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Nimzowitsch 
 
Aron Nimzowitsch
Number of games in database: 546
Years covered: 1896 to 1934
Overall record: +247 -104 =190 (63.2%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
      5 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Four Knights (35) 
    C49 C47 C48
 Reti System (30) 
    A06 A04
 French Defense (28) 
    C02 C11 C01 C00 C12
 English (16) 
    A18 A16 A15 A13 A12
 Queen's Pawn Game (14) 
    D02 E10 D05 A50 D00
 English, 1 c4 e5 (13) 
    A28 A20 A27 A21 A25
With the Black pieces:
 Queen's Pawn Game (43) 
    A46 D02 D05 D04 A45
 French Defense (42) 
    C01 C17 C15 C11 C00
 Caro-Kann (29) 
    B13 B10 B15 B12 B16
 Nimzo Indian (28) 
    E32 E22 E23 E21 E20
 Uncommon Opening (19) 
    B00 A00
 Queen's Indian (18) 
    E15 E12 E16 E18
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Samisch vs Nimzowitsch, 1923 0-1
   Nimzowitsch vs Hakansson, 1922 1-0
   Nimzowitsch vs Systemsson, 1927 1-0
   A E Post vs Nimzowitsch, 1905 1/2-1/2
   Nimzowitsch vs Rubinstein, 1926 1-0
   P F Johner vs Nimzowitsch, 1926 0-1
   Nimzowitsch vs Alapin, 1914 1-0
   Nimzowitsch vs Salwe, 1911 1-0
   N Mannheimer vs Nimzowitsch, 1930 0-1
   H K Mattison vs Nimzowitsch, 1929 0-1

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Nimzovich: Chess Praxis by setuhanu01
   Hypermodern chess: Aron Nimzovich by Reinfeld by nikolaas
   Bled 1931 by Benzol
   Bled 1931 international tournament by cuendillar
   New York 1927 by Benzol
   San Sebastian 1912 by Archives
   Aron Nimzowitsch's Finest Hour! by AgentRgent
   "Aron Nimzowitsch: A Reappraisal" by Keene by chessgames.com
   nimzowitch by zakir
   Marienbad 1925 by suenteus po 147
   Zurich 1934 by suenteus po 147
   San Remo 1930 by suenteus po 147
   ray keene's favorite games by ray keene

GAMES ANNOTATED BY NIMZOWITSCH: [what is this?]
   Samisch vs Nimzowitsch, 1923
   Nimzowitsch vs Systemsson, 1927
   Nimzowitsch vs Hakansson, 1922
   Nimzowitsch vs Alapin, 1914
   Nimzowitsch vs Salwe, 1911
   >> 50 GAMES ANNOTATED BY NIMZOWITSCH

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ARON NIMZOWITSCH
(born Nov-07-1886, died Mar-16-1935) Latvia (citizen of Denmark)

[what is this?]
Aron Nimzowitsch, born in Riga, Latvia in 1886, came to prominence in the chess world just before the First World War. He 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.

Nimzowitsch's chess theories flew in the face of convention. He had a lengthy and somewhat 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, proving to the chess world that controlling the center of the board mattered more than actually occupying it. Nimzowitsch is also a highly-regarded chess writer, most famously for the 1925 classic My System, to this day regarded as one of the most important chess books of all time. Other books include Chess Praxis which further expounds the hypermodern idea, and the seminal work The Blockade 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 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4) is named after him, as are several variations of the French Defense. He also is credited in part for the Sicilian, Nimzovich-Rubinstein (B29) Variation (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6), the Nimzovich-Larsen Attack (A01) (1.b3), the Nimzowitsch Defense (1.e4 Nc6), and many others.


