Harika, Dronavalli m IND 2474 29 1991-01-12 27 Javakhishvili, Lela m GEO 2472 9 1984-04-23 28 Mkrtchian, Lilit m ARM 2468 9 1982-08-09 29 Qin, Kanying wg CHN 2466 0 1974-02-02 30 Rajlich, Iweta m POL 2465 20 1981-03-16 31 Zatonskih, Anna m USA 2462 9 1978-07-17 32 Krush, Irina m USA 2458 16 1983-12-24 33 Zhukova, Natalia wg UKR 2457 9 1979-06-05 34 Romanko, Marina m RUS 2453 18 1986-08-05 35 Shen, Yang wg CHN 2453 0 1989-01-23 36 Hunt, Harriet V m ENG 2452 0 1978-02-04 37 Khukhashvili, Sopiko m GEO 2451 14 1985-01-04 38 Tairova, Elena m RUS 2450 0 1991-08-28 39 Ushenina, Anna m UKR 2448 15 1985-08-30 40 Skripchenko, Almira m FRA 2448 11 1976-02-17 41 Korbut, Ekaterina m RUS 2448 0 1985-02-09 42 Ovod, Evgenija m RUS 2447 0 1982-11-10 43 Atalik, Ekaterina m TUR 2445 9 1982-11-14 44 Muzychuk, Mariya m UKR 2443 8 1992-09-21 45 Ju, Wenjun CHN 2443 0 1991-01-31 46 Repkova, Eva m SVK 2439 8 1975-01-16 47 Gaponenko, Inna m UKR 2438 26 1976-06-22 48 Khotenashvili, Bela m GEO 2438 15 1988-06-01 49 Gunina, Valentina wf RUS 2437 0 1989-02-04 50 Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina m RUS 2436 9 1974-04-17 51 Tan, Zhongyi CHN 2435 0 1991-05-29 52 Foisor, Cristina-Adela m ROU 2433 27 1967-06-07 53 Melia, Salome m GEO 2432 39 1987-04-14 54 Moser, Eva m AUT 2431 0 1982-07-26 55 Bojkovic, Natasa m SRB 2429 0 1971-09-03 56 Huang, Qian wg CHN 2424 0 1986-07-18 57 Vasilevich, Tatjana m UKR 2423 9 1977-01-14 58 Li, Ruofan wg SIN 2423 0 1978-04-30 59 Khurtsidze, Nino m GEO 2420 15 1975-09-28 60 Munguntuul, Batkhuyag wg MGL 2418 9 1987-10-08 61 Zawadzka, Jolanta wg POL 2414 37 1987-02-08 62 Zdebskaja, Natalia wg UKR 2410 21 1986-08-16 63 Kovanova, Baira wg RUS 2408 14 1987-05-12 64 Milliet, Sophie m FRA 2407 19 1983-11-02 65 Peng, Zhaoqin g NED 2407 9 1968-05-08 66 Tania, Sachdev m IND 2405 23 1986-08-20 67 Maric, Alisa m SRB 2405 9 1970-01-10 68 Stockova, Zuzana m SVK 2400 18 1977-11-25 69 Gomes, Mary Ann wg IND 2396 22 1989-09-19 70 Jackova, Jana m CZE 2393 9 1982-08-06 71 Matnadze, Ana m GEO 2391 36 1983-02-20 72 Karavade, Eesha wg IND 2391 18 1987-11-21 73 Alexandrova, Olga m ESP 2391 9 1978-01-28 74 Goletiani, Rusudan m USA 2391 0 1980-09-08 75 Matveeva, Svetlana m RUS 2391 0 1969-07-04 76 Zhang, Xiaowen wm CHN 2391 0 1989-02-24 77 Zaiatz, Elena m RUS 2390 0 1969-06-16 78 Peptan, Corina-Isabela m ROU 2387 29 1978-03-17 79 Calzetta Ruiz, Monica wg ESP 2386 22 1972-11-29 80 Fierro Baquero, Martha L. m ECU 2386 9 1977-09-06 81 Madl, Ildiko m HUN 2386 0 1969-11-05 82 Turova, Irina m RUS 2384 43 1979-08-10 83 Bodnaruk, Anastasia wg RUS 2384 18 1992-03-30 84 Shadrina, Tatiana wg RUS 2384 0 1974-04-20 85 Savina, Anastasia RUS 2382 0 1992-03-18 86 Houska, Jovanka m ENG 2381 20 1980-06-10 87 Purtseladze, Maka m GEO 2380 14 1988-02-18 88 Wang, Yu A. m CHN 2380 0 1982-11-19 89 Lomineishvili, Maia m GEO 2378 14 1977-11-11 90 Pokorna, Regina wg SVK 2378 9 1982-01-18 91 Demina, Julia wg RUS 2377 9 1969-02-03 92 Vajda, Szidonia m HUN 2375 0 1979-01-20 93 Stepovaia, Tatiana wg RUS 2372 5 1965-09-23 94 Michna, Marta wg GER 2366 9 1978-01-30 95 Gara, Anita m HUN 2365 9 1983-03-04 96 Iljushina, Olga wg RUS 2364 17 1981-11-02 97 Gara, Ticia wg HUN 2364 7 1984-10-25 98 Cori T., Deysi wm PER 2361 39 1993-07-02 99 Majdan, Joanna wg POL 2361 26 1988-06-09 100 Lanchava, Tea m NED 2360 0 1974-09-11 SOURCE: ratings.fide.com |
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WILLIAM STEINITZ A MEMORIAL TO WILLIAM STEINITZ by Charles Devidé 1901 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WILLIAM STEINITZ "It is worse than useless to deplore the irremediable, yet who can fail to mourn the cruel fate of mighty masters, whose brilliant day gave promise of a glorious evening, but who passed from earth after a dreary night of darkness. The light that shone in them has failed : the once lucid mind, it has collapsed, and the powerful brain refused to work coherently. Such was the stern decree fate had in store for Morphy, Neumann, and Steinitz. Of the three, Morphy enjoyed the briefest space for the development of his extraordinary powers. His achievements were perfect, but his career lasted only two years, while his work on the Openings, with which he intended to crown the edifice of triumphs was never begun. In Neumann's case we have perhaps only to deplore the loss of masterpieces that might have equalled, but could scarcely have surpassed what we possess. A fuller life has been allotted to Steinitz; his faculties were far more complex and his aims were more ambitious; he therefore needed length of years for their co-ordination, and it is a cause for regret, that from the discords of his youth and manhood he could not have wrought a clear and lucid harmony. William Steinitz was born in the city of Prague, Bohemia, on May 17, 1836. He passed his boyhood just like most children by poor parents with numerous offspring, except that he distinguished himself at school and advanced rapidly, notwithstanding his bodily infirmities and a persistent tendency for sickness. It was the wish of his pious parents that William should become a Rabbi, and at the age of thirteen he was acknowledged the best Talmudist among the young men of his native city, but the boy's predilection and manifest talent for mathematics prevailed and eventually he obtained the desired consent to complete his studies at the Polytechnicum in Vienna. At the age of twelve, Steinitz learned the moves of the game from a schoolmate. The purchase of a board and chessmen being much beyond their means, the boys cut out some rude figures in kindling wood and painted a piece of calico to represent a chessboard. His Professor used to play chess of an afternoon and his pupil looked on. One day the Professor's regular opponent failed to appear, so the Professor condescended to play his pupil and lo and behold Steinitz won every game. The next day the Professor's usual adversary tried the pupil's skill with the same result. Hearing about this, one of the best players of Prague offered to play young Steinitz at long odds, but was routed tooth and nail. The young enthusiast thenceforth devoted his leisure hours to hard practice. Once a week he went to the café where the chess-players convened, and pitted himself against the best players. At first he did not succeed, but it was not long before he came to be regarded as an expert player. At the age of twenty, Steinitz went to Vienna, where he was enrolled as a student in the Polytechnic Institute. His life was the thorny one of the poor acolyte, who has to earn his living and his way at college by giving tuition. Moreover, his studies were considerably interfered with by trouble with his lungs and eyes. For a time he joined the staff of one of the leading Vienna papers, but this position, also, the state