Every century has witnessed its legendary grandmaster born, and triumphant in the war rooms of chess, and glorified in the pamphlets of history.
From the first World Championship in 1886, that gave birth to the World’s first-ever chess champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, to the rise of the reigning grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, the list has been overwhelming in its diversity and excellence.
Here’s a brief chronological journey through the rise and rule of some of the greatest chess masters of the bygone era.
And for those of you who would love to enjoy some fun facts on early chess:
Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen
(unofficial world champion from 1851- 1879)
The Polish/German chess master of the early century is regarded as the world's leading chess player from 1851 to 1858.
Though he lived in a time when the title of World Chess Champion did not yet exist, Anderssen won the great international tournaments of 1851 and 1862.
Later he was defeated by the legendary Paul Morphy (in 1858), and by Wilhelm Steinitz, the first official World Champion in 1866. But Anderssen remained an active player throughout the period from 1862 to 1866.
He was the most successful tournament player in Europe in those days and won over half the events he competed in, which included the 1870 chess tournament. He was a late-bloomer, achieving most of his success over the age of 50.
Today this exponent of early chess is famous for his scrupulous sacrificial-attacking play. His most popular games are the "Immortal Game" of 1851 and the "Evergreen Game" in 1852. Anderssen remains a significant figure in the evolution of ‘chess problems’. He was instrumental in the transition from the conventional doctrines of ‘problem composition’ to more complex and suave compositions of modern day chess.
Paul Morphy
(unofficial world champion from 1858-1862)
Paul Morphy ruled when the world hadn't yet seen an official chess championship. Yet, to this day he holds the prestigious title of the unofficial world champion of the 19th century.
In 1846, Morphy became the best player in New Orleans when he was only 9 years old and at 12 locked horns with the Hungarian master Johann Lowenthal. Morphy defeated him in 3 matches.
In 1857, Morphy became the chess champion of the United States when he won the first American Chess Congress. Later he traveled across Europe defeating every leading player he played with the exception of the English Grandmaster Staunton.
Morphy was then applauded as the strongest player in the world at the young age of 21. Though outstandingly brilliant in the game, Morphy’s primary focus or career was not chess. He retired from chess early and played rarely.
It was Morphy who brought the elements like sacrifices, attacking and accuracy into chess. His famous Opera Game is counted as one of the legendary games of all time and continues to be studied to this day.
Wilhelm Steinitz
(world champion from 1886-1894)
The grandmaster, known as “the father of positional play”, enriched competitive chess in its initial stages through his varied style of positional play. His innovations went on to become the foundation for today's popular positional themes as we know them. Also nick-named “Austrian Morphy,” Steinitz brought forth writings and teachings on the game that were highly acclaimed in those times.
Stalwarts like Tarrasch and Lasker considered Wilhelm Steinitz as their “teacher.” Steinitz defeated Adolf Andersson, then considered the strongest player in the world, in 1866. Though he wasn't very active during the following years, he made his comeback in 1882 and defeated his rival, Zuckertort, in 1886 for the “championship of the world.”
Steinitz also defeated the kinds of Gunsberg and Chigorin during his reign for another 8 years. In 1894, he lost to Emanuel Lasker, the emerging legend from Germany. It is sad that the great chess champion who was foundational in building up the framework of modern chess struggled in his later life and died of poverty in 1900.
Find here some of the strangest stories of the world’s early grandmasters
Emanuel Lasker
(world champion from 1894-1921)
Emanuel Lasker succeeded Steinitz as the second official world champion and had a long unrivalled rule for the next 27 years! His reign as World Chess Champion from 1894 to 1921 is considered the longest reign, with his career spanning five glorious decades.
Lasker retained his title 5 times, throughout the consecutive championship games against world-class rivals like Siegbert Tarrasch, Frank Marshall, David Janowsky, and Carl Schlechter.
In 1921, though losing the title to Jose Raul Capablanca, Lasker maintained the highest level coming third in the 1935 Moscow tournament. He was 66 years old. He was only half a point behind Mikhail Botvinnik and Salo Flohr. But ahead of Capablanca, Vera Menchik (the first women's world champion) and 15 other master players.
Laskar wasn’t a chess player but a brilliant mathematician and philosopher as well. His Ph.D. thesis is acclaimed as foundational in modern algebra.
Jose Raul Capablanca
(world champion from 1921-27)
The third Official World Champion from Cuba, Capablanca began his chess career at a very young age of 4. At the age of 13, he defeated the then Cuban champion and later went on to test his prodigal skills against the US Champion Frank Marshall. An 18 year old Capablanca defeated Marshall with a score of 15-8.
In 1921, Capablanca became the World Chess Champion, overthrowing Emanuel Lasker and retained the title for the next 6 years. He gave an outstanding performance in 1922, playing against 103 players simultaneously. He won 102 games, drawing only 1!
His reign ended in 1927, as the Russian prodigy Alexander Alekhine took over world chess. Capablanca later engaged himself in tournaments, but sadly could never retrieve his vigour and retired in 1931.
Alexander Alekhine
(world champion from 1927–1935; 1937–1946)
The fourth official world chess champion from Russia, Alexander Alekhine was a brilliant player by the age of 16. He went on to become the World’s strongest player by the age of 22.
He dreamt of defeating the then world champion Capablanca and accomplished it in 1927. He defeated Capablanca with 6 wins, 3 losses, and 25 draws. He continued his reign till 1934 defending the title against Bogoljubov in 1929 and 1934. In 1935 he lost to Max Euwe but bounced back in 1937. Interestingly, Alekhine retained the title till his death in 1946 and is the only world champion to do so.
Alekhine was brilliant in his game with a superior skill for combinational play in complex positions. It was he who taught the chess world to go easy on rules and principles. He taught that they can be broken considering the concrete analysis of a unique and specific position.
Wrapping it up
Today’s world champions and the far more complex games are the precipitates of the wisdom and tactics these early grandmasters brought forth into the game of chess. They lived in an era that was limited by technology but went beyond their limitations to carve greater tales onto the historical rocks of chess. Most of the modern prodigies and world champions of today have learned from them and their methods.
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