 page 1 of 22; games 1-25 of 546  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves Year Event/LocaleOpening
1. Nimzowitsch vs NN 1-018 1896 Riga, LatviaB01 Scandinavian
2. B Blumenfeld vs Nimzowitsch 1-029 1903 BerlinC45 Scotch Game
3. Vidmar vs Nimzowitsch  1-048 1904 Coburg AD02 Queen's Pawn Game
4. Nimzowitsch vs Duras 1-055 1904 Coburg AB15 Caro-Kann
5. Kagbein vs Nimzowitsch 1-042 1904 Coburg AD07 Queen's Gambit Declined, Chigorin Defense
6. B Gregory vs Nimzowitsch  1-036 1904 Coburg AA30 English, Symmetrical
7. Tarrasch vs Nimzowitsch ½-½71 1904 Nuremberg - Casual gameD07 Queen's Gambit Declined, Chigorin Defense
8. E Cohn vs Nimzowitsch 0-130 1904 Coburg AC41 Philidor Defense
9. Nimzowitsch vs Hilse 1-065 1904 CoburgC25 Vienna
10. Nimzowitsch vs Reggio  ½-½42 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERC47 Four Knights
11. F J Lee vs Nimzowitsch  ½-½61 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERD02 Queen's Pawn Game
12. Spielmann vs Nimzowitsch 1-030 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERC25 Vienna
13. Nimzowitsch vs W Cohn 1-024 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERC42 Petrov Defense
14. H Caro vs Nimzowitsch 1-036 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERA34 English, Symmetrical
15. W Schwan vs Nimzowitsch  ½-½44 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERA02 Bird's Opening
16. Nimzowitsch vs Przepiorka  ½-½25 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERB22 Sicilian, Alapin
17. B Leussen vs Nimzowitsch 1-022 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERD07 Queen's Gambit Declined, Chigorin Defense
18. Nimzowitsch vs K Ignacy  0-154 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERB22 Sicilian, Alapin
19. Nimzowitsch vs J W Baird 1-038 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERC45 Scotch Game
20. Nimzowitsch vs Spielmann  ½-½36 1905 07, Munich mC45 Scotch Game
21. Nimzowitsch vs J Perlis 0-136 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERB40 Sicilian
22. A H Petterson vs Nimzowitsch 0-130 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERC63 Ruy Lopez, Schliemann Defense
23. Nimzowitsch vs A Neumann  ½-½50 1905 Barmen Masters B, GERB22 Sicilian, Alapin
24. H Wolf vs Nimzowitsch  ½-½30 1905 Vienna Masters TournamentC63 Ruy Lopez, Schliemann Defense
25. Spielmann vs Nimzowitsch 1-019 1905 MunichB15 Caro-Kann
 page 1 of 22; games 1-25 of 546  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Nimzowitsch wins | Nimzowitsch loses  
 

from the House of Staunton

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 47 OF 47 ·  Later Kibitzing >
Aug-04-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Ziggurat: <najdorfman> Supposedly, his name was really spelled Niemzowitsch (with an extra e in there) but when he got a passport, the official misspelled it as Nimzowitsch. However, Nimzo was so thrilled at getting the passport that he didn't bother to point out the mistake. Or something to that effect. That's why there are at least two "correct" spellings.
Aug-14-08   whiteshark:

"Don't try to remember as many variations as you can! A fine sense of position should set you free from the slavery of variations. So, do your best to develop your sense of position."

--A. Nimzovich

Aug-14-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  AgentRgent: <ravel5184> Try reading those annotations again, and this time turn your sarcasm detector on! ;-)

<Petrosianic: "to a lesser degree the English opening". An interesting phrase. So the English is hypermodern... but it's a LESSER hypermodern opening than some... > This is actually pretty accurate. The English initially attempts to control the center from the flanks (c pawn, Nc3, Nf3, etc.) but almost invariably white plays a relatively early d4 which is rather against hypermodern principles.

<Old Indian Defense> I tend to agree.. The Old Indian (which I tend to prefer over the Kings Indian despite my Hypermodern bent) aims to play and hold an e5 pawn, not especially hypermodern.

<RookFile: Good old Capa slapped Nimzo around at every form of chess they played against each other.> Capa beat EVERYONE when he was focused. If the worst you can say about Nimzowitsch is that Capa beat him, well that's no real slight against him.

Sep-04-08   whiteshark: On Prague 1931 Olympiad 'Olimpbase' wrote:

<Only Euwe, Capablanca and, <traditionally, Nimzowitsch> were missing for some reasons.>

Is there any statement or quote by Nimzowitsch, where he explained his absence ? Maybe it has something to do with FIDE ?

Source: http://www.olimpbase.org/1931/1931i...

Sep-08-08   Sem: Attention Ziggurat:

Did you know that the name 'Niemzowitsch' is the Slav word for someone who comes from Germany? E.g.: the Servian word for Germany is 'nemacka'. I was told by Henk Bunt, a strong chess player from Groningen (he participated in the small national 'master tournament' of the famous Groningen 1946), that his contemporary Max Euwe always pronounced his name: 'Neemtsówitsh', with an open 'ee' and stressing the second syllable.

Sep-08-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Ziggurat: <Sem> I had no idea about that. Thanks for this interesting info!
Sep-25-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Karpova: C.N. 5776

Edward Winter: <Enevoldsen died in 1980, and in his will he expressed a wish to be buried alongside Nimzowitsch. The Danish Chess Union, the owner of the plot, acceded.>

Per Skjoldager (Fredericia, Denmark: <Enevoldsen’s obituary by Poul Hage in Skakbladet, July 1980, pages 99-102 does not mention the matter, but I have checked the facts with Steen Juul Mortensen, who was the President of the Danish Chess Union in 1980. He confirms that Enevoldsen wanted to be buried alongside Nimzowitsch. His family made a contribution to the fund.

Nimzowitsch, for his part, had no family in Denmark when he died, in 1935. A number of chess friends created a fund to care for his grave, and the fund still exists today, administered by the Danish Chess Union.>

Source: http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/....

Sep-25-08   whiteshark: Quote of the Day

" An important rule for the beginner is the following: if it were possible to develop the pieces without the aid of pawn moves, the pawnless advance would be the correct one, for, as suggested, the pawn is not a fighting unit until in the sense that his crossing of the frontier is to be feared by the enemy, since obviously the attacking force of the pawns is small compared with that of the pieces. "

-- Nimzowitsch

I'd call it a helpful advise, not a rule.

