Mikhail Chigorin played two World Championship matches, in 1889 and 1892. Below, I explore his life and games.
Photo: Cleveland Public Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Table of contents:
Biography
Early life
Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin was born in 1850 in Gatchina, Russia. His parents died when he was young, and so he was put in a Gatchina orphanage at the age of 10. Chigorin learned to play chess at 16, but only began to play seriously at 24, at the Dominik Café in St Petersburg. Around this time, the strong Russian player, Emmanuel Schiffers, became his teacher, and Chigorin decided to give up his profession for chess.
First success
In 1876, Chigorin became the editor of a popular chess magazine. The following year marked a breakthrough in Chigorin’s chess career: first place at the St Petersburg tournament. This was followed in 1878 by a match win against his teacher, Schiffers (7-3). However, Schiffers got revenge later that same year, winning a close match 7-6. Chigorin, though, continued to improve. He won the St Petersburg tournament again in 1879, and then achieved another match win against Schiffers by the score of 7-4.
In 1880, Chigorin won the St Petersburg tournament for a third time. Having defeated Schiffers in match play, Chigorin decided he needed a new opponent, and found one in the strong Russian player Semion Alapin. They played two matches, in 1880 and 1881, with Chigorin winning both. Repeated victories at the St Petersburg tournaments and in matches marked Chigorin as clearly the strongest Russian player at the time.
International breakthrough
1881 also saw Chigorin participate in his first international tournament, in Berlin. He finished in a respectable shared third place with Winawer (10,5/16), behind only Blackburne and Zukertort. The first Russian to compete internationally, this result greatly enhanced his reputation, and earned him invitations to other top tournaments. However, he finished a disappointing 12th at Vienna 1882, with 11/31.
Chigorin immediately bounced back from this, finishing fourth at the incredibly strong tournament in London in 1883. With a score of 16/26 in a field which included many of the strongest players in the world, finishing behind only Zukertort, Steinitz and Blackburne, this result confirmed that he had become one of the world’s top players. Following this event, Chigorin took a break from competitive tournament chess for six years, returning in 1889.
First world championship match
A few years after his victory against Zukertort in 1886, Steinitz named Chigorin as his next challenger for the title of World Champion. The match was played at the Havana Chess Club in 1889, and they played to the best of 20 games. Steinitz ultimately won by the score of 10,5-6,5. Interestingly, of the 17 games played, only one was drawn!
Shortly after the match, Chigorin confirmed his high level of play by taking first place at a strong tournament in New York, together with Max Weiss. This was followed by a drawn match against the Hungarian master Isidor Gunsberg (+9-9=5), who would subsequently challenge Steinitz for the crown.
Telegraph match
From October 1890 to April 1891, Chigorin and Steinitz played an interesting and famous match by telegraph, with a time control of three days per move. In Steinitz’s recently published Modern Chess Instructor, he had recommended specific opening lines in the Two Knights Defence and the Evans Gambit, and Chigorin disagreed with these recommendations and evaluations. The match consisted of two games, using Steinitz’s recommendations as the starting position. Chigorin won both games in attractive style. The chess world once again required an answer to the evergreen question, “Who is the best player in the world?”.
Second world championship match
A second World Championship match was therefore arranged with Steinitz, and was played in 1892 in Havana. Unlike their previous encounter, this match was extremely close. Steinitz was leading by one point going into the final round, and Chigorin needed a win. He built up a winning position, and the spectators were waiting for Steinitz’s resignation. However, Chigorin made the “blunder of the century”, and suddenly allowed mate in 2. Steinitz thus won the match. After the match, Steinitz claimed that this had been his most challenging title defence so far.
Tournament success
Chigorin further confirmed his high class in the years that followed. He drew a match in St Petersburg against the German master Tarrasch, one of the strongest players in the world at the time, in 1893 (+9 -9 =4). In 1895, he finished second at the extremely strong Hastings tournament, only half a point behind Pillsbury. Chigorin had been leading after 19 of the 21 rounds, and defeated Pillsbury in their individual game. He finished a disappointing fourth in a match tournament against Pillsbury, Lasker and Steinitz in 1895/6, but bounced back quickly to take first place at Budapest 1896, two points clear of a field which included Pillsbury, Schlechter and Tarrasch.
It was clear that he remained the strongest player in Russia when Chigorin took first place at the first three all-Russian Masters tournaments in 1899, 1901, and 1903. The international tournament at Monte Carlo 1901 saw Chigorin finish equal third, and his combinative powers were on full display when he won the Kings Gambit tournament at Vienna in 1903. Chigorin also gave numerous blindfold simultaneous displays and lectures.
Declining health
However, a few years later, the Russian master fell ill. Although his health was declining, he found the strength to defeat the Polish master Georg Salwe in a match at Lodz in 1906. Sadly, illness continued to weaken him, and Chigorin died from diabetes in 1908, at the age of 57.
Chigorin Memorial and opening theory
The following year, 1909, the first Chigorin Memorial tournament was held by the St Petersburg chess club. It was a very strong tournament, where Lasker and Rubinstein shared first place. This tournament has been a regular event since 1947, and is still held today. Chigorin also made significant contributions to the advancement of opening theory. Today, his name is attached to important variations in the Ruy Lopez and Queens Gambit.
Game Analysis
In 1879, Chigorin won an interesting game against the strong German player Eugen von Schmidt, which shows that doubled pawns can be useful.
Lessons from this game:
- Doubled pawns can be useful! After 9…fxe6, black’s doubled e pawns control the centre well and give the f8 rook an open file.
- The ultimate goal of controlling an open file is to use it to invade the enemy position. In this game, once black’s rooks arrived at f2 using the open file, white was defenceless.
- Pawns can be powerful attacking units!
Puzzles
Alapin – Chigorin, St Petersburg 1880
Chigorin – Sellman, London 1883
Chigorin – Judd, New York 1889
Chigorin – Marco, Budapest 1896
Solutions
Further Reading
Of course, the first volume of Kasparov’s My Great Predecessors is a great place to start.
Other good sources include: Chigorin’s chessgames.com page,
his chess.com page,
and this article by Jeremy Silman.
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