Richard Reti

Richard Reti was born on May 28, 1889 in Pezinok (now Slovakia). During the 1910s and 1920s, he was one of the top players in the world. He began his career as a fiercely combinative classical player, preferring openings such as the King's Gambit (1. e4 e5 2. f4). After the end of World War 1, he changed his playing style radically, and he became one of the principal proponents of hypermodernism, along with Aron Nimzowitsch and others.

With the notable exception of Nimzowitsch's acclaimed book My System, he is considered to be the movement's foremost literary contributor. He was also a notable composer of endgame studies. His writings have also become classics in the chess world. New Ideas in Chess (1922) and Masters of the Chessboard (1930) are still studied today.

The Reti Opening (1. Nf3 d5 2. c4) is named after him. He famously defeated the World Champion Jose Raul Capablanca in New York of 1924 using this opening system. This was Capablanca's first defeat in eight years and the first since he became World Champion. In 1925, Reti set the world record for blindfold chess with 29 games played simultaneously. Of these, he won 21, drew 6, and lost only 2 games. He died on June 6, 1929 in Prague from scarlet fever.

Download 247 chess games by Richard Reti

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