[blind-chess] Annotated Game #064: Joseph Henry Blackburne - Aron Nimzowitsch, St. Petersburg 1914
- From: "Roderick Macdonald" <rjmacdonald@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Blind-Chess Mailing List" <blind-chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2011 11:40:15 -1000
Annotated Game #064:
Joseph Henry Blackburne - Aron Nimzowitsch, St. Petersburg 1914
Adapted and Condensed from
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Contents:
++1. Joseph Henry Blackburne
++1.A Biography
++1.A1 Competitive chess
++1.A2 Exhibitions and other games
++1.A3 Hard drinking
++1.A4 Writings
++1.A5 Final years
++1.B Notable games
++1.C Legacy
++1.D Tournament results
++1.E Match results
++2. Aron Isaevich Nimzowitsch
++2.A Life
++2.B Chess career
++2.C Legacy
++2.D Personality
++2.E Notable chess games
++3. Joseph Henry Blackburne - Aron Nimzowitsch, St. Petersburg
1914
++1. Joseph Henry Blackburne
Joseph Henry Blackburne (December 10, 1841 - September 1, 1924),
nicknamed "The Black Death", dominated British chess during the
latter part of the 19th century. He learned the game at the
relatively late age of 18 but quickly became a strong player and
went on to develop a professional chess career that spanned over 50
years. At one point he was the world's second most successful
player, with a string of tournament victories behind him, but he
really enjoyed popularising chess by giving simultaneous and
blindfold displays around the country. Blackburne also published a
collection of his own games, and was a chess correspondent for a
leading journal until his death.
He was also noted for heavy drinking of Scotch whisky, especially
during exhibition games, and this became the subject of many
anecdotes. However he occasionally became violent when drunk, and
his victims included other chess players.
++1.A Biography
Joseph Henry Blackburne was born in Manchester in December 1841.
His father was a temperance reformer who travelled all over Britain
and Ireland, taking his son with him. Ironically Joseph Blackburne
became famous for his heavy drinking of whisky while playing chess.
He learned how to play draughts as a child but it was not until he
heard about Paul Morphy's exploits around Europe that he switched
to playing chess, at the age of 18-19:
"I learnt the game in, say, 1859."
- Blackburne
Blackburne joined the Manchester Chess Club around 1860. In July
1861 he lost 5-0 in a match with Manchester's strongest player,
Edward Pindar (and champion of the Provinces), but 3 months later
Blackburne defeated Pindar (five wins, two draws, one loss). Next
year he became champion of the city club, ahead of Pindar and
Bernhard Horwitz (who taught him endgame theory).
Blackburne's introduction to blindfold chess was a little later: in
November 1861 Louis Paulsen gave a simultaneous blindfold
exhibition in Manchester, beating Blackburne among others;
Blackburne was soon playing chess blindfolded with three players
simultaneously.
++1.A1 Competitive chess
Blackburne's contemporary Wilhelm Steinitz dominated chess in the
1870s and 1880s
Less than two years after learning the moves, Blackburne entered
the 1862 London International Tournament (the world's first chess
round-robin or all-play-all tournament) and defeated Wilhelm
Steinitz in their individual game, although Blackburne finished in
9th place. Up to that point time-keeping was measured with
hourglasses, and it was Blackburne who suggested chess clocks. This
trip cost Blackburne his job back in Manchester (accounts vary
about what it was), and he became a professional chess player.
In the 1868-69 season he won the British championship by beating
the current holder, Cecil Valentine De Vere, and he was therefore
regarded as England's best player. His first major international
success was in a strong tournament at Baden-Baden in 1870, where he
shared 3rd place with Gustav Neumann, behind Adolf Anderssen and
Wilhelm Steinitz but ahead of Paulsen, De Vere, Simon Winawer,
Samuel Rosenthal and Johannes von Minckwitz.