of his eyesight compelled him to give up. Toward the end of 1858 an incident occurred of far-reaching consequence. At that time the Café Römer formed the rendezvous of the élite of chess-players and thither Steinitz went one day, by chance. The complex position of one of the games in progress at once aroused his interest, and bending eagerly forward he touched one of the onlookers with his elbow. The latter, looking up, took in at a glance the haggard, pallid face and threadbare clothes, and half-contemptuously asked, "Do you play chess, too ?" "Oh, yes," replied Steinitz, "and I also can play blindfolded." With a view of disconcerting the intruder and to derive no small amusement at his expense, they selected the strongest player of the place as Steinitz's antagonist, but lo and behold, Steinitz not only won, but did so in most brilliant fashion. But it was not only chess victories which he gained that day; he had made enthusiastic friends and admirers, and the very next evening he was introduced in the Vienna Chess Club, where at once he established a reputation for uncommon strength and brilliancy. In the club tournament of the same year, he took third prize, although entirely new to tournament play, his predecessors being the celebrated Hamppe and another^ matador by name of Jenay. The following year Steinitz won second prize, Hamppe again first, but in 1861 Steinitz won premier honors, having lost only one game out of thirty-four played, and thenceforth became the acknowledged champion of Austria. Meanwhile he had devoted himself entirely to chess, playing at the Club as well as at different resorts, mostly conceding odds of all sorts and descriptions. Then, as in our days, no one could amass a fortune by playing chess for a wager, but at least Steinitz no longer needed to go supper-less to bed or wear summer clothes in midwinter. His unusual brilliancy made him very attractive so that he never lacked opponents, while his table was ever crowded with onlookers. The whole chess-world then reverberated with the admiration for Morphy, and to play like the great American was the aim of everyone. In his latter days Steinitz spoke of his earlier style as follows: "I did not play with the object to win directly, but to sacrifice a piece." The same independence and unflinching attitude of which Steinitz gave so much evidence when on the summit of his fame, formed a characteristic feature all his life long. In his Vienna days Steinitz had quite a remunerative customer in Gustave Epstein, one of the richest bankers in the Austrian capital. On one occasion, the position being uncommonly intricate, the young expert studied the position longer than his usual wont, so that Epstein, growing impatient, drawled out what would be the English equivalent of " Well ! " After a while the game reverted in favor of Steinitz, whereupon the banker fell into a deep and prolonged meditation, until interrupted by Steinitz's drawled out, "Well !" "Sir, don't forget who you are and who I am," angrily remarked Epstein, but Steinitz retorted quickly as a flash: "On the Bourse you are Epstein and I am Steinitz; over the board I am Epstein and you Steinitz." Selected to represent Austria in the International Tournament during the Exhibition of 1862, Steinitz arrived in London carrying with him the good wishes of his Austrian friends and numerous letters of introduction, none of which he delivered. He would not be under obligation to anyone. The London tournament proved to be the starting-point of his career as a great chess-player. Up to that time he was a great Viennese player; from that date he was to become a great European player and to take his place with the masters of the world. In the tournament Steinitz won sixth prize, after Anderssen, Paulsen, Owen, MacDonnell, and Dubois. But Anderssen declared that he had played the finest game of the tournament, and the brilliancy displayed in some of his games in this contest earned him the name of " Austrian Morphy." And subsequently he had the satisfaction of defeating the masters, who preceded him in this tournament, one by one, in set matches, and for the next thirty-one years he never lost a match on even terms,—a record hitherto unparalleled. The match with Anderssen took place in London in July, 1866. The past-master made a gallant fight, but Steinitz won eight to six. The contest informally involved the right to the championship of the world, and thenceforth Steinitz held the title for twenty-eight years, until he had to give way to youth in his match with Lasker. Less fortunate was Steinitz in tournament play. At Paris, 1867, he was third to Kolisch and Winawer. But for the faulty conditions according to which drawn games were reckoned as lost to both players, he would have shared second prize with Winawer. At Baden Baden, 1870, Anderssen won first prize from him by just half a point. Successively Steinitz had completely changed his style. Formerly brilliant but not safe, he became safe but not brilliant. Daring and impetuous, he became cautious and deliberate, aiming at the accumulation of small advantages, deprecating any attack on the King's side, but seeking rather to win in the ending. While his games lost much of their attractiveness to the general player, they became highly appreciated by the connoisseur and form an invaluable source of instruction. The success of the new style was simply phenomenal. At the annual meeting of the British Association at London, Steinitz won first prize by twelve to none. The international tournament at the Crystal Palace in London assembled, among others, Zukertort, Blackburne, Wisker, and De Veré. Steinitz won seven to none; one draw. Then came the match with Zukertort, which ended in a crushing defeat of the latter by seven to one; four draws. The solitary game lost was an Allgaier Gambit. The desired opportunity to make good his claim to superiority throughout, having demonstrated his pre-eminence in England beyond the shadow of a doubt, came to Steinitz with the Vienna tournament of 1873, for which the emperor himself had offered a prize of two hundred ducats to the victor. Well aware, however, of the uncertainty of tourneys, Steinitz, prior to play, challenged the eventual winner to a match in London. A new plan, devised by Ignace Kolisch, was tried for the first and last time. The players had to contend in matches of three games with one another, draws counting one half a point, the aggregate sum of matches won to decide. This gave the winner of the first game a tremendous advantage inasmuch as he only needed to draw the remaining two. After defeating Pitschel in two games, Steinitz's second match was with Blackburne. The Englishman having the advantage of the move scored the first and third games against the