Aron Nimzowitsch was one of the strongest players in the world in the 1920s, as well as a highly regarded author. Below, I explore his life and games.
Photo: Not mentioned, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Table of contents:
Biography
Early life
Aron Nimzowitsch was born in 1886 in Riga, Latvia. After school, he moved to Berlin to attend university, but instead spent most of his time playing chess in cafés. He would compete in various German tournaments around this time. This was very useful for his improvement, as Germany was one of the world’s leading chess countries. However, his playing activity came to a pause after he contracted tuberculosis around the beginning of 1908. Fortunately, he recovered, and continued to play and improve around the middle of 1909.
International breakthrough
Around 1910, Nimzowitsch began to support himself by working as a journalist for a newspaper in Riga, where he covered various topics, including chess. This was an important year for Nimzowitsch, as he finished 3rd at the strong international tournament in Hamburg. Only Schlechter and Duras finished ahead of him. This was followed by shared 5th out of 15 at the famous San Sebastian tournament in 1911 with Schlechter and Tarrasch, behind Capablanca, Rubinstein, Vidmar and Marshall. This was especially impressive, as the field included many of the world’s strongest players. It became clear that Nimzowitsch could compete successfully in top level tournaments. His progress was made even clearer when he shared 1st place with Alekhine at St Petersburg 1914.
WWI
However, international chess was soon interrupted by the start of WWI. In 1915, Nimzowitsch was living with his family in Riga when the German army invaded Latvia. Riga was evacuated, and his father’s business was shut down. Nimzowitsch also lost his job working for the newspaper, and the family faced great financial difficulties. Around November 1916 to May 1917, Nimzowitsch was conscripted into the army, although he never fought on the front lines.
Nordic adventures
After the war, Nimzowitsch spent time in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. These countries had not suffered the same economic damage as some other European countries, and therefore many strong tournaments took place there around this time. One of these events was held in Göteburg in 1920. Many of the world’s leading players took part, but the tournament was not a success for Nimzowitsch, as he finished 12th. Around this time, he began to supplement his income through giving simuls and lessons, explaining his new ideas. The topics of these lessons would go on to be chapters in his famous book, My System.
In 1922, Nimzowitsch moved to Denmark and continued to compete at top tournaments. He shared 6th place at the incredibly strong tournament in Karlsbad in 1923. However, Nimzowitsch then finished 1st at Copenhagen that same year, ahead of Sämisch, Tartakower, and Spielmann, amongst others. This victory would mark the start of a very successful decade for Nimzowitsch.
1925
1925 was a particularly eventful year for him. At Marienbad, Nimzowitsch shared 1st place with Rubinstein, ahead of famous names such as Marshall, Torre, Tartakower and Réti. He then finished 2nd at Breslau, behind only Bogoljubow. Encouraged by his success, Nimzowitsch challenged Capablanca to a World Championship Match. However, the match never took place, as Nimzowitsch could not raise the necessary amount of money.
1925 was also the year in which Nimzowitsch’s book Die Blockade was published. His most famous book, My System, began to be published too, in several parts from 1925-1927. It was filled with Nimzowitsch’s new ideas on how to play better chess. These ideas were revolutionary at the time, and the world began to see Nimzowitsch as a great author as well as a great player.
World elite
One of Nimzowitsch’s greatest ever achievements came in 1926, where he finished in clear 1st place at Dresden. This was made even more impressive by the fact that he was 1,5 points clear of Alekhine in second place, in a field which also included top players such as Rubinstein and Tartakower. Nimzowitsch also won a smaller tournament in Hanover that year.
His next major tournament victory came in 1929 at Karlsbad, where he finished in clear first ahead of a field which included Capablanca, Spielmann, Rubinstein, Bogoljubow and Euwe. Today, Nimzowitsch’s victories at Copenhagen 1923, Marienbad 1925, Dresden 1926 and Karlsbad 1929 lead many to consider him as one of the strongest players of the 1920s. 1929 was also the year in which Nimzowitsch’s Chess Praxis was published, another book which is still famous and highly regarded today.
A new decade
Nimzowitsch began the next decade strongly by winning a tournament in Frankfurt, ahead of Kashdan and Sämisch. That same year, he finished 2nd at San Remo, behind only World Champion Alekhine, while 1931 saw him finish 3rd at Bled, behind only Alekhine and Bogoljubow. In the first few years of the 1930s, Nimzowitsch was clearly still one of the world’s strongest players.
Later years
In 1934, however, Nimzowitsch was less successful. He lost a match 5-3 to Stahlberg in Gothenburg, Sweden, and shared 6th place with Bernstein in Zürich. Nimzowitsch turned 48 this year, and his health began to decline. He was hospitalised, but did not recover. He died in March 1935 from pneumonia.
Legacy
Today Nimzowitsch is remembered as one of the strongest players in the world in the 1920s, and as a famous and influential author. Generations of players have improved their chess by studying his games and learning from his books. His name is also attached to many opening lines, the most famous being the Nimzo-Indian Defence.
Game Analysis
Nimzowitsch won a beautiful game against Hakansson in Kristianstad, Sweden, in 1922.
Lessons from this game:
- A pawn advance on the edge of the board can be used to better control the centre. In this game, 13.h5! kicks the knight away from g6, reducing the pressure on the e5 pawn.
- Winning material may not help if the opposing pieces suddenly spring to life.
- Pawns can be very effective at restricting the opponent’s pieces.
Puzzles
Nimzowitsch – Chigorin, Karlsbad 1907
Teichmann – Nimzowitsch, San Sebastian 1911
Blümich – Nimzowitsch, Dresden 1926
Yates – Nimzowitsch, London 1927
Solutions
Further Reading
To find more about Nimzowitsch’s life and games, the following are useful sources:
Kasparov’s My Great Predecessors, Volume 1,
Nimzowitsch’s chessgames.com page,
his chess.com page,
this YouTube video by Lucas Anderson,
and the website chesshistory.com.
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Riveting!….