Blackburne was regularly one of the world's top five players from
1871 to 1889, although Steinitz, Emanuel Lasker and, during his
brief prime, Johannes Zukertort were clearly better players; and he
remained in the top 20 until 1902, when he was 61 years old. His
best results were in international tournaments. Although
tournaments were much less frequent then than they are now,
Blackburne played in nearly one strong tournament per year from
1870 to 1899; in particular he competed regularly in the German
Chess Championship, which was an open tournament. In the 1870s and
1880s he was almost always a high prize-winner. His best results
were 1st equal with Steinitz at Vienna 1873, where the commentators
nicknamed Blackburne "the Black Death" (Steinitz won the play-off);
1st in London 1876 with a score of 10/11, ahead of Zukertort; and
1st in Berlin 1881, 3 points ahead of Zukertort. He also achieved
2nd place in: a strong mini-tournament in London 1872 ( behind
Steinitz but ahead of Zukertort, George Alcock MacDonnell and De
Vere; shared 2nd place at Hamburg 1885 (with Siegbert Tarrasch,
James Mason, Berthold Englisch and Max Weiss; behind Isidor
Gunsberg; ahead of George Henry Mackenzie and five others); shared
2nd place at Frankfurt 1887 (with Weiss; behind Mackenzie; ahead of
Curt von Bardeleben, Tarrasch and several others). His worst result
from this 20-year period was 6th place in the 1882 Vienna "super-
tournament", the one occasion on which all his major rivals placed
ahead of him. Emanuel Lasker, Steinitz's successor as World Chess
Champion, dominated the second half of Blackburne's playing career
In the mid to late 1890s Blackburne's was less successful in
tournaments, but by this time he was competing against the next
generation of players, Emanuel Lasker and Lasker's major rivals.
Blackburne's worst results were 10th place at Hastings 1895 and
11th at Nuremberg 1896; but both of these tournaments included
Lasker and most of the other top players of the new generation; and
in both of these he finished ahead of several of the new stars and
ahead of the few competing players of his own generation.
Chessmetrics concludes that Blackburne's best performances, taking
account of the strength of his opponents, were his second places at
Frankfurt 1887 (behind Mackenzie) and London 1892 (behind Emanuel
Lasker). At London 1892 he finished only = point behind Emanuel
Lasker and 2 points ahead of the third-placed player, Mason.
Emanuel Lasker thought that Blackburne had more talent than
Steinitz, but lacked the willpower and capacity for hard work
needed for becoming world champion.
Blackburne's match results look much less impressive. In particular
he was twice thrashed by Steinitz, in 1862 (+1, -7, =2) and 1876
(+0, -7, =0); but in 1862 Blackburne had been playing chess for
barely 2 years, and in 1876 Steinitz was playing at his life-time
best and in the middle of a 24-game winning streak. Emanuel Lasker
annihilated Blackburne in 1892, but Lasker also beat Steinitz very
decisively in their 1894 championship match. Blackburne was also
comfortably beaten in 1881 by Zukertort (+2 =5 -7), who was in
great form at the time; and Zukertort's health and play were
declining rapidly when Blackburne beat him in 1887 (+5 -1 =7). On
the other hand against Gunsberg Blackburne won his 1881 match (+7
-4 =3) and lost his 1887 match (+2, -5, =6); the 1887 match was
Gunsberg's strongest performance, and Gunsberg only narrowly lost
a world title match against Steinitz in 1890 (+6 =9 -4).
The 1876 match against Steinitz was held at the West-end Chess Club
in London. The stakes were 60 pounds Sterling a side with the
winner taking all. This was a considerable sum of money in
Victorian times - 60 pounds in 1876 would be roughly equivalent to
29,000 pounds in 2006's money. This was the first time that
spectators were charged an entrance fee (half a guinea, = 52.5P in
decimal terms) to see a chess match.
++1.A2 Exhibitions and other games
Diagram #1:
White: King at e1, Queen at d1, Rooks at a1 and h1, Bishops at c1
and c4, Knights at b1 and f3, Pawns at a2, b2, c2, d2, e4,
f2, g2, h2.
Black: King at e8, Queen at d8, Rooks at a8 and h8, Bishops at c8
and f8, Knights at d4 and g8, Pawns at a7, b7, c7, d7, e5,
f7, g7, h7.
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit: position after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4 Nd4
After the natural 4. Nxe5!?, Black wins material with 4. ... Qg5!
Now the obvious 5. Nxf7?? loses to 5. ... Qxg2 6. Rf1 Qxe4+ 7. Be2
Nf3#., a smothered mate.
After losing his job and discovering that he had a special aptitude
for blindfold chess, in Blackburne began give blindfold and
simultaneous exhibitions all over Britain, and for most of his
career made most of his income from these exhibitions, including
blindfold displays against up to sixteen opponents
simultaneously. He even travelled to Australia and New Zealand in
1885 to give exhibitions.
The Teesside Chess Association (formed in 1883; now called the
Cleveland Chess Association) invited world-class players to give
exhibitions, in order to raise money for the Association.
