Games - Aron Nimzowitsch

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	Games - Aron Nimzowitsch

Aron Nimzowitsch (also Nimzovich or Niemzowitsch) (November 7, 1886, Riga – March 16, 1935, Denmark) was a Latvian chess grandmaster. He was the foremost figure amongst the hypermoderns.

Nimzowitsch came from a wealthy Jewish family and learned chess from his father. He travelled to Germany in 1904 to study philosophy, but began a career as a professional chess player that same year. After tumultuous years during and after World War I, Nimzowitsch moved to Copenhagen in 1922 (some sources say 1920) and lived there until his death. He is buried in Bispebjerg Cemetery in Copenhagen.

Nimzowitsch's chess theories flew in the face of pre-existing convention. While there were those like Alekhine, 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 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, prophylaxis — playing to prevent the opponent's plans — and the fianchetto (in the case of the fianchetto, one could argue that it was a rediscovery, but Nimzowitsch certainly refined its use). He also formalised strategies using open files, outposts and invasion of the seventh rank, all of which are widely accepted today.

He wrote three books on chess strategy: Mein System (My System) (1925), Die Praxis meines System (The Practice of my System) (commonly known as Chess Praxis), and Die Blockade (The Blockade). The last of these is hard to find in English, however, and 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 My System 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.

At the height of his career, Nimzowitsch was the third best player in the world, immediately behind Alekhine and Capablanca. Although a contemporary of these two, he never played either of them in a serious match. His most notable successes were first place finishes at Copenhagen 1928, the Carlsbad tournaments of 1929, 1933, and 1934 and second place behind Alekhine at San Remo in 1930. Nimzowitsch never developed a knack for match play though; his best match success was a draw with Alekhine (though this match was only three games long and was in 1914, 13 years before Alekhine became world champion).

Many chess openings and variations are named after him, 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). Both of these exemplify Nimzowitsch's ideas about controlling the center with pieces. He was also vital in the development of two French Defense systems, 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).

Nimzowitsch influenced numerous other players, including Richard Réti and Tigran Petrosian, and his influence is still felt today.

There are numerous entertaining anecdotes regarding Nimzowitch—some more savory than others. For example, he once missed the first prize by losing to Sämisch; immediately upon learning this, Nimzowitsch got up on a table and shouted, “Why must I lose to this idiot?”

Although Nimzowitsch did not win a single game against Capablanca, he fared better against Alekhine. He even beat Alekhine with black pieces in St. Petersburg in 1914 (moves given in Algebraic chess notation):

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