inferior defence to the Ruy Lopez 3 КKt—К 2. The second game—a French —was drawn. When Steinitz rose from the table after resigning the third game and the match he said to his friends, " I have forfeited first prize." The two following matches with Meitner and Fleissig were scored by Steinitz by one win and two draws each. The two draws with Fleissig had a salutary effect, inasmuch as they caused Steinitz to abandon his ill-fated Lopez variation for good and to revert to the standard defence. A giant, who has overcome an ill spell, and found his true strength again, Steinitz scored the remaining seven matches, defeating, nay, crushing his opponents, not allowing anyone to draw a single game. But Blackburne, though losing and drawing games, still led in the match score. In the final round, however, Blackburne succumbed to Rosenthal, and Steinitz, who had disposed of his last opponent, was now abreast with his rival, each having scored ten matches. Altogether, Blackburne had lost seven games, Steinitz two. The committee ordered the tie to be played off in a match two games up. It needed but two games to* secure the coveted prize for Steinitz. This record of winning sixteen straight games was unparalleled and henceforth—if reluctantly—he was acknowledged the strongest player on the face of the earth. Upon his triumphant return to London, Steinitz was offered the editorship of the chess department in the Field. Steinitz enthusiastically entered upon his new duties and at once proved himself as great a writer on the game as he had been a player. Henceforth a new era in chess annotation was begun The care, the painstaking industry, the analytical skill he constantly displayed were simply astounding; nothing like it had been seen before. His labors in the field of analytical researches have been unceasing and will remain a monument to his skill and industry. He formed a new school of chess, giving the game order, method, directness. He convincingly proved that the surest way to win is by accumulation of small advantages rather than by a fierce onslaught upon the hostile King, and one by one the experts of the game were compelled to accept his doctrines and the modern style, a fact acknowledged by the famous Viennese player Adolph Schway, when at the Vienna tournament of 1882, pointing to Steinitz, he said: " This little man has taught us all how to play chess." And not one dissenting voice was raised from among the galaxy of masters assembled. It was somewhat of a consolation for Steinitz that ultimately he was beaten by his own methods, his own weapons. The modern theory achieved one of the most brilliant triumphs in the great match by telegraph between the St. George's and Vienna Chess Clubs. This match, for £200 a side, was begun in 1872, adjourned during the tournament, and completed in 1874. One by one the players on the London committee, unable to comprehend and grasp Steinilz's idea, dropped out, leaving the conduct of the games entirely to Steinitz and his pupil Potter. The unprecedented fore- sightedness and consummate judgment of position on the part of the Anglo-Austrian, became manifest to all when the Vienna committee, headed by brilliant Ignace Kolisch, resigned the match. During a period of nine years following his winning of the emperor's prize, Steinitz was altogether taken up by his editorial duties and his bodily ailments. On one occasion he arose from the sick-bed with permanent lameness in one of his legs,. which had become and remained shorter than the other. But once did he engage in active play, a match having been arranged in January, 1876, with his old-time antagonist Blackburne, which ended in an overwhelming triumph for the Austrian, who won seven games straight. Steinitz re-entered the chess arena in the Vienna tournament with a brilliant victory over Blackburne, but subsequently his lack of practice told severely against him. After the close of the first round he vied with Englisch and Weiss for eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth place. In the second round, however, he was himself again and ultimately tied with Winawer for first honors. The supplementary match to break the tie, consisted against all precedents of two games only. In the first game Steinitz made a grand combination, which involved the sacrifice of both rooks, but missed the winning combination, lost ultimately after having rejected a draw by perpetual check. In the next game Winawer, with the move in his favor, played for nothing but a draw, and apparently had reached his goal when Steinitz turned the tables by a profound combination. There is little doubt that if the match had been prolonged Steinitz would have won first honors; as it was, he had to content himself with dividing prizes with Winawer, but in the eyes of unbiased and fair-minded people Steinitz had again demonstrated his superiority over all contemporaneous players. Steinitz's relations in England where, though naturalized, he had remained "a foreigner for twenty years," grew more unpleasant than ever. Having previously resigned from the Field, Steinitz gladly accepted an invitation by Mr. David Thompson of Philadelphia to fulfil an engagement at the Franklin Chess Club. Like the great Roman, the Bohemian Caesar came, saw, and vanquished. In matches he defeated his opponents in most impressive style; of single games, whether on the level or at odds he scored an overwhelming majority, while in his simultaneous performances he broke all records in regard to the Score as well as to the number and caliber of his opponents. He never played more than four games blindfolded, generally engaging in a game of whist at the same time, but his opponents were selected from among the strongest players of the respective clubs, and he seldom lost a game. Altogether Steinitz's American tour was a great success, and his reception was so cordial that he resolved to make this country his permanent home, which he did two years later. The London tournament of 1883 wrought him a bitter disappointment, inasmuch as Zukertort took first prize from him by a large margin. Thenceforth all his energies were bent on securing a match, which, however, was not consummated until 1885, chiefly through the effort of American lovers of the game. The match was played in three cities. In New York Zukertort won four to one; in St. Louis Steinitz closed up the gap, and in New Orleans he completely turned the tables, winning by ten to five, five draws. From that time on Steinitz's title to the championship remained unquestioned. After his match Steinitz devoted himself chiefly to editing the International Chess Magazine, which he published since 1885, but frequently fulfilled engagements. In 1888 the Havana Chess Club offered to arrange a match between