Blackburne's fee for two simultaneous displays and a blindfold
event in 1889 was 9 guineas (about 4,600 pounds at 2006 values.
Players paid the club a shilling (5P in decimal terms) for a
simultaneous game or 2 shillings sixpence (12.5P in decimal) to
play him blindfold. In the simultaneous games he won 29, drew two
and lost only one; in the blindfold he won seven and drew one with
no losses.
In addition he played top board for the British team in 11 of the
Anglo-American cable matches which commenced in 1896 and in the
first six matches he recorded a score of 3.5-2.5 against the top
American, Harry Pillsbury.
It is estimated that Blackburne played 100,000 games in his career,
more than any other professional chess-player. However he still had
time to marry twice and with his second wife, Mary Fox, he had a
son, Julius.
The dubious chess opening the Blackburne Shilling Gambit (1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4?!) has been named for Blackburne because he
purportedly used it to win quickly against amateurs, thus winning
the shilling wagered on the game. Chess historian Bill Wall
questioned this story because he could find no record of any games
Blackburne played with this opening. The opening is mentioned by
Steinitz in his book The Modern Chess Instructor (1889).
++1.A3 Hard drinking
Blackburne's fondness for drinking whisky at the board once led him
to down an opponent's glass. Shortly afterwards, the opponent
resigned, leading him to quip, "My opponent left a glass of whisky
en prise and I took it en passant". In an interview with a liquor
industry publication, Blackburne once claimed that drinking whisky
cleared his brain and improved his chessplay.
There is even a story that part of the prize fund at Hastings 1895
was paid in advance, and for Blackburne the "currency" was a case
of Scotch. Mr. Blackburne finished the case of Scotch during the
first six rounds of play at which point his game fell off.
During a simultaneous exhibition at Cambridge University, the
students thought they would gain an advantage by placing two
bottles of whisky near the boards. Blackburne won all his games
very quickly and finished off both bottles of whisky before the
exhibition was over.
Blackburne could become violent when drunk - in 1889 Steinitz
claimed that Blackburne had assaulted him in London (1867) and a
few years later in Paris, and that Blackburne had also assaulted
three other men, one even smaller than the five-foot-tall Steinitz.
++1.A4 Writings
In 1889 he published Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess, edited by P.
Anderson Graham.
For many years Blackburne was a chess correspondent for The Field,
the UK's leading sports journal, and held that position until his
death.
++1.A5 Final years
In 1914, at the age of 72, Blackburne won a Special Brilliancy
Prize for his win over Aron Nimzowitsch at the great St. Petersburg
1914 tournament, but failed to qualify for the final stage. That
same year he tied for first place in the British championship with
Frederick Yates, but ill health prevented him from contesting the
play-off for the title. This was Blackburne's last major
tournament. However in 1921 Blackburne was still giving
simultaneous exhibitions.
In 1922 his wife died. Blackburne died of a heart attack on
September 1, 1924 at the age of 82. He is buried in the Brockley
and Ladywell Cemeteries in Lewisham.
++1.B Notable games
* Joseph Henry Blackburne vs Jacques Schwarz, DSB Kongress,
Berlin 1881 Wilhelm Steinitz, who was no friend of
Blackburne, wrote, "White's design ... belongs to the
finest efforts of chess genius ..."
* Joseph Henry Blackburne vs Samuel Lipschutz, New York 1889
A series of sacrifices demolishes the Black defenses.
* Emanuel Lasker vs Joseph Henry Blackburne, London (England)
1899 Blackburne, 58 years old and playing with the Black
pieces, beat the reigning world champion.
++1.C Legacy
Blackburne is an icon of Romantic chess because of his wide open
and highly tactical style of play. His large black beard and
aggressive style earned him the nickname of "der Schwarze Tod"
("the Black Death", based on the plague of the same name) after his
performance in the 1873 Vienna tournament. In 1881, according to
one retrospective rating calculation, he was the second most
successful player in the world. He was especially strong at
endgames and had a great combinative ability which enabled him to
win many brilliancy prizes, but he will be best remembered for his
popular simultaneous and lightning displays which captured the
imagination of the general public who flocked to watch him.
Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess, which he published in 1899, has
been recently reprinted by Moravian Chess. It contains over 400 of
his games, around 20 problems composed by him, and a short
biography.
++1.D Tournament results
1862 London International Tournament
equal 9th Adolf Anderssen won; Blackburne shared last
place.
