Wilhelm Steinitz

Wilhelm Steinitz was born on May 17, 1836 in Prague, Czech Republic (then part of the Austrian Empire). He was an Austrian chess player and the first official world chess champion. Known for his original contributions to chess strategy such as his ideas on positional play, his theories were held in high regard by such disparate chess players as Aron Nimzowitsch, Siegbert Tarrasch, and Emanuel Lasker.

Steinitz began to play professional chess at the age of 26 in England. His play at this time was no different than that of his current contemporaries: sharp, aggressive, and full of sacrificial play. In 1873 however, his play suddenly changed. He gave immense concern to what we now call the positional elements to chess: pawn structure, space, outposts for knights, etc. Slowly he perfected his new method of play that helped form him into the first Chess World Champion.

Steinitz was regarded the best player in the world ever since his victory over Adolf Anderssen in their 1866 match. His 1886 match victory over Johannes Zuckertort is considered by most as the first World Chess Championship.

Steinitz defended his title from 1886 to 1894, retaining it in four matches against Zuckertort, Mikhail Chigorin (two times) and Isidor Gunsberg. He lost two matches against Lasker, in 1894 and 1896, who became his successor as world champion. Steinitz adopted a scientific approach to his study of the game. He would formulate his theories in scientific terms and "laws".

Steinitz became a US citizen on November 23, 1888, having resided for five years in New York, and he changed his first name from Wilhelm to William. After losing the world title, Steinitz developed severe mental health problems and spent his last years in a number of institutions in New York, making a series of increasingly bizarre claims (including his having won-at pawn odds!-a game of chess with God conducted via an invisible telephone line). His chess activities had not yielded any great financial rewards, and he died a pauper in his adopted home city on August 12, 1900. Steinitz is buried in Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn, New York.

Download 75 chess games by Wilhelm Steinitz

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