him and any opponent he would choose. Steinitz decided for Tchigorin, as the champion of the old school. The foe was worthy of his steel, as shown by the result, Steinitz ten, Tchigorin six. In 1889, the Sixth American Chess Congress, which Steinitz had helped to organize, took place. He himself refrained from taking part in it, but edited the book of the tournament. At the same time the first volume of the Modern Chess Instructor had made its appearance, and the suggestions contained therein as to the Evans Gambit and the two Knights Defence led to the match by cable with Tchigorin which Steinitz lost, which in turn led to another match at Havana between the two in 1891. Steinitz barely won, ten to eight, his previous encounter with Gunsberg having already proven that his powers were on the decline. In 1894 Steinitz entered into his match with Lasker wholly unprepared and rusty from lack of practice. Yet in the New York series he played some grand games, although handicapped by his defence to the Ruy Lopez, and it is the writer's firm belief that had he won the seventh game, wherein he had completely outwitted his opponent, the match would have taken a different turn. As it was, the game went far towards demoralizing Steinitz, while Lasker's confidence was restored. Steinitz lost the next game and broke down completely in Philadelphia. In Montreal he recuperated, but could only make even games. The second match with Lasker proved him clearly to be outclassed, but he retained enough of his old powers to secure a prize in every tournament wherein he competed, except his last in London, 1899. A singular coincidence, that the scene of his first great success should witness his complete downfall. A year before in Vienna, in reply to a sympathetic remark that he had won fame enough, and could afford to let the younger generation earn some, he said: " I can spare the fame, but not the prize money." After his match in Moscow with Lasker, strange behavior on his part caused his detention in an insane asylum there. During the following three years he seemed to have recovered his mental equilibrium, but his mind became completely unbalanced after his return from the London tournament. He died on Ward's Island on June 22, 1900." MATCH RECORD 1862. Beat S. Dubois, 5 to 3. 1 draw. 1863. ' ' J. H. Blackburne, 7 to 1. 2 draws. 1863. ' ' F. Deacon, 5 to 1. 1863. ' ' Mongredien, 7 to 0. 1864. ' ' V. Green, 5 to 0. 2 draws. 1864. ' ' Healey at Kt odds, 5 to 0. 1860. ' ' Anderssen, 8 to 6. 1866. ' ' Bird, 7 to 5. 5 draws. 1867. ' ' Fraser, 3 to 1. 1867. ' ' Fraser at P and move, 7 to 1. 1 draw. 1870. ' ' Blackburne, 5 to 0. 1 draw. 1872. ' ' Zukertort, 7 to 1. 4 draws. 1876. ' ' Blackburne, 7 to 0. 1882. ' ' Martinez, 7 to 0. 1882. ' ' Martinez, 3 to 1. 3 draws. 1882. ' ' Sellmann, 3 to 0. 2 draws. 1887. ' ' Mackenzie, 3 to 1. 2 draws. 1887. ' ' Golmayo, 8 to 1. 2 draws. 1887. ' ' Martinez, 9 to 0. 2 draws. 1885. ' ' Sellmann, 3 to 0. 1886. ' ' Zukertort, 10 to 5. 5 draws. 1888. ' ' Vasquez, 5 to 0. 1888. ' ' Golmayo, 5 to 0. 1888. ' ' Ponce, 4.to 1. 1889. ' ' Tchigorin, 10 to 6. 1 draw. 1890-91. ' ' Gunsberg, 6 to 4. 9 draws. 1892. ' ' Tchigorin, 10 to 8. 5 draws. 1894. Lost Lasker, 5 to 10. 1896. ' ' ' ' 2 to 10. TOURNEY RECORD 1859. Vienna. Third prize after Hamppe and Jenay. 1860. ' ' Second prize after Hamppe. 1861. ' ' First prize. 1862. London. Sixth prize (12 players). 1862. Dublin. First prize. 1860. London. Handicap, first prize, 8 to 0. 1867. Paris. Third prize after Kolisch and Winawer. 1867. Dundee. Second prize after Neumann. 1867. ' ' First prize, handicap ; Fraser, second ; Neumann, third. 1870. Baden Baden. Second prize after Anderssen. 1871. British Association, London. First prize, 12 to 0. 1872. ' ' ' ' First prize, 7 to 0 to 1. 1873. Vienna. First prize. 1882. ' ' First and second prizes divided with Winawer. 1883. London. Second prize after Zukertort. 1894. New York. First prize ; Albin, second. 1895. Hastings. Fifth prize. 1896. St. Petersburg Quadrangular Tourney. second prize after Lasker ; Pillsbury, third ; Tchigorin, fourth 1896. Nuremberg. Fifth prize. 1898. Vienna. Fourth prize. 1898. Cologne. Fifth prize. QUOTE: by henry55 Zabrze Poland Member "In 1896 (21 February to 2 April) in Rostov Steinitz was played a match with Schiffers. Match ended with Steinitz winning 6 to 4 with one draw." QUOTE: by Ziryab Spokane, Washington United States Member "The text of this book has been digitized by Google Books." SOURCE: www.chess.com |
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The Chess Career of Harry Nelson Pillsbury "In 1986 he was inducted in the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame. He won the U.S. Championship in 1897, defeating Jackson Showalter. They played at the Hamiltion Club in Brooklyn from February 10 to April 4. The stakes were $1,000 a side. Pillsbury won the match 10 to 8 with 3 games drawn. When Pillsbury won, he refused the title of American Champion, so Showalter remained US Champion. Pillsbury did not want the title." The Chess Career of Harry Nelson Pillsbury: "Harry Nelson Pillsbury was born on December 5, 1872 in Somerville, Massachusetts. He learned chess around Thanksgiving in 1888 at the age of 15. In 1889 he was a member of the Somerville Chess and Checker Club. His first chess teacher was Addison Smith, a member of the Boston Chess Club who lived in Somerville. In 1890 he was a member of the Deschapelles Chess Club in Boston. That club later folded and he joined another Boston chess club. He beat H. Stone, a veteran Baltimore expert, in a match with a score of 5-2. In April, 1890, (age 17) Pillsbury competed in his first chess tournament, in the 4th annual Massachuesetts Chess Association tournament. As a youth he went to Boston and spent much of his time playing chess. By 1892 he was the best player in Boston. He won matches against H. Stone, C. Burill, and J. Burry. In April, 1892, he played a match against world champion Wilhelm (William) Steinitz in Boston. Steinitz gave Pillsbury pawn and move. Pillsbury won the match with 2 wins and 1 loss. In April 1893, he defeated the German master Carl Walbrodt with 2 wins and a draw. He also defeated the visiting German master Schottlaender. In May 1893, he was in Philadelphia playing chess as a professional. He acted as the hidden player in Ajeeb (he did this from 1893 to 1900). In Philadelphia, he was a member of the Franklin Chess Club. In September, 1893, he played in an "impromptu" tournament. He took 7th place with 7 wins and 6 losses. One of his wins was against U.S. Champion Jackson Showalter. In December, 1893, he came in clear first at the "Masters' Manhattan Cafe Chess Tournament" in Manhattan, New York, at the City Chess Club. In 1894 he was playing chess in New