1867 Dundee International Tournament
5th Behind Gustav Neumann, Wilhelm Steinitz, George Alcock
MacDonnell and Cecil Valentine De Vere.
1869 2nd British Chess Championship
1st Beat De Vere in the final.
1870 Baden-Baden
Equal 3rd Tied with Neumann; behind Adolf Anderssen and
Steinitz; but ahead of Louis Paulsen, De Vere, Siymon
Winawer, Samuel Rosenthal and Johannes von Minckwitz.
1872 London
2nd Behind Steinitz; ahead of Zukertort, MacDonnell and De
Vere.
1873 Vienna
Equal 1st Tied with Steinitz, who won both games of the
playoff match. This is where Blackburne was nicknamed "the
Black Death".
1876 London
1st Ahead of Johannes Zukertort; Blackburne scored 10/11;
this was just a month after Steinitz had whitewashed
Blackburne 7-0 in a match.
1878 Paris
3rd Behind Winawer and Zukertort.
1880 Berlin
Equal 1st Tied with Berthold Englisch and Adolf Schwarz
1881 Berlin 1 3 points ahead of Zukertort (2nd)
1882 Vienna
6th Behind Steinitz, Winawer, James Mason, Zukertort and
George Henry Mackenzie.
1883 London
3rd Behind Zukertort and Steinitz; ahead of Mikhail
Chigorin, Englisch, Mackenzie, Mason, Rosenthal, Winawer
and Henry Edward Bird.
1885 Hamburg
Equal 2nd With Siegbert Tarrasch, Mason, Englisch and Max
Weiss; behind Isidor Gunsberg; ahead of Mackenzie and 5
others.
1887 Frankfurt
Equal 2nd With Weiss; behind Mackenzie; ahead of Curt von
Bardeleben, Tarrasch and several others; Zukertort could
only finish equal 14th.
1889 Breslau
Equal 8th With Mason; behind Tarrasch, Amos Burn, Jacques
Mieses, von Bardeleben, Johann Bauer, Gunsberg, and Louis
Paulsen. Ahead of Johann Berger, Emil Schallopp, Johannes
Metger, Alexander Fritz, von Minckwitz, Semyon Alapin, Max
Harmonist, Emanuel Schiffers and George H. D. Gossip.
1889 New York
4th Behind Chigorin, Weiss and Gunsberg; ahead of Burn and
15 others. This tournament was extremely strong, as it was
designed to select a challenger for Steinitz' title.
1890 Manchester
2nd Behind Tarrasch; ahead of Mackenzie, Bird and Mason.
1892 Belfast International Tournament
Equal 1st with Mason.
1894 Leipzig
4th Behind Tarrasch, Paul Lipke and Richard Teichmann;
ahead of Carl August Walbrodt, Dawid Janowski, Georg Marco,
Mieses and Carl Schlechter.
1895 Hastings
10th Behind Harry Nelson Pillsbury, Chigorin, Emanuel
Lasker, Tarrasch, Steinitz, Emanuel Schiffers, von
Bardeleben, Teichmann and Schlechter; ahead of Walbrodt,
Burn, Janowski, Mason, Bird, Gunsberg, Adolf Albin, Marco,
William Pollock, Mieses, Samuel Tinsley and Beniamino
Vergani.
1896 Nuremberg
11th Behind Emanuel Lasker, Giza Maroczy, Pillsbury,
Tarrasch, Janowski, Steinitz, Walbrodt, Schiffers and
Chigorin; ahead of Rudolf Charousek, Marco, Albin, Winawer,
Jackson Showalter, Moritz Porges, Schallopp and Teichmann.
1897 Berlin
3rd Behind Charousek and Walbrodt; ahead of Janowski, Burn,
Alapin, Marco, Schlechter, Caro, Chigorin, Schiffers,
Metger, Winawer, Wilhelm Cohn, Hugo Suechting, Teichmann,
Englisch, Adolf Zinkl, Albin and von Bardeleben.
1898 Vienna
11th Behind Tarrasch, Pillsbury, Janowski, Steinitz,
Schlechter, Chigorin, Burn, Lipke, Maroczy and Simon
Alapin; ahead of Schiffers, Marco, Showalter, Walbrodt,
Halprin, Horatio Caro, David Graham Baird and Trenchard.
1899 London
6th Behind Emanuel Lasker, Janowski, Maroczy, Pillsbury and
Schlechter; ahead of Chigorin, Showalter, Mason, W. Cohn,
Steinitz, Lee, Bird, Tinsley and Teichmann (who withdrew
after 4 games due to illness). Blackburne, as Black, beat
Lasker; this was the first time a British player had
defeated a reigning world champion.
