ARON NIMZOWITSCH (born Nov-07-1886, died Mar-16-1935, 48 years old) Latvia (federation/nationality Denmark) [what is this?] Aron Nimzowitsch was born in Riga, Latvia (then part of the Russian Empire) in 1886. He came to prominence in the chess world just before the First World War. He finished joint second with Rudolf Spielmann, half a point behind Akiba Rubinstein, at San Sebastian (1912). He was Russian Champion in 1913 (jointly with Alexander Alekhine) at St. Petersburg. Like Alekhine and others, he fled Russia after the 1917 Russian revolution. He initially moved to Berlin. In 1922, he finally settled in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he lived for the rest of his life. Nimzowitsch won a string of international events in the mid-1920s which led him to challenge Jose Raul Capablanca to a world championship match in 1925, but negotiations dissolved after monetary backing could not be found. He took first place at Copenhagen (1923), Dresden (1926), Karlsbad (1929) and Frankfurt (1930). Nimzowitsch's chess theories flew in the face of convention. He had a lengthy and bitter conflict with Siegbert Tarrasch over which ideas constituted proper chess play. While Tarrasch refined the classical approach of Wilhelm Steinitz, that the center had to be controlled and occupied by pawns, Nimzowitsch shattered these dogmatic assumptions, and proposed the controlling of the center with pieces from afar. In this way, the opponent is invited to occupy the center with pawns which thus become the targets of attack. This idea became known as the hypermodern school of chess thought. Nimzowitsch, along with other hypermodern thinkers such as Richard Reti, revolutionized chess with their argument that controlling the center of the board matters more than actually occupying it. Nimzowitsch is also a highly-regarded chess writer, most famously for his controversial 1925 book My System, which is considered a classic by some prominent modern players but derided by others. Other books include Chess Praxis, which further expounds the hypermodern idea, and the seminal work The Blockade (Die Blockade in German), which explores the strategy implied by his famous maxim, "First restrain, then blockade, finally destroy!" As a profound opening theoretician, Nimzowitsch has left a legacy of variations, many of which are still popular today. The Nimzo-Indian Defense (1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 e6 3.♘c3 ♗b4) is one of the best-respected defenses to 1.d4, to such an extent that most players avoid it with 3.Nf3 or 3.g3. He played a key role in the development of two important lines in the French Defense: the Winawer Variation (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.♘c3 ♗b4) and the Advance Variation (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5). His name is also attached to the Sicilian, Nimzovich-Rubinstein (B29) Variation (1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 ♘f6), the Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack (1.♘f3 followed by 2.b3), the Nimzowitsch Defense (1.e4 ♘c6), and the Nimzo-English (1.c4 ♘f6 2.♘c3 e6 3.♘f3 ♗b4). He suddenly took ill at the end of 1934, and died of pneumonia three months later on March 16, 1935 in Copenhagen. Wikipedia article: Aron Nimzowitsch Last updated: 2023-06-27 11:05:43