York city and Buffalo. He won the Manhattan Chess Club championship. He participated in the Staats-Zeitung Tournament, playing for the Brooklyn Chess Club. He then played in an international chess tournament in New York at the City Chess Club. He tied for 5th-6th place. After that, chess clubs sponsored him to play in Hastings. In June, 1895, the Brooklyn Chess Club selected him as its representative to the Hastings Chess Congress. He sailed to England in July, 1895. In August,1895, he played in Hastings and won it (9 wins in a row), at the age of 22. He won 15 games, drew 3 and lost 3. At the time, no player had ever won their first major tournament the first time playing it. In 1895-6 he took 3rd place at St. Petersburg in a four-master match tournament (Lasker, Chigorin, Steinitz, Pillsbury). They played 6 games against each other. During this time in Russia, he caught syphilis. In the summer of 1896 he shared 3rd place with Tarrasch at Nuremberg. First and second place went to Lasker and Maroczy. At 1896 he took 3rd place at Budapest, behind Chigorin and Charousek. In 1896 at an exhibition in London, Pillsbury was given a list of 30 bizarre words to memorize in 20 seconds while he was playing 20 chess games at once.. He reeled off the words forwards and backwards, and on the following day, he did it again. The words were "Antiphlogistine, periosteum, takadiastase, plasmon, ambrosia, Threlkeld, streptococcus, staphylococcus, micrococcus, plasmodium, Mississippi, Freiheit, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, athletics, no war, Etchenberg, American, Russian, philosophy, Piet Potgelter's Rost, Salamagundi, Oomisillecootsi, Bangmamvate, Schlechter's Nek, Manzinyama, theosophy, catechism, Madjesoomalops...." He won the U.S. Championship in 1897, defeating Jackson Showalter. They played at the Hamiltion Club in Brooklyn from February 10 to April 4. The stakes were $1,000 a side. Pillsbury won the match 10 to 8 with 3 games drawn. When Pillsbury won, he refused the title of American Champion, so Showalter remained US Champion. Pillsbury did not want the title. In 1898 he defeated Showalter again, with a score of 7-3. This time it was an official US Championship match. In May-June, 1898, he tied for 1st place with Tarrasch at Vienna (the Kaiser Jubilee). This tournament was in honor of Emperor Francis Joseph. In 1899 he tied for 2nd place at London. Lasker won the event. After his return from London, he organized a tour of North America. From September 1899 to April 1900, he toured the US, Canada, and Cuba. He gave over 150 exhibitions and travelled over 40,000 miles. His specialty was to play 12 chess games without sight, 6 checker games without sight, and play a hand in a game of duplicate whist all at the same time. On April 28, 1900 he set a world record blindfold play of 20 opponents when he was in Philadelphia. In 1900 he took 2nd at Paris (behind Lasker) and tied for 1st at Munich with Schlechter. In 1901 he married Mary Bush of Brooklyn in Philadelphia. In 1901, he tried to negotiate a match with Lasker for the world championship, but nothing ever came of it. In August, 1901, he took 1st at the American Masters tournament in Buffalo (New York State Chess Association). In 1901/1902 he agained toured the US. In March-May, 1902, he toured Great Britain, giving exhibitions. In 1902 he took 2nd at Monte Carlo and 2nd at Hanover. On August 2, 1902 in Hanover, he played 21 chess players blindfolded simultaneously. He won 3, drew 11, and lost 7. All players were expert or master strength. In Moscow he played 22 players blindfolded simultaneously. One of the Moscow players was Alexei Alekhine, the older brother of Alexander Alekhine. Alexei drew with Pillsbury. In February-March, 1903, he took 3rd at Monte Carlo, behind Tarrasch and Maroczy. He then went to Vienna to take part in a Gambit tournament. He took 4th place. In late 1903 he went on his final American chess tour. He last tournament was Cambridge Springs, in April-May, 1904. He took 9th place. During the tournament he suffered from imsomnia and restlessness. After Cambridge Springs, he played only 2 more serious games in the annual matches between the Franklin and Manhattan Chess Clubs. During the summer months of 1904, he vacationed in Atlantic City to regain his physical strength back. He returned to Philadelphia to recuperate and rest. On March 7, 1905, he suffered a stroke. On March 28 he was operated on at the Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia. Around March 30, he had a high fever and tried to jump from a fourth story window. He had broken the window with his fists and a chair. He was about to jump, but was stopped by several nurses and physicians. It took four men to stop him before he was forced down upon a bed in another room and given sedatives. He was released from the hospital in April. In May, 1905, he gave a simultaneous exhibition in Boston. He played his final serious game on May 31, 1905 during the annual Franklin and Manhattan chess club match. On November 8, 1905 he went to Bermuda, hoping for a cure to syphilis. While in Bermuda, he suffered his 2nd stroke. He returned home in January, 1906. On 24 January, 1906 he had gone to Pasadena for special medical treatment. In May 1906, he had a stroke which caused partial paralysis. He died of general paresis (syphilis) on June 17, 1906 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the age of 33. He is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Reading, Massachusetts. In addition to chess, he was one of the top twenty players in the U.S. in checkers. In 1986 he was inducted in the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame." SOURCE: www.chess.com |
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Johannes Zukertort Zukertort's win in the London 1883 chess tournament was his most significant success: he won his games against most of the world's leading players, scoring 22/26, and he finished 3 points ahead of Steinitz, who was second with 19/26. This tournament established that Steinitz and Zukertort were clearly the best two players in the world, and led to the World Chess Championship match between these two. At 1886 after building up a 4-1 lead Zukertort wilted, lost 4 of the last 5 games and lost the match by 12½-7½. After this defeat, Zukertort's health suffered and he was a greatly weakened player for the remaining two years of his life. Diagnoses of his ailments include rheumatism, coronary heart disease, kidney problems, and arteriosclerosis. SOURCE: www.chess.com |