1904 Hastings (British Championship)
3rd.
1907 (British Championship)
Equal 2nd.
1910 (British Championship)
Equal 2nd.
1913 (British Championship)
3rd.
1914 St. Petersburg
Blackburne did not qualify for the 5-player final stage, in
which the placings were: 1 Emanuel Lasker; 2 Jose Raul
Capablanca; 3 Alexander Alekhine; 4 Tarrasch; 5 Frank
Marshall. At 3.5/10, Blackburne had the 4th-5th best score
of the 6 players who did not qualify for the finals -
behind Ossip Bernstein, Akiba Rubinstein, and Aron
Nimzowitsch; tied with Janowski; and ahead of Gunsberg.
Blackburne won a Special Brilliancy Prize for his win over
Nimzowitsch.
1914 (British Championship)
Equal 1st Tied with Frederick Yates; this was Blackburne's
last international tournament; he was 72.
++1.E Match results
Here are Blackburne's results in matches:
1862-3 Dec.-Jan. London
Steinitz-Blackburne +7 =2 -1.
1862-63 London
Wilhelm Steinitz Lost 2/10 +1 =2 -7 Only 2 years after
Blackburne started playing chess.
1876 London
Wilhelm Steinitz Lost 0/7 +0 =0 -7
1881 London
Johannes Zukertort Lost 4.5/14 +2 =5 -7
1881 Duesseldorf
Isidor Gunsberg Won 8.5/14 +7 -4 =3
1887London
Zukertort Won 9.5/5.5 +5 -1 =7 Zukertort's health and play
declined rapidly after he lost the 1886 World Championship
match to Steinitz.
1887 Duesseldorf
Gunsberg Lost .5/5 +0 =1 -4 In 1890 Gunsberg gave Steinitz
a good fight in a world title match (Steinitz won by +6 =9
-4).
1891 Havana
Celso Golmayo Zupide Won 6/10 +5 =2 -3
1891 Havana
Vasquez Won 5.5/6 +5 =1 -0
1892----
Emanuel Lasker Lost 2/10 +0 -6 =4
1895 London
Curt von Bardeleben Drew 4.5/9 +3 =3 -3
++2. Aron Isaevich Nimzowitsch
Aron Isaevich Nimzowitsch (born Aron Niemzowitsch and also known as
Aaron Nimzovich) (November 7, 1886 - March 16, 1935) was a Latvian-
born Danish unofficial chess grandmaster and a very influential
chess writer. He was the foremost figure amongst the hypermoderns.
++2.A Life
Born in Riga in Livonia, then part of the Russian empire, the
Jewish German-speaking Nimzowitsch came from a wealthy family,
where he learned chess from his father, who was a merchant. In
1904, he traveled to Berlin to study philosophy, but set aside his
studies soon and began a career as a professional chess player that
same year. He won his first international tournament at Munich
1906. Then, he tied for first with Alexander Alekhine at St.
Petersburg 1913/14 (the eighth All-Russian Masters' Tournament).
During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Nimzowitsch was in the Baltic
war zone. He escaped being drafted into one of the armies by
feigning madness, insisting that a fly was on his head. He then
escaped to Berlin, and gave his first name as Arnold, possibly to
avoid anti-Semitic persecution.
Nimzowitsch eventually moved to Copenhagen in 1922, which coincided
with his rise to the world chess elite, where he lived for the rest
of his life in one small rented room. In Copenhagen, he won twice
Nordic Chess Championship in 1924 and 1934. He obtained Danish
citizenship and lived in Denmark, until his death in 1935. Although
he had long suffered from heart trouble, his early death was
unexpected, taken ill suddenly at the end of 1934, he lay bedridden
for three months before dying of pneumonia. He is buried in
Bispebjerg Cemetery in Copenhagen.
++2.B 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. His most notable successes were first-place finishes at
Copenhagen 1923, Marienbad 1925, Dresden 1926, Hannover 1926, and
the Carlsbad 1929 chess tournament, and second place behind
Alekhine at the San Remo 1930 chess tournament. Nimzowitsch never
developed a knack for match play, though; his best match success
was a draw with Alekhine, but the match was only two games long and
was in 1914, thirteen years before Alekhine became world champion.