If you are no longer a beginner is the 'rule' further on valid?

Sep-25-08   kackhander: I imagine Nimzo was just paraphrasing rookfile as usual.
Sep-27-08   whiteshark: Interview clip:

Hans Bouwmeester: "Nimzovich?"

Max Euwe: <With him I have played many a time. He was a bit unpleasant, possibly paranoic. At meal times he constantly moaned that he was the last to be served.>

Read in full (highly recommended): http://blog.chess.com/batgirl/insid...

:D

Oct-03-08   Super Chess Man: I hear, he likes protecting things !
Oct-19-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Karpova: Jeremy Silman: <During a visit to a friend of mine in San Francisco, I noted that the original edition of Nimzowitsch's classic--published as several separate books---came out in German (he has them all signed by the great man himself!). These original books are very different than the English version: in the originals we see Nimzowitsch attack most of the other grandmasters of his day (This was edited out of later editions. Politically correct but artistically stupid decisions ruled the day even then!); the originals also show a biting humor that is sorely lacking in the poorly translated English editions.>

Source: http://www.jeremysilman.com/book_re...

Oct-21-08   fred lennox: a personal appreciation of Nimzowich

Though among the great treasures of art, chinese scrolling is little known as an art in the west. Despite this, comparing Nimzowitsch to a scroll artist is interesting. One factor to scrolling is to scroll gradually. For narrative and or for elaborating a detail, highlighting an effect, increasing tension, building to a climax. When Nimzowitsch notates he does the whole game never in part. Nor does he annotate a game simply for a sacrifice or brilliant kingside attack. In his mind it seems, it misses the true beauty of chess. Many of his best games are longish. Another aspect to scrolling is the following. Take a scroll of a river that scrolls in the center so to scroll both left and right. One side to the mountains, and the other side to the sea. This, in itself, is too clear. To enhance interest a required richness in detail or nuance, an unexpected occurrence, ambiguous of intention is helpful. Otherwise the scrolling becomes "routinish", the kind of playing despised by the Master. Nimzowitsch fascination was to make chess "scrolling" absorbing and beautiful which is to say effective.

Nov-07-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  brankat: R.I.P. Teacher.
Nov-07-08   Anyi: Nimzowitsch's life inspired me to write a short story about him among others - it's in German (soon to be translated) - title: Schwarz und Weiß-Ying and Yang. You can read it on my website http://rubina.yfw24.de/
Nov-07-08   amateur05: I admire Nimzowitsch for his artistic approach to chess. Many famous GMs and world champions were inspired by his captivating books.
Nov-07-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  talisman: happy birthday to one of the founding fathers.
Nov-08-08   RookFile: Every principle that Nimzo exposed had already either appeared in one of Steinitz's games, or being taught by Steinitz. Nimzo and Tarrasch were the two great students of Steinitz.
Nov-08-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  brankat: RookFile, Have You become a Steinitz fan? :-)
Nov-08-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  talisman: <RookFile> You Da Man...for all of us Fischer Fans!...but...we can still say happy bitrhday.
Nov-08-08   RookFile: Steinitz was a good teacher. The fact that Morphy would have slapped him around doesn't change that.
Nov-08-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Ziggurat: But how many people have actually read anything written by Steinitz? His writings are (unfortunately) kind of hard to come across. Tarrasch has been much more successful as a teacher of future generations, I think.
Nov-09-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  brankat: <Ziggurat> "I was champion of the world for twenty-eight years because I was twenty years ahead of my time. I played on certain principles, which neither Zukertort nor anyone else of his time understood.

The players of today, such as Lasker, Tarrasch, Pillsbury, Schlechter and others have adopted my principles, and as is only natural, they have improved upon what I began, and that is the whole secret of the matter."

-- Wilhelm Steinitz

There, in the quote, is a part of an answer to why Tarrasch's books have had more influence. Usually, an originator of a new idea (not only in Chess) has to fight a ton of obstacles, and finds few followers. Later, once an idea has been tested, approved of, accepted and spread around, the followers/"populizers" find it much easier to sell, and benefit from, the teacher's work.

Steimitz's writings in the original, either in the form of books, or articles scattered in numerous magazines of the period, are very rare today, and therefore even more precious.

Nov-09-08   Octal: "When a farmer loses a suckling pig through illness, he mourns not only the little pig, but also the good food he has gambled on it." ~ Aron Nimzowitsch. Is this a metaphor for investing tempo in a piece?
Nov-09-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  brankat: <RookFile> P.Morphy of the late 1850s and early 1860s would have certainly gotten the better of W.Steinitz. After all, at the time he was only learning the game.

1870s and 1880s would have been a different story entirely. I believe that Morphy would have had one hell of a hard time, facing an opponent the like of which he had never had before.

A set match during that period could have gone either way by a very close margin. There would have been no such thing as "slapping around". One way or the other.

In a way this reminds of the Fischer-Karpov situation in the mid-1970s.

Regardless of any conceivable speculation, we will never know.

I'd say let's leave it at that.

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