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Alexander Alekhine World Championship Commenced: WCC 1929: Alekhine - Bogoljubov Date 1929, September 6th. From September 6 to November 17. Place Wiesbaden, Heidelberg, Berlin, Hague, Amsterdam. Alekhine 1==01011=1=100=1101=11=== 15.5 Bogoljubow 0==10100=0=011=0010=00=== 9.5 SOURCE: www.maskeret.com Alekhine's Gun: Alekhine-Nimzowitsch 1930: Alekhine's gun is a formation in chess named after the former World Chess Champion, Alexander Alekhine. This formation was named after a game he played against another illustrious Grandmaster, Aaron Nimzowitsch in San Remo 1930, ending with Alekhine’s victory. The idea consists of placing the two rooks stacked one behind another and the queen at the rear. This can lead to massive damage to the opponent as it usually marks the beginning of the final assault (in this case it was only four moves before resignation). In rare cases it can be two queens and one rook on the same file. The original "Alekhine's gun" game: Here is the game that spawned Alekhine’s gun: Alexander Alekhine vs. Aaron Nimzowitsch: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. Bd2 Ne7 6. Nb5 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 0–0 8. c3 b6 9. f4 Ba6 10. Nf3 Qd7 11. a4 Nbc6 12. b4 cxb4 13. cxb4 Bb7 14. Nd6 f5 15. a5 Nc8 16. Nxb7 Qxb7 17. a6 Qf7 18. Bb5 N8e7 19. 0–0 h6 20. Rfc1 Rfc8 21. Rc2 Qe8? 22. Rac1 Rab8 23. Qe3 Rc7 24. Rc3 Qd7 25. R1c2 Kf8 26. Qc1 (See diagram. This is the point at which Alekhine forms the gun.) 26. … Rbc8 27. Ba4 (Threatening 28. b5, winning the pinned Knight) 27. … b5 28. Bxb5 Ke8 29. Ba4 Kd8 (Guarding c7, so that the Knight can move away on 30. b5) 30. h4! (But now all black's pieces are committed to the defence against the gun, and he is running out of moves.) 30. … h5 31. Kh2 g6 32. g3 (Zugzwang) 1-0 Six years later, in 1936, William Winter was defeated by Alekhine in Nottingham, who used Alekhine's gun again to secure the victory. Since then, chess players have learned a lot about using and guarding against this formation. However, some international games are still lost and won by the force of this tactic. SOURCE: en.wikipedia.org |
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Alexander Alekhine's Life in Chess By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played. In 1927, he became the fourth World Chess Champion by defeating Capablanca, widely considered invincible, in what would stand as the longest chess championship match held until 1985. In the early 1930s, Alekhine dominated tournament play and won two top-class tournaments by large margins. He also played first board for France in four Chess Olympiads, winning individual prizes in each. His tournament record became more erratic from the mid-1930s onwards, and alcoholism is often blamed for his decline. Alekhine offered Capablanca a rematch on the same demanding terms that Capablanca had set for him, and negotiations dragged on for years without making much progress. Meanwhile, Alekhine defended his title with ease against Bogoljubov in 1929 and 1934. He was defeated by Euwe in 1935, but regained his crown in the 1937 rematch. His tournament record, however, remained uneven, and rising young stars like Keres, Fine, and Botvinnik threatened his title. Negotiations for a title match with Keres or Botvinnik were halted by the outbreak of World War II in Europe in 1939. Alekhine stayed in Nazi-occupied Europe during the war, where he played in tournaments which were organised by the Nazis. Anti-Semitic articles appeared under his name, although he later claimed they were forged by the Nazis. Alekhine had good relationships with several Jewish chess players, and his fourth wife was Jewish. After the war, Alekhine was ostracized by players and tournament organizers because of the anti-Semitic articles. Negotiations with Mikhail Botvinnik for a world title match were proceeding in 1946 when Alekhine died in Portugal, in unclear circumstances. Alekhine is known for his fierce and imaginative attacking style, combined with great positional and endgame skill. He produced innovations in a wide range of chess openings. Statistical rating systems differ about his strength relative to other players, giving him rankings between fourth and eighteenth in their "all-time" lists. Although Alekhine was declared an "enemy of the Soviet Union" after making anti-Bolshevik statements in 1927, in the 1950s he was posthumously rehabilitated and acclaimed as one of the founders of the "Soviet School of Chess", which dominated the game after World War II. He is highly regarded as a chess writer and theoretician, giving his name to Alekhine's Defence and several other opening variations, and also composed a few endgame studies. SOURCE: en.wikipedia.org |
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Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin Thessaloniki Greece "Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin (1850, Russia – 1908, Poland) was a leading Russian chess player. 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. His first international tournament was Berlin 1881, where he was equal third with Szymon Winawer, behind Johannes Zukertort and Joseph Henry Blackburne. At the great London tournament of 1883, he finished fourth behind Zukertort, Wilhelm Steinitz and Blackburne. At the very strong tournament of New York 1889 he was equal first with Max Weiss. Following this great success he challenged the world champion Steinitz for a match with the World Championship at stake. The match was played at Havana in 1889, but he lost 10½–6½. A second match was played also at Havana in 1892, but he still lost 12½–10½. His overall record against Steinitz was very close (+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. 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. He also pioneered some variations of the Slav Defence. Frank Marshall once commented on the highly agitated state that would possess Chigorin when faced with difficult positions. 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". 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. In 1907, Chigorin failed badly in a chess tournament and clearly not in good health, was diagnosed by doctors in Carlsbad with an advanced and untreatable case of diabetes. 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. In 1909, a Chigorin Memorial tournament was played in St. Petersburg, after that many more followed, from 1947 onwards mainly in Sochi and from 1990 back in St. Petersburg. 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. Though he demonstrated many ideas well ahead of his time, Chigorin was best known in his own era as a fierce attacker. Here he makes good use of one of his favorite weapons, the Evans Gambit." (See below link to view this game): SOURCE: www.chess.com |
