U.S. Chess Mates - Aron Nimzowitsch
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| Famous Players |
Aron Nimzowitsch (born Aron Niemzowitsch[1] and also known as Nimzovich) (November 7, 1886 influential chess writer. He
was the foremost figure amongst the hypermoderns.
Life
Born in Riga in Latvia, then part of the Russian empire, the Jewish German-speaking Nimzowitsch came from a wealthy family,
where he learned chess from his father. In 1904, he travelled to Berlin to study philosophy, but set aside his studies soon and
began a career as a professional chess player that same year. After tumultuous and often unsuccessful years during and after
World War I, Nimzowitsch moved to Copenhagen in 1922 (some sources say 1920), which coincided with his rise to the world
chess elite. He obtained Danish citizenship and lived in Denmark until his death from pneumonia in 1935. He is buried in
Bispebjerg Cemetery in Copenhagen.
Chess career
The height of Nimzowitsch's career was the late 1920s and early 1930s. Chessmetrics places him as the third best player in
the world, behind Alexander Alekhine and Jose Capablanca, from 1927 to 1931[1]. His most notable successes were first
place finishes at Copenhagen 1923, Dresden 1926, the Carlsbad tournament of 1929. and second place behind Alekhine at
San Remo in 1930. Nimzowitsch never developed a knack for match play though; his best match success was a draw with
Alekhine (though this match was only two games long and was in 1914, 13 years before Alekhine became world champion).
Although Nimzowitsch did not win a single game against Capablanca, he fared better against Alekhine. He even beat Alekhine
with the Black pieces at St. Petersburg 1914. One of Nimzowitsch's most famous games is his celebrated immortal zugzwang
game against Sämisch at Copenhagen 1923. Another game on this theme is his win over Paul Johner at Dresden 1926.
When in form, Nimzowitsch was very dangerous with the Black pieces, scoring many fine wins over top players.
Impact
Nimzowitsch is considered one of the most influential players and writers in chess history. His works influenced numerous
other players, including Richard Réti and Tigran Petrosian, and his influence is still felt today.
He wrote three books on chess strategy: Mein System (My System) (1925), Die Praxis meines System (The Practice of My
System) (commonly known as Chess Praxis), and Die Blockade (The Blockade). The last of these has just been reissued in a
volume containing both the German original and the English translation published by Hardinge Simpole . However, much that
is in it is covered again in Mein System. It is said that 99 out of 100 chess masters have read Mein System; consequently, most
consider My System to be Nimzowitsch's greatest contribution to chess. It sets out Nimzowitsch's most important ideas, while
his second most influential work, Chess Praxis, elaborates upon these ideas, adds a few new ones, and has immense value
as a stimulating collection of Nimzowitsch's own games, even when these games are more entertaining than instructive.
Nimzowitsch's chess theories flew in the face of convention. While there were those like Alekhine, Emanuel Lasker, and even
Capablanca who did not live by Siegbert Tarrasch's rigid teachings, the acceptance of Tarrasch's ideas, all simplifications of
the more profound work of Wilhelm Steinitz, was nearly universal. That the center had to be controlled by pawns and that
development had to happen in support of this control -— the core ideas of Tarrasch's chess philosophy -— were things every
beginner thought to be irrefutable laws of nature, like gravity.
Nimzowitsch shattered these assumptions. He discovered such concepts as overprotection (the least important of his ideas
from a modern standpoint though still interesting and sometimes applicable), control of the center by pieces instead of pawns,
blockade, prophylaxis -— playing to prevent the opponent's plans —- and the fianchetto (in the case of the fianchetto, one could
argue that it was a rediscovery, but Nimzowitsch certainly refined its use). He also formalised strategies using open files,
outposts and invasion of the seventh rank, all of which are widely accepted today. Others had utilized such ideas in previous
years, but Nimzowitsch was the first to knit them together into a thematic whole.
Many chess openings and variations are named after him, the most famous being the Nimzo-Indian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6
3.Nc3 Bb4) and the less often played Nimzowitsch Defence (1.e4 Nc6). Nimzowitsch biographer Grandmaster Raymond
Keene and others have referred to 1.Nf3 followed by 2.b3 as the Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack. Keene wrote a book about the
opening with that title. All of these openings exemplify Nimzowitsch's ideas about controlling the center with pieces instead of
pawns. Nimzowitsch was also vital in the development of two important systems in the French Defense, the Winawer Variation
(in some places called the Nimzowitsch Variation; its moves are 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4) and the Advance Variation (1. e4
e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5). He also pioneered two provocative variations of the Sicilian Defense: the Nimzowitsch Variation, 1.e4 c5 2.
Nf3 Nf6, inviting 3.e5 Nd5, similar to Alekhine's Defense, and 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 d5?!, which is regarded as
dubious today.
Personality
There are numerous entertaining anecdotes regarding Nimzowitch—some more savory than others. For example, he once
missed the first prize of a great rapid transit tournament in Berlin by losing to Sämisch; immediately upon learning this,
Nimzowitsch got up on a table and shouted, “Why must I lose to this idiot?” Nimzowitsch had lengthy and somewhat bitter
dogmatic conflicts with Tarrasch over whose ideas constituted 'proper' chess.
Nimzowitsch's vanity and faith in his ideas of overprotection provoked Hans Kmoch to write a parody about him in February
1928 in the Wiener Schachzeitung. This consisted of a mock game against the fictional player "Systemsson", supposedly
played and annotated by Nimzowitsch himself. The annotations gleefully exaggerate the idea of overprotection, as well as
asserting the true genius of the wondrous idea. Kmoch was in fact a great admirer of Nimzowitsch, and the subject of the
parody himself was amused at the effort.
was the foremost figure amongst the hypermoderns.
