Aron Nimzowitsch: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Latvian-born Danish chess player and theoreticianwriter (1886–1935)}}

| name = Aron Nimzowitsch

| image = Aron Nimzowitsch.jpg

| image_size =220 200

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1886|11|7|df=y}}

| birth_place = [[Riga]], [[Governorate of Livonia]], [[Russian Empire]]

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1935|3|16|1886|11|7}}

| death_place = [[Copenhagen]], Denmark

| citizenship =[[Denmark]] Russian Empire (1922–1935until 1917)<br/>Stateless (1917–1922)<br/>[[Russian Empire]]Denmark (until 19171922–1935)

| occupation = Chess player

| notable_works = ''[[My System]]''

'''Aron Nimzowitsch''' ({{lang-langx|lv|Ārons Nimcovičs}},; {{lang-langx|ru|Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич}}, ''Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich''; 7 November 1886&nbsp;– 16 March 1935) was a [[Latvia]]nLatvian-born Latvian-Danish [[chess]] player and writer. In the late 1920s, Nimzowitsch was one of the best chess players in the world. He was the foremost figure amongst the [[Hypermodernism (chess)|hypermoderns]] and wrote a very influential book on chess theory: ''[[My System]]'' (1925–1927). Nimzowitsch's seminal work ''Chess Praxis'', originally published in German in 1929, was purchased by a pre-teen and future World Champion [[Tigran Petrosian]] and was to have a great influence on his development as a chess player.<ref>{{cite book | last = Vasiliev | first = Vik L. | title = Tigran Petrosian: His Life and Games | publisher = B. T. Barsford | isbn = 9780713428186| page = | year = 1974}}</ref>

Born in [[Riga]], then part of the [[Russian Empire]], the Jewish [[Yiddish]]-speaking Nimzowitsch came from a wealthy family, where he learned [[chess]] from his father Shaya Abramovich Nimzowitsch (1860, [[Pinsk]] – 1918), who was a timber merchant. By 1897, the family lived in [[Daugavpils|Dvinsk]].<ref>Archival data are available at JewishGen.org. Surname is also in some documents written as N''e''mtsovich.</ref> Mother's name: Esphir Nohumovna Nimzowitsch (born Rabinovich, 1865, [[Polotsk]] – 1937), sister – Tsilya-Kreyna Pevzner, brothers Yakov, Osey and Benno. 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. He won his first international tournament at Munich 1906.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home19.inet.tele.dk/kastanie/ |title=The ultimate Nimzowitsch |access-date=2009-01-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090710021600/http://home19.inet.tele.dk/kastanie/ |archive-date=10 July 2009 |df=dmy }}</ref> Then, he tied for first with [[Alexander Alekhine]] at Saint Petersburg 1913/14 (the eighth [[Russian Chess Championship|All-Russian Masters' Tournament]]).<ref>{{cite web|author=Alexey Popovsky|title=All-Russian Tournament- Peterburg 23.12.1913-17.1.1914|url=http://al20102007.narod.ru/ch_urs/1913/ch_rus13.html|access-date=2021-01-23|website=Russian Chess Base}}</ref>

During the 1917 [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]], Nimzowitsch was in the [[Baltic region|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.<ref name="KmochGrandmasters">[[Hans Kmoch|Kmoch, Hans]]. [http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kmoch02.pdf "Grandmasters I Have Known: Aaron Nimzovich"] (PDF). ''[[Chesscafe.com]]''. Retrieved 2 March 2009. {{paywallsubscription required}}</ref>

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, although much in this book is generally held to be a rehash of material already presented in ''Mein System''. ''Mein System'' is considered to be one of the most influential chess books of all time.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nimzowitsch for the 21st Century|author=Jacob Aagaard|author-link=Jacob Aagaard|url=http://chesscafe.com/text/skittles311.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://chesscafe.com/text/skittles311.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|format=PDF|website=Chesscafe.com}} {{subscription required}}</ref> 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 accompanied by his idiosyncratic, hyperbolic commentary which is often as entertaining as instructive.

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 GM Raymond Keene and others have referred to 1.Nf3 followed by 2.b3 as the [[Larsen's Opening|Nimzowitsch–Larsen Attack]]. Keene wrote a book about the opening with that title.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keene |first=Raymond |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16442689 |title=Nimzowitsch-Larsen attack : 1 b3 |date=1977 |publisher=Batsford |isbn=0-7134-0244-X |location=London |oclc=16442689}}</ref> These openings all exemplify Nimzowitsch's ideas about controlling the center with pieces instead of pawns. He was also vital in the development of two important systems in the [[French Defence]], the [[French Defence#Winawer Variation: 3...Bb4|Winawer Variation]] (in some places called the Nimzowitsch Variation; its moves are 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4) and the [[French Defence#Advance Variation: 3.e5|Advance Variation]] (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5). He also pioneered two provocative variations of the [[Sicilian Defence]]: the [[Sicilian Defence#2.Nf3: Black's second move alternatives|Nimzowitsch Variation]], 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6, which invites 3.e5 Nd5 (similar to [[Alekhine's Defence]]) and 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 d5?! (the latter regarded as dubious today). International Master [[John L. Watson]] has dubbed the line 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4 the "Nimzo-English", employing this designation in Chapter 11 of his book ''Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 3''.<ref>Gambit Publications, 2008, {{ISBN|978-1-904600-98-5}}</ref>

There are many entertaining anecdotes regarding Nimzowitsch—some less savory than others. An article by Hans Kmoch and Fred Reinfeld entitled "Unconventional Surrender" on page 55 of the February 1950 ''Chess Review'' tells of the "... example of Nimzowitsch, who ... once missed first prize in a tournament in Berlin by losing to Sämisch, and when it became clear he was going to lose the game, Nimzowitsch stood up on the table and shouted, 'Gegen diesen Idioten muss ich verlieren!' ('That I shouldmust lose to this idiot!')".

[[Category:SportspeopleChess players from Riga]]

[[Category:Danish people of LatvianRussian-Jewish descent]]

[[Category:ChessDanish chess writers]]

[[Category:Emigrants from LatviaImmigrants to Denmark]]