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Carl Schlechter Thessaloniki Greece Carl Schlechter (1874-1918) was one of the top 7 players in the world from 1900 to his death by starvation in 1918. He learned the game when he was 16 and soon gave up his studies to devote himself to chess. In this game, Carl was 19 years old and already showed promise as a great attacking player. Here, he sacrificed his Queen and Rook to force mate against one of Vienna's strongest players.In 1910 Schlechter played a match against Emanuel Lasker for the World Chess Championship (in Vienna and Berlin). He needed only a draw in the tenth and last game to win the match, but missed first a win, then a clear draw before losing the game. The match ended tied at 5-5 (+1 -1 =8) and Lasker retained his title. For details on the match, including the uncertainty over whether Schlechter had to win by a two-point margin, see World Chess Championship 1910 (Lasker-Schlechter). In any case, Schlechter distinguished himself by being the first person in 16 years to seriously threaten to claim Lasker's world title.. After World War I, he suffered from poverty and starved to death, or died of pneumonia. SOURCE: www.chess.com |
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Kasparov vs Karpov Match "As previously reported, Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov have agreed to play a rapid/blitz match in Valencia, Spain from 21-24 September. There is now an English language website for the event here: www.matchkarpovkasparov.com This year marks the 25th anniversary of their first battle for the world chess championship crown. It has now emerged that the two greats are hoping to arrange a series of matches in various cities around the world. There are reports that Paris will be hosting another rapid/blitz match between the legendary pair from 11-13 December, and there may also be others in Moscow and New York (the cities that hosted their original matches). The matches will raise money for the charity UNICEF." SOURCE: www.chess.com |
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Julian Michael Hodgson Number of games in database: 522 Years covered: 1976 to 2002 Current FIDE rating: 2609 Highest rating achieved in database: 2659 |
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Julian Michael Hodgson (continued) Country England Born July 25, 1963 (1963-07-25) (age 46) St Asaph, Wales Title International Grandmaster FIDE rating 2609 (April 2009) Peak rating 2640 (2000) Julian Michael Hodgson (born July 25, 1963, St Asaph, Wales) is an English International Grandmaster and former British Champion of chess. He first came to the notice of the chess world for his phenomenal prowess as a junior - he was London under-18 champion at 12 years of age and won the British Boys under-21 title aged just 14. International Master and Grandmaster titles followed in 1983 and 1988 respectively. Tournament successes included 2nd place at the Lloyds Bank Open of 1986, 1st at Benidorm 1986, 1st= at the Geneva Open 1988, 2nd= at Tel Aviv 1988, 1st= at Kecskemet 1988 and 1st at Dos Hermanas 1989. At San Bernardino in 1989, he finished first on tie-break from strong grandmasters Kiril Georgiev and Ivan Sokolov. A frequent visitor to Spain's Seville Open, he shared first place in 1986 and 1988. At Philadelphia's World Open of 1990, he finished second (behind Igor Glek). Hodgson went on to become a fearsome competitor nationally, bagging the title of British Champion four times (1991, 1992, 1999, and 2000). By 2000, he was so at home with the event that he even brought his own executive chair with him, which was wheeled from board to board for maximum comfort. When not actually playing, his live commentary sessions and evening lectures at the British Championships were always well received by amateurs and masters alike. Meanwhile, back on the international stage, playing for the English Olympiad team, he won the bronze team medal at Novi Sad in 1990, and an individual silver medal at Manila in 1992. The Manila success followed a notable win earlier in the year, at the colossal open tournament held annually in Cappelle-la-Grande. In 1997 he won the Canadian Open Chess Championship, and was joint winner of the National Open in Las Vegas. At Oxford in 1998, he shared victory with Jonny Hector, ahead of John Nunn and Emil Sutovsky. In 2000, his Elo rating peaked at 2640 and he finished a half point behind the leaders at the World Open. Over a number of years, Hodgson played league chess in both the German Bundesliga and British 4NCL. Since 2001, his play has been very limited, due to teaching commitments. Playing style Aside from more formal achievements, he developed a sharp, relentless, attacking style of play and against lesser opponents this frequently resulted in devastating quick wins, earning him the epithet "Grandmaster of Disaster". Julian ("Jules") Hodgson's greatest legacy as a chess player may however lie in his resurrection of an almost forgotten opening system. The Trompowski Attack (1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5) had floundered in the doldrums for many years, prior to his adoption and development of the opening. In interviews, he reveals that this was born out of laziness and a reluctance to learn established chess opening theory. It soon became his weapon of choice with the white pieces, leading to a surprising popularisation of the system, the spawning of a whole generation of devotees and ironically, a number of theoretical guides, containing a high quota of Hodgson's own games and analysis. Indeed, his expert treatment of the system once prompted fellow grandmaster Joe Gallagher to write that it should be renamed the Hodgson-Trompowski Attack, a view shared by many other masters. A chess journalist once wrote that Hodgson put the 'romp' into Trompowski. A related, but more obscure version of the system (1.d4 d5 2. Bg5), has been dubbed by some the Hodgson Attack and by others the Pseudo-Trompowski or Queen's Bishop Attack. SOURCE: Wikipedia |
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Hodgson Wonder why they stopped putting his games in 7 years ago? |
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re: Hodgson |
