Szymon Winawer was one of the strongest players in the 1870s and early 1880s, and his name is attached to an important variation in the French Defence. Below, I explore his life and games.
Photo: Cleveland Public Library, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Table of contents:
Biography
Early life
Szymon Winawer was born in 1838 in Warsaw. In his early years he did not devote much time to chess, and he would remain an amateur throughout his career. Despite this, Winawer still managed to become one of the world’s strongest players later in life. Growing up in Poland, with its prominent chess culture, was undoubtedly beneficial to his early casual chess development.
International debut
It was only at Paris 1867, at the age of 29, that Winawer made his international tournament debut. He burst onto the scene with a powerful performance, taking 2nd place ahead of the future World Champion Steinitz, although the two finished on the same score. Only von Kolisch, one of the world’s leading masters at the time, was able to finish ahead of Winawer.
Early success
The following year, Winawer competed in a 23-player double round robin tournament held in his native Warsaw. At this marathon event which lasted from May to July, Winawer again recorded a great performance, taking clear 1st place and scoring 39/44. It was becoming clear that Winawer was developing into one of the world’s leading players.
The strong international tournament at Baden-Baden in 1870 presented another opportunity for Winawer to test himself against some of the world’s strongest players. The field was very strong, and included famous names such as Anderssen, Steinitz, Neumann, Blackburne and Paulsen. There Winawer finished in the bottom half of the 11-player field, but gained invaluable experience from battles against the world elite.
Path to Paris 1878
Around 1875, Winawer spent some time in Russia. There he played against some masters living in the country, notably Schiffers and Chigorin. Chigorin would go on to become a challenger for the World Championship title, and these games likely further developed Winawer’s chess strength. Winawer then competed at the strong tournament held in Leipzig in 1877. In a field of 12 players, he finished in a respectable 4th place, behind only Paulsen, Anderssen and Zukertort.
In 1878, Winawer recorded the biggest success of his career up to that point. He shared 1st place with Zukertort at a very strong tournament in Paris, ahead of famous names like Blackburne, Mackenzie, Bird and Anderssen. Although Zukertort would win the playoff match, it became clear that Winawer had become one of the strongest players in the world. Interestingly, Steinitz was present at the tournament, but not as a player. Instead, he worked as a journalist for the publication The Field, reporting on the event.
A new decade
The early 1880s proved to be the most successful time of Winawer’s chess career. Winawer travelled to Berlin in 1881 to compete in a very strong tournament, with a field which included many German masters as well as some of the strongest players from the rest of Europe. Although the tournament was to be Blackburne’s greatest triumph, with the British master taking clear 1st place with 14/16, Winawer nevertheless recorded an impressive performance too. The Pole finished in 3rd, behind only Blackburne and Zukertort, but ahead of Chigorin, Mason, and Paulsen, amongst others.
The height of Winawer’s Career
Winawer then competed at the famous tournament Vienna 1882. The field was very strong, and included Steinitz, Mason, Mackenzie, Zukertort, Blackburne, Englisch, Paulsen, and Chigorin, amongst others. At this meeting of many of the world’s best players, Steinitz and Winawer proved strongest, sharing 1st place. A playoff match was arranged, but failed to separate them, finishing with the score tied at 1-1. The two great players therefore shared tournament victory and the considerable prize money that came with it.
At London 1883, however, Winawer finished only 9th in a field of 14. Following this disappointment, he considered giving up chess to devote more time to other interests. On his way to Vienna, Winawer stopped at Nuremberg, in search of a dentist. An important tournament was being planned to take place in that same city that year, and the organisers approached Winawer, asking him to play in their event. The organisers proved successful, and Winawer did take part at the famous tournament Nuremberg 1883.
Similar to Berlin 1881, Nuremberg 1883 assembled a field consisting of many German masters as well as some of the cream of Europe. Overcoming the strength of the field, Winawer took clear 1st place, ahead of famous names such as Blackburne, Mason, von Bardeleben, Bird and Paulsen. His excellent score of 14/18 consolidated his reputation as one of the world’s leading masters.
Later years
Despite this success, Winawer nevertheless decided to take a break from chess following the tournament. He returned to high level chess again in the 1890s, but, having by then entered his sixth decade, found himself past his peak as a player. He shared 6th place with von Bardeleben at Dresden 1892, finished 15th at Nuremberg 1896, and shared 6th with Walbrodt at Budapest 1896. However, he finished an impressive equal 3rd with Mieses at Vienna 1896, ahead of Marco and Albin.
Winawer’s last international tournament came in 1901 at Monte Carlo. There he finished 13th in a field of 14, although he achieved an impressive victory over Mieses. He lived a long life, and died in Warsaw in 1919, at the age of 88.
Legacy
Today Winawer’s name is attached to an important and popular variation of the French Defence. He is remembered as one of the world’s strongest players in the 1870s and early 1880s, and has produced many fascinating and instructive games.
Game Analysis
Winawer recorded an impressive victory over Paulsen at Berlin 1881, demonstrating the power of including all the pieces into the attack.
Lessons from this game:
- When conducting an attack on the king, it is important to take the time to include as many pieces in the attack as possible.
- It can be worth sacrificing some material to open up lines for your pieces, especially if you can activate multiple pieces at the same time.
- Pawns can be great attackers too! In this game, the passed e6 pawn plays a crucial role in the success of white’s attack by covering the f7 square.
Puzzles
Winawer – Chigorin, St Petersburg 1875
Winawer – Zukertort, Paris 1878
Winawer – Riemann, Berlin 1881
Winawer – Englisch, London 1883
Solutions
Further Reading
To find more about Winawer’s life and games, the following are useful sources:
Winawer’s chessgames.com page,
this chess.com article by simaginfan,
this chess.com article by simaginfan,
and this collection of his tournament and match results.
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