Life
Born in Riga in Latvia, then part of the Russian empire, the Jewish German-speaking Nimzowitsch came from a wealthy family,
where he learned chess from his father. In 1904, he travelled to Berlin to study philosophy, but set aside his studies soon and
began a career as a professional chess player that same year. After tumultuous and often unsuccessful years during and after
World War I, Nimzowitsch moved to Copenhagen in 1922 (some sources say 1920), which coincided with his rise to the world
chess elite. He obtained Danish citizenship and lived in Denmark until his death from pneumonia in 1935. He is buried in
Bispebjerg Cemetery in Copenhagen.
Chess career
The height of Nimzowitsch's career was the late 1920s and early 1930s. Chessmetrics places him as the third best player in
the world, behind Alexander Alekhine and Jose Capablanca, from 1927 to 1931[1]. His most notable successes were first
place finishes at Copenhagen 1923, Dresden 1926, the Carlsbad tournament of 1929. and second place behind Alekhine at
San Remo in 1930. Nimzowitsch never developed a knack for match play though; his best match success was a draw with
Alekhine (though this match was only two games long and was in 1914, 13 years before Alekhine became world champion).
Although Nimzowitsch did not win a single game against Capablanca, he fared better against Alekhine. He even beat Alekhine
with the Black pieces at St. Petersburg 1914. One of Nimzowitsch's most famous games is his celebrated immortal zugzwang
game against Sämisch at Copenhagen 1923. Another game on this theme is his win over Paul Johner at Dresden 1926.
When in form, Nimzowitsch was very dangerous with the Black pieces, scoring many fine wins over top players.
Impact
Nimzowitsch is considered one of the most influential players and writers in chess history. His works influenced numerous
other players, including Richard Réti and Tigran Petrosian, and his influence is still felt today.
He wrote three books on chess strategy: Mein System (My System) (1925), Die Praxis meines System (The Practice of My
System) (commonly known as Chess Praxis), and Die Blockade (The Blockade). The last of these has just been reissued in a
volume containing both the German original and the English translation published by Hardinge Simpole . However, much that
is in it is covered again in Mein System. It is said that 99 out of 100 chess masters have read Mein System; consequently, most
consider My System to be Nimzowitsch's greatest contribution to chess. It sets out Nimzowitsch's most important ideas, while
his second most influential work, Chess Praxis, elaborates upon these ideas, adds a few new ones, and has immense value
as a stimulating collection of Nimzowitsch's own games, even when these games are more entertaining than instructive.
Nimzowitsch's chess theories flew in the face of convention. While there were those like Alekhine, Emanuel Lasker, and even
Capablanca who did not live by Siegbert Tarrasch's rigid teachings, the acceptance of Tarrasch's ideas, all simplifications of
the more profound work of Wilhelm Steinitz, was nearly universal. That the center had to be controlled by pawns and that
development had to happen in support of this control -— the core ideas of Tarrasch's chess philosophy -— were things every
beginner thought to be irrefutable laws of nature, like gravity.
Nimzowitsch shattered these assumptions. He discovered such concepts as overprotection (the least important of his ideas
from a modern standpoint though still interesting and sometimes applicable), control of the center by pieces instead of pawns,
blockade, prophylaxis -— playing to prevent the opponent's plans —- and the fianchetto (in the case of the fianchetto, one could
argue that it was a rediscovery, but Nimzowitsch certainly refined its use). He also formalised strategies using open files,
outposts and invasion of the seventh rank, all of which are widely accepted today. Others had utilized such ideas in previous
years, but Nimzowitsch was the first to knit them together into a thematic whole.
Many chess openings and variations are named after him, the most famous being the Nimzo-Indian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6
3.Nc3 Bb4) and the less often played Nimzowitsch Defence (1.e4 Nc6). Nimzowitsch biographer Grandmaster Raymond
Keene and others have referred to 1.Nf3 followed by 2.b3 as the Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack. Keene wrote a book about the
opening with that title. All of these openings exemplify Nimzowitsch's ideas about controlling the center with pieces instead of
pawns. Nimzowitsch was also vital in the development of two important systems in the French Defense, the Winawer Variation
(in some places called the Nimzowitsch Variation; its moves are 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4) and the Advance Variation (1. e4
e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5). He also pioneered two provocative variations of the Sicilian Defense: the Nimzowitsch Variation, 1.e4 c5 2.
Nf3 Nf6, inviting 3.e5 Nd5, similar to Alekhine's Defense, and 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 d5?!, which is regarded as
dubious today.
Personality
There are numerous entertaining anecdotes regarding Nimzowitch—some more savory than others. For example, he once
missed the first prize of a great rapid transit tournament in Berlin by losing to Sämisch; immediately upon learning this,
Nimzowitsch got up on a table and shouted, “Why must I lose to this idiot?” Nimzowitsch had lengthy and somewhat bitter
dogmatic conflicts with Tarrasch over whose ideas constituted 'proper' chess.
Nimzowitsch's vanity and faith in his ideas of overprotection provoked Hans Kmoch to write a parody about him in February
1928 in the Wiener Schachzeitung. This consisted of a mock game against the fictional player "Systemsson", supposedly
played and annotated by Nimzowitsch himself. The annotations gleefully exaggerate the idea of overprotection, as well as
asserting the true genius of the wondrous idea. Kmoch was in fact a great admirer of Nimzowitsch, and the subject of the
parody himself was amused at the effort.