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Daniel Willard Fiske _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Biographical information on Daniel Willard Fiske: "Daniel Willard Fiske (1831–1904) was an American librarian and scholar, born on November 11, 1831, at Ellisburg, New York. Fiske studied at Cazenovia Seminary and started his collegiate studies at Hamilton College in 1847. He joined the Psi Upsilon but was suspended for a student prank at the end of his sophomore year. He was educated at Copenhagen and at Uppsala University. Upon his return to the United States, he acted as a General Secretary to the American Geographical Society and edited the Syracuse Daily Journal. Dedication plaque on Uris Library referencing Henry W. Sage's gift in lieu of Jennie McGraw's estate payment after the resolution of The Great Will CaseUpon the opening of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Fiske was named University librarian and professor in 1868. He made a reputation as an authority on the Northern European languages, and Icelandic language and culture in particular. In August 1880, he married Jennie McGraw, at the American Legation in Berlin. McGraw was the daughter of deceased timber magnate John McGraw, and had inherited $2,202,593 dollars upon his death in 1877. Their marriage was short, and by September 1881 she had died from tuberculosis. Controversy over her will's bequest to Cornell left him involved in the The Great Will Case. Following its resolution in May 1890, he spent much of his remaining years in Italy, and collected manuscripts. His interests included chess: he helped organize the first American Chess Congress in 1857 and wrote the tournament book in 1859, and edited The Chess Monthly from 1857 to 1861 with Paul Morphy. His scholarly volume, Chess In Iceland and in Icelandic Literature (Florence, 1905), was used as source material by H.J.R. Murray for A History of Chess. Another manuscript, Chess Tales and Chess Miscellanies (New York, 1912), also published posthumously, is an anthology covering chess life of the period including articles about Morphy, problems by Sam Loyd, and the history of chess including some fables. On September 17, 1904 Fiske died at Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He is buried next to his wife Jennie McGraw Fiske in the elaborate crypt of Sage Chapel at Cornell University. After his death he left a large bequest of 32,000 volumns, the Fiske Icelandic Collection, to Cornell." SOURCE: en.wikipedia.org |
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Mikhail Botvinnik SOURCE: www.chessgames.com _________________________________________________________________________________________ Mikhail Botvinnik, 1911 - 1995, 6th World Champion: 1948 - 1957, 1958 - 1960, 1961 - 1963 Mikhail Moiseevich Botvinnik was born in St Petersburg, Russia in 1911. He learned to play chess at the age of 12. An electrical engineer by training, he was the first Russian to hold the World Championship title after he won the 1948 tournament following the death of Alexander Alekhine. He held on to the world title until his defeat by Petrosian in 1963, except for two occasions when he lost the title for one year, to Smyslov (1957 - 1958) and Tal (1960 - 1961). Botvinnik was very serious about chess and never played for fun. After his defeat to Petrosian he trained other Soviet players and devised a training programme. He advocated practicing with strong players, studying master games, publicizing analysis to be criticized by others, learning to handle the clock to avoid time trouble and to concentrate in spite of disturbances. Although he was a non-smoker, he often practiced with heavy smokers to practice his ability to concentrate in adverse situations. He also stressed the importance of regular physical activity to maintain fitness. In 1970 he gave up playing in order to concentrate on the development of chess computers. Mikhail Botvinnik vs. Jose Capablanca, Rotterdam 1938: www.chesscorner.com ________________________________________________________________________________________ Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (August 17 [O.S. August 4] 1911 – May 5, 1995) was a Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. His detailed biography (from Wikipedia) can be found here: en.wikipedia.org _________________________________________________________________________________________ Mikhail Botvinnik's games (1,198 in database, dated from 1924 to 1983) can be found here: www.chessgames.com __________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: I have compiled this information by searching on Goggle. If anyone has more information they would like to share, please feel free to post it here for everyone. Thank you. -cyna |
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Girolamo Cardano "Cardano was the illegitimate son of Fazio Cardano and Chiara Micheri, a widow of uncertain age who was both ignorant and irascible. His passion for games (dice, chess, cards) inspired Cardano to write the Liber de ludo aleae, which he completed in his old age; it was published posthumously in the Opera omnia. The book represents the first attempt at a theory of probability based on the philosophical premise that, beyond mere luck, laws and rules govern any given case." SOURCE: SOURCE: www.chlt.org "Cardan squandered the small bequest from his father and turned to gambling to boost his finances. Card games, dice and chess were the methods he used to make a living. Cardan's understanding of probability meant he had an advantage over his opponents and, in general, he won more than he lost. He had to keep dubious company for his gambling. Once, when he thought he was being cheated at cards, Cardan, who always carried a knife, slashed the face of his opponent. Gambling became an addiction that was to last many years and rob Cardan of valuable time, money and reputation." SOURCE: www.gap-system.org "In his autobiography, De vita propria liber (The Book of My Life) Cardano describes that he was born, after failed attempts to induce an abortion. After an abusive childhood Cardano managed to get an education at the University of Pavia and at the University of Padua where he earned a Doctorate. Cardano became a skilled physician, an astrologer to the pope, and an accomplished mathematician. Cardano wrote books at an incredible rate (131 altogether plus manuscripts for another 111) on a wide variety of subjects: "mathematics, astronomy, astrology, physics, horoscopy, chess, gambling, consolation, marvelous cures, poisons, air, water, dreams, urine, teeth, the plague, wisdom, morals, and music. Cardano's book on consolation was the source of Hamlet's famous remarks on sleep and death. Cardano's greatest work was his Ars Magna. This work about algebra included techniques (although not original) for solving cubic and quartic equations. Cardano's short booklet on probability, Liber de Ludo, a practical guide to gambling, including cards and dice and cheating, was not printed until 1663. In the mathematical sections Cardano discusses probability, and a part of the formula for the binomial distribution, and a form of the 'law of large numbers.' Cardano anticipated many of the fundamental results of Pascal and Fermat by more than a century. Cardano was imprisoned for heresy by the Inquisition in 1570 for casting the horoscope of Jesus Christ." SOURCE: www.malaspina.org |
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