Nimzowitsch never won against Capablanca, but fared better against
Alekhine. He even beat Alekhine with the black pieces, in their
short 1914 match at St. Petersburg. One of Nimzowitsch's most
famous games is his celebrated immortal zugzwang game against
Saemisch 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.
++2.C Legacy
Nimzowitsch is considered one of the most important players and
writers in chess history. His works influenced numerous other
players, including Savielly Tartakower, Milan Vidmar, Richard Reti,
Akiba Rubinstein, Bent Larsen, 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 Systems (The Practice of My System), 1929,
commonly known as Chess Praxis, and Die Blockade (The Blockade),
1925. 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 it 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 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, and prophylaxis -- playing to prevent the opponent's
plans. He was also a leading advocate and exponent of the
fianchetto development of the bishops. Nimzowitsch 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 he was the first to knit them
together into a cohesive whole.
Grandmaster (GM) Raymond Keene writes that Nimzowitsch "was one of
the world's leading Grandmasters for a period extending over a
quarter of a century, and for some of that time he was the obvious
challenger for the world championship. ... (He was also) a great
and profound chess thinker, second only to Steinitz, and his works-
Die Blockade, My System and Chess Praxis-established his reputation
as one of the father figures of modern chess." GM Robert Byrne
called him "perhaps the most brilliant theoretician and teacher in
the history of the game." GM Jan Hein Donner called Nimzowitsch "a
man who was too much of an artist to be able to prove he was right
and who was regarded as something of a madman in his time. He would
be understood only long after his death."
Many chess openings and variations are named after Nimzowitsch, 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. f4 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 Defence,
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 Defence, both regarded as
dubious today: the Nimzowitsch Variation, 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6,
which invites 3. e5 Nd5, similarly to Alekhine's Defence, and 1. e4
c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 d5?!
++2.D Personality
There are many entertaining anecdotes regarding Nimzowitsch--some
less savory than others. For example, he once missed the first
prize of a great rapid transit tournament in Berlin by losing to
Sdmisch; immediately upon learning this, Nimzowitsch got up on a
table and shouted "Gegen diesen Idioten muss ich verlieren!" ("That
I should lose to this idiot!").
Nimzowitsch was annoyed by his opponents' smoking. A popular, but
probably apocryphal, story is that once when an opponent laid a
cigar on the table, he complained to the tournament arbiters, "he
is threatening to smoke, and as an old player you must know that
the threat is stronger than the execution".
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.
Kmoch also wrote an article about his nine years with
Nimzowitsch:
Nimzovich suffered from the delusion that he was unappreciated and
that the reason was malice. All it took to make him blossom, as I
later learned, was a little praise. His paranoia was most evident
when he dined in company. He always thought he was served much
smaller portions than everyone else. He didn't care about the
actual amount but only about the imagined affront. I once suggested
that he and I order what the other actually wanted and, when the
food was served, exchange plates. After we had done so, he shook
his head in disbelief, still thinking that he had received the
smaller portion.
Nimzovitsch's colleague Tartakower observed of him, "He pretends to
be crazy in order to drive us all crazy."
++2.E Notable chess games
* Friedrich Saemisch vs Aron Nimzowitsch, Copenhagen 1923,
Queen's Indian Defence (E18), 0-1 The "Immortal Zugzwang
Game" sees Saemisch get tied up in knots.
* Paul Johner vs Aron Nimzowitsch, Dresden 1926, NimzoIndian
Defence, Rubinstein Variation (E47), 0-1 One of
Nimzowitsch's most famous games sees White fall deep into
passivity and get squeezed.
* Milan Vidmar vs Aron Nimzowitsch, New York 1927, Bogo-
Indian Defence (E11), 0-1 A crafty blending of strategy and
tactics.
* Richard Reti vs Aron Nimzowitsch, Berlin 1928, Nimzo-Indian
Defence (E38), 0-1 Two of the top hypermoderns cross swords
to showcase their latest ideas.
* Efim Bogoljubov vs Aron Nimzowitsch, San Remo 1930,
NimzoIndian Defence, Bogoljubov Variation (E23), 0-1
Another encounter of hypermodern heavyweights sees
Nimzowitsch with two knights in the endgame, and he handles
them perfectly.
++3. Joseph Henry Blackburne - Aron Nimzowitsch, St. Petersburg
1914
St. Petersburg 1914
White: Joseph Henry Blackburne
Black: Aron Nimzowitsch
Result: 1-0
ECO: A00 - van't Kruijs Opening
Notes by R.J. Macdonald
1. e3
(This highly unusual opening move is known as The van't Kruijs Opening.)