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page 1 of 29; games 1-25 of 713  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. A Nimzowitsch vs NN 1-0 18 1896 Riga B01 Scandinavian 2. E Schroeder vs A Nimzowitsch 0-1 20 1903 Cafe Kaiserhof offhand game C63 Ruy Lopez, Schliemann Defense 3. B Blumenfeld vs A Nimzowitsch 1-0 29 1903 Berlin C45 Scotch Game 4. Tarrasch vs A Nimzowitsch ½-½ 71 1904 Offhand game D07 Queen's Gambit Declined, Chigorin Defense 5. E Cohn vs A Nimzowitsch 0-1 30 1904 14th DSB Congress - Hauptturnier A C41 Philidor Defense 6. Vidmar vs A Nimzowitsch 1-0 48 1904 14th DSB Congress - Hauptturnier A D02 Queen's Pawn Game 7. A Nimzowitsch vs W Hilse 1-0 65 1904 14th DSB Congress - Hauptturnier A C27 Vienna Game 8. B Gregory vs A Nimzowitsch 1-0 36 1904 14th DSB Congress - Hauptturnier A A30 English, Symmetrical 9. P Kaegbein vs A Nimzowitsch 1-0 42 1904 14th DSB Congress - Hauptturnier A D07 Queen's Gambit Declined, Chigorin Defense 10. A Nimzowitsch vs Duras 1-0 55 1904 14th DSB Congress - Hauptturnier A B15 Caro-Kann 11. A Nimzowitsch vs L Forgacs 0-1 52 1905 Austro-Hungarian championship C45 Scotch Game 12. A Nimzowitsch vs Schlechter 0-1 26 1905 Austro-Hungarian championship B22 Sicilian, Alapin 13. H Wolf vs A Nimzowitsch ½-½ 34 1905 Austro-Hungarian championship C63 Ruy Lopez, Schliemann Defense 14. L Forgacs vs A Nimzowitsch   0-1 34 1905 Austro-Hungarian championship C63 Ruy Lopez, Schliemann Defense 15. A Nimzowitsch vs Albin 1-0 38 1905 Austro-Hungarian championship B02 Alekhine's Defense 16. A Nimzowitsch vs Spielmann 1-0 42 1905 Nimzowitsch - Spielmann, 1st Match C45 Scotch Game 17. A Nimzowitsch vs Spielmann 1-0 20 1905 Cafe Orlando di Lasso offhand C44 King's Pawn Game 18. Spielmann vs A Nimzowitsch 1-0 19 1905 Nimzowitsch - Spielmann, 1st Match B15 Caro-Kann 19. A Nimzowitsch vs Spielmann   1-0 35 1905 Nimzowitsch - Spielmann, 1st Match C45 Scotch Game 20. A Nimzowitsch vs Spielmann ½-½ 36 1905 Nimzowitsch - Spielmann, 1st Match C45 Scotch Game 21. A Nimzowitsch vs K Satzinger   1-0 35 1905 1st simul B22 Sicilian, Alapin 22. A Nimzowitsch vs Fr Teltscher 1-0 28 1905 1st simul B20 Sicilian 23. A Nimzowitsch vs D Przepiorka ½-½ 25 1905 Barmen Meisterturnier B B22 Sicilian, Alapin 24. Spielmann vs A Nimzowitsch 1-0 30 1905 Barmen Meisterturnier B C25 Vienna 25. A Nimzowitsch vs L Forgacs 0-1 33 1905 Barmen Meisterturnier B C45 Scotch Game  page 1 of 29; games 1-25 of 713

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 75 OF 76 ·  Later Kibitzing> Nov-07-17    cunctatorg: Nimzowitsch's play was quite dynamic and dynamics and is a major request of "Nimzowitsch's System". By the way I believe that the best, more successful (and even nigthmarish - ask Garry Kasparov of 1984 - example of Nimzowitsch-like play is not to be found at Tigran Petrosian's wonderful games but at the Karpov's ones... Nov-07-17    FSR: Fun fact (well, not fun for Nimzowitsch): Bent Larsen, whose name is linked with Nimzowitsch's in the <Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack>, was born in Denmark 12 days before Nimzowitsch died there. Nov-08-17    An Englishman: Good Evening: How funny that the list of "Notable Games" includes a spurious one! Nimzowitsch vs Systemsson, 1927 Nov-08-17    cunctatorg: Aron Nimzowitsch also had a keen sense of humor, therefore he would gladly agree with that ... misuse of the aforementioned, infamous, fictional game! Mar-04-18    RookFile: Karpov would line you up in an endgame and pulverize you. Nothing wrong with that, of course. Apr-12-18    Ron: Two chess players: One was embarrassed by Capablanca and had a losing record against Alekhine. The other had a losing record against Capablanca but it's not too bad and also deafeated Alekhine in the World Championship. The former is Nimzovitch while the latter is Euwe. Yet people to this day go Nimzovitch Nimzovitch Nimzovitch. Nimzovitch was like the big talking modern athlete except that the big talking modern athlete has greater justification for his big talking. Apr-12-18    Retireborn: <Ron> I think the point is that professionals like Nimzo and Alekhine talked big, as you put it, because they wanted to get invitations, simuls, and sell their books. They were advertising, if you like. Not necessary for Euwe who was a teacher or professor and essentially an amateur chess player all his life. Personally