1. ... d6
(Another highly unusual first move. Both players are obviously trying to induce
the opposing side into making the first major commitment, and neither has yet
done so. Black could achieve equality with either (a) 1. ... Nf6 2. d4 d5 3.
Nf3 Nc6 4. Nbd2 e6 5. Bd3 Bd6 6. 0-0 0-0 7. e4 e5 8. dxe5 Nxe5; or (b) 1. ...
d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Nbd2 e6 5. Bd3 Bd6 6. 0-0 0-0 7. e4 e5 8. dxe5 Nxe5.)
2. f4 e5
(2. ... Nf6 3. Nc3 would equalize.)
3. fxe5
(3. Nc3 Nf6 would offer equal chances.)
3. ... dxe5
(Black now has a slight advantage.)
4. Nc3 Bd6
5. e4
(5. Nf3 Nf6 gives black a slight edge.)
5. ... Be6
(White's bishop can't move from c1. 5. ... Nf6!? gives black a moderate
advantage.)
6. Nf3
(Black has a slight advantage now.)
6. ... f6
(This move Consolidates g5. 6. ... Nc6 7. Bb5 Nge7 8. d4 exd4 9. Nxd4 would
give black a slight advantage.)
7. d3
(7. d4!? would give white a moderate advantage.)
7. ... Ne7
(7. ... Nc6 8. Be2 offers equal chances.)
8. Be3
(8. d4!? 0-0 9. dxe5 Bxe5 10. Qxd8 Rxd8 11. Nxe5 fxe5 12. Bd2 offers equal
chances.)
8. ... c5
(Black has a slight edge.)
9. Qd2 Nbc6
10. Be2
(10. Nb5 0-0 would give black a slight edge.)
10. ... Nd4
(Black has a strong position.)
11. 0-0 0-0
12. Nd1
(12. a4 Nec6 gives black a strong position.)
12. ... Nec6
(12. ... Ng6 13. Nc3 gives black a strong position.)
13. c3
(This move controls b4.)
13. ... Nxe2+
14. Qxe2 Re8
(14. ... Qd7 15. Bf2 gives black a strong position.)
15. Nh4
(15. Bf2 Qd7 gives black a slight edge.)
15. ... Bf8
(15. ... Qd7 16. b3 gives black a slight advantage.)
16. Nf5
(16. Bf2 Qd7 17. Ne3 Red8 gives black a moderate advantage.)
16. ... Kh8
17. g4
(17. a3 g6 18. Nh4 Na5 gives black a slight advantage.)
17. ... Qd7
(17. ... g6 18. Nh6 is strong for black.)
18. Nf2 a5
(18. ... g6 19. Nh6 gives black a strong position.)
19. a3
(19. g5 Bxf5 20. exf5 Nd4 (20. ... Qxf5?! 21. gxf6 Qg6+ 22. Kh1 gxf6 23. Ne4
offers equal chances) 21. Bxd4 exd4 is strong for black.)
19. ... b5
(19. ... g6 20. Nh6 gives black a moderate advantage.)
20. Rad1
(20. Qf3 g6 21. Nh6 Qg7 gives black a strong position.)
20. ... Rab8
(Black prepares to play b4. 20. ... g6 21. Nh6 would give black a moderate
advantage.)
21. Rd2
(21. g5 fxg5 (Weaker is 21. ... Bxf5 22. exf5 Qxf5 23. Ng4 with equal chances)
22. Bxg5 b4 gives black a strong position. Weaker here is 22. ... Bxf5 23. exf5
Qxf5 24. Ne4 with equal chances.)
21. ... b4
(21. ... g6!? 22. Nh4 b4 23. axb4 axb4 is strong for black. 23. ... cxb4?! 24.
d4 offers black a slight edge.)
22. axb4
(Black has a strong position.)
22. ... axb4
Key Move Diagram:
1r2rb1k/
3q2pp/
2n1bp2/
2p1pN2/
1p2P1P1/
2PPB3/
1P1RQN1P/
5RK1
Position after black's 22nd move.
23. c4?
(Better is 23. d4 exd4 24. cxd4 cxd4 25. Nxd4 Nxd4 26. Rxd4 giving black a
moderate advantage.)
23. ... Ra8
24. Qf3 Ra2
(Better is 24. ... g6!? with a very strong position for black.)
25. g5
(Black has a strong position.)