I find Nimzo's writing style quite annoying, but there is no doubt that his books have made a bigger impact than Euwe's. Apr-18-18    ketchuplover: He is now a world chess hall of famer Jun-01-18    takchess: http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... about the Nimzowitsch-Hofer game from Ct-Art Jun-01-18    takchess: [FEN " click for larger view "] 1. Qh6 gxh6 2. Ng4 d2 3. Nxh6# 1-0 from ct-art. White to move Nov-07-18    cunctatorg: A great chess genius, he drastically changed chess forever and furthermore he somehow shaped the future of chess. His contribution to the theory of chess strategy and -consequently- to the theory of chess openings is unparalleled!! Nov-07-18    RookFile: He was a genius at marketing. Aug-10-19    gezafan: My own opinion is that Nimzovich was an excellent player and that My System is an excellent book. He probably was the number three player in the world at one point, behind only Alekhine and Capablanca, who were two of the all time greats. My System has lots of useful information that players can use. They don't have to use every idea in every game but I believe those who read My System wll be able to apply Nimzovich's ideas in their own games. Aug-29-19    RookFile: Let's put him down as the #3 tournament player in the world, and at the same time acknowledge he wasn't a good match player, considering that he lost matches to folks like Bogo, Stahlberg, and Leonhardt. Nov-07-19    gars: There must be something different in Riga, it gave the Chess World two off-the-mainstream players in fifty years: Nimzowitsch (born in 1886) and Tal (born in 1936). Nov-07-19    fabelhaft: Then Shirov (1972) was only fourteen years off from another 50 years. Apr-23-20    LEPJe: Nimzovich top ten !! Aug-16-21    Bartleby: Nimzowitsch has one of my favorites quotes: "Even the laziest king flees wildly in the face of double check!" Besides the amusing imagery, it's handy to remember because it's quite true during a blitz game, no matter how chaotic the board or how many of your pieces are hanging. Aug-16-21    sudoplatov: EDO has Nimzovich in the top 3 from 1926 to 1929. Seems about right. In the top 10 from 1912 to 1934. Aug-16-21    SChesshevsky: <...Nimzovich was an excellent player and that My System is an excellent book...> Nimzo's writing was interesting and somewhat helpful but think his play was far more instructive. Probably one of the best, maybe the best, at pawn structure and color complex square control. Games show he wasn't particular about which color squares to control: Nimzowitsch vs Saemisch, 1929 Nimzowitsch vs Tartakower, 1929 Aug-17-21    OhioChessFan: Wow, <Bartleby> back after 10 years... Aug-17-21    Bartleby: <OhioChessFan: Wow, Bartleby back after 10 years...> I preferred not to post for...awhile. Mar-13-23    Check It Out: <There is no such thing as an absolutely freeing move. A freeing move in a position in which development has not been carried far always proves illusory, and vice versa, a move which does not come at all in the category of freeing moves can, given a surplus of tempi to our credit, lead to a very free game.> Nimzo's writing is unwieldy. Jul-02-23    nizmo11: I have a question about game 56 in <Chess Praxis>, (Yates - Nimzowitsch, London 1927): Where it was played? The game started with 1. e4 c5 2. ♘f3 ♘f6 3. e5 ♘d5 4. ♘c3 ♘xc3 5. bxc3 ♕a5!?. It is not Yates vs Nimzowitsch, 1927, London (1927), where Yates played 4.♗c4 . Surprisingly CG does not have the 'Praxis' game, and Opening Explorer does not show any games with 5...♕a5. Jul-02-23    Retireborn: <nimzo11> That game is from the Imperial Chess Club tournament, July 1927. The other game you quote is from the British Empire club tournament in October of that year, which was stronger. You may want to submit the game. 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