Key Move Diagram:
4rb1k/
3q2pp/
2n1bp2/
2p1pNP1/
1pP1P3/
3PBQ2/
rP1R1N1P/
5RK1
Position after white's 25th move.
25. ... g6??
(Black threatens to win material: g6xf5, but forfeits the advantage. Better is
25. ... fxg5 26. Bxg5 Nd4 27. Nxd4 Qxd4 with a strong position for black.
Weaker is 27. ... cxd4 28. Ng4 Qd6 29. Rdf2, which would give white a strong
position. After 27. ... exd4?! 28. Ng4 Bg8 29. Nf6 gxf6 30. Bxf6+ Bg7 31. Rg2
both sides have equal chances.)
26. Ng4
(Now white has a slight edge.)
26. ... gxf5
(26. ... Nd4 27. Qf2 gxf5 28. Nxf6 gives white a slight advantage.)
27. Nxf6
(This gives white a strong position.)
27. ... Nd4
28. Qf2
(White has a cramped position, but 28. Qd1 Qd8 29. Nxe8 Qxe8 30. Bxd4 exd4
(Weaker is 30. ... cxd4 31. exf5 Bd7 32. Qg4 with a moderate advantage for
white) 31. exf5 Bc8 gives white a slight advantage.)
28. ... Qc6
(28. ... Qe7 29. Nxe8 Qxe8 30. Bxd4 exd4 31. exf5 gives white a slight
advantage.)
29. Nxe8
(29. Bxd4 exd4 (29. ... cxd4? 30. exf5 Bc8 31. Nxe8 is strong for white) 30.
exf5 Bc8 gives white a moderate advantage.)
29. ... Qxe8
(White has a slight advantage.)
30. Bxd4 exd4
(Instead, 30. ... cxd4 31. exf5 Bd7 32. Qh4 gives white a moderate advantage.)
31. exf5
(White has a new passed pawn on f5.)
31. ... Bd7
32. Re1
(White threatens to win material: Re1xe8.)
32. ... Qf7
(32. ... Qh5 33. Qf4 Ra6 34. Qe5+ Kg8 35. Qd5+ Qf7 36. Qb7 would offer equal
chances.)
33. Qh4
(33. Qf3 Ra6 is strong for white. 33. ... Qxf5?? The pawn is deadly bait and
will cause Black grave problems after 34. Qxf5 Bxf5 35. Rf1, with a decisive
advantage for white. 33. ... Bxf5?? Capturing this pawn is a mistake too: 34.
Rf2 is very strong for white.)
33. ... Ra8
(33. ... Ra6 34. Rg2 Kg8 35. Rf2 is strong for white.)
34. Rf2
Key Move Diagram:
r4b1k/
3b1q1p/
8/
2p2PP1/
1pPp3Q/
3P4/
1P3R1P/
4R1K1
Position after white's 34th move.
34. ... Bc6?
(34. ... b3 35. Qf4 is relatively better for black, but white still has a
strong position.)
Key Move Diagram:
r4b1k/
5q1p/
2b5/
2p2PP1/
1pPp3Q/
3P4/
1P3R1P/
4R1K1
Position after black's 34th move.
35. Qg4??
(White is ruining his position. Better is 35. g6, making sure everything is
clear: 35. ... Qg7 36. Rfe2 is very strong for white.)
35. ... Re8
36. Rxe8 Qxe8
(36. ... Bxe8!? 37. Qe4 Bd7 seems better but white still has a strong position.)
37. Re2
(White has a decisive advantage.)
37. ... Qd7?
(Better is 37. ... Qf7 38. g6 Qg7, but white has a decisive advantage.)
38. Re6
(White intends to play g6.)
38. ... Ba8
(38. ... Ba4 is the last straw, but after 39. g6 Qg7 white has a decisive
advantage.)
39. g6 hxg6
(39. ... Qg7 is the last chance for counterplay, but after 40. Qh4 Kg8 white
should win.)
40. Rxg6 Qh7
41. Qg3 Qh5
(Black could try 41. ... Bc6, hoping against hope, but 42. Qe5+ Bg7 43. Qb8+
Qg8 44. Qxg8+ Kxg8 45. Rxc6 Be5 should win for white.)
42. Rg4
(Black resigned. White wins easily after 42. Rg4 Qxf5 43. Rh4+ Qh7 44. Qe5+ Kg8
45. Rg4+ Qg7 46. Rxg7+ Bxg7 47. Qxc5>)
1-0
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