Johannes Zukertort
Encyclopedia
Johannes Hermann Zukertort (7 September 1842 – 20 June 1888) was a leading chess master
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....

 of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

-Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

-Jewish origin. He was one of the leading world players for most of the 1870s and 1880s, and lost to Wilhelm Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...

 in the World Chess Championship 1886
World Chess Championship 1886
The World Chess Championship 1886 was the first official World Chess Championship match contested by Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort. The match took place in the USA, the first five games being played in New York, the next four being played in St.Louis and the final eleven in New Orleans....

, which is generally seen as the first World Chess Championship
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....

 match, he was also beaten by Steinitz in 1872 in unofficial championship; both were best players in the world.

Zukertort filled his relatively short life with a wide range of other achievements as a soldier, musician, linguist, journalist and political activist.

Early life and non-chess achievements

Zukertort was born 7 September 1842 in Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...

, Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...

. He said that his mother was the Baroness Krzyżanowska (Krzyzanovska). His father was a Christian Protestant missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 of Jewish origin. The Christian mission among the Jewish population in Russian-occupied Poland was considered an illegal activity. Therefore, the Zukertort family emigrated to Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

. In 1861, he enrolled at the University of Breslau (Wrocław) to study medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

; he later claimed that he completed his degree, but this has been disputed. In any case he met Adolf Anderssen
Adolf Anderssen
Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was a German chess master. He is considered to have been the world's leading chess player in the 1850s and 1860s...

 while in Breslau (Wrocław) and fell in love with chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

.

Zukertort's own account of his early life puts Baron Munchausen - a teller of outrageously farfetched stories - to shame. In an account of his life for the Norfolk News
Norfolk News
The Norfolk News was a regional newspaper published in Norwich, England.The publication was founded in 1845 and closed in 1961. The area it covered was the whole of Norfolk. Copies of the paper for most of its 116 years are held at the Local History Library in Norwich.Notable editors of the paper...

in 1872 he claimed aristocratic descent, fluency in nine languages (fourteen, acc. to other sources), proficiency in swordsmanship
Swordsmanship
Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in the art of the sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword...

, dominoes
Dominoes
Dominoes generally refers to the collective gaming pieces making up a domino set or to the subcategory of tile games played with domino pieces. In the area of mathematical tilings and polyominoes, the word domino often refers to any rectangle formed from joining two congruent squares edge to edge...

 and whist
Whist
Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was played widely in the 18th and 19th centuries. It derives from the 16th century game of Trump or Ruff, via Ruff and Honours...

; said he had played 6,000 games of chess with Adolf Anderssen
Adolf Anderssen
Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was a German chess master. He is considered to have been the world's leading chess player in the 1850s and 1860s...

, fought in numerous battles and was awarded seven medals besides the Order of the Red Eagle
Order of the Red Eagle
The Order of the Red Eagle was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, or other achievements...

 and the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....

. He also found time to get an M.D. at Breslau in 1865 and work on the staff of Bismarck
Bismarck
- People :* Bismarck family, a German noble family descending from Herebord von Bismarck* Otto von Bismarck , German statesman of the 19th century* Herbert von Bismarck , Secretary of State, son of Otto von Bismarck...

's private organ the Allgemeine Zeitung
Allgemeine Zeitung
The Allgemeine Zeitung was in the first part of the 19th century the leading political daily journal in Germany. It has been widely recognised as the first world class German journal and is a symbol of the German press abroad....

in addition to writing two chess books and working as the editor of a chess magazine for several years. "There is some truth in the last sentence: he was co-author of the books, co-editor of the chess magazine."

Chess career

In Breslau Zukertort met the leading chess player Adolf Anderssen
Adolf Anderssen
Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was a German chess master. He is considered to have been the world's leading chess player in the 1850s and 1860s...

 and studied with him. Among many other notable matches he played with Anderssen, he defeated him in 1866, lost in 1868 by a score of eight wins, three losses, one draw
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...

, and finally defeated him convincingly (5-2; no draws) in a match in 1871. In 1867 he moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 and in 1872 to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. In that year, he played Wilhelm Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...

 in London, losing 9-3 (7 losses, 1 win, 4 draws).

Although Zukertort lost both his matches against Steinitz, he proved that he was superior to other opponents throughout the late 1870s and early 1880s. During this period top-class tournaments were rare and Zukertort's best performances were mostly in matches, notably against Anderssen in 1871 and Joseph Henry Blackburne
Joseph Henry Blackburne
Joseph Henry Blackburne , nicknamed "The Black Death", dominated British chess during the latter part of the 19th century. He learned the game at the relatively late age of 18 but quickly became a strong player and went on to develop a professional chess career that spanned over 50 years...

 in 1881 (6 wins, 2 losses, 5 draws). Nonetheless Zukertort was one of the most successful tournament players of his time: third place behind Steinitz and Blackburne at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, 1872; first place at Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

 and second at Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

 in 1877; tied for first with Simon Winawer at the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 International Chess Congress in 1878 and beat Winawer in the play-off; second at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 in 1881, behind Blackburne; tied for fourth at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 in 1882; first at London in 1883, 3 points ahead of Steinitz.

Zukertort's win in the London 1883 chess tournament
London 1883 chess tournament
The London 1883 chess tournament was a strong chess tournament among most of the leading players of the day. It was won convincingly by Johannes Zukertort ahead of Wilhelm Steinitz . Remarkably, Zukertort was already assured of victory with three rounds to go, having scored an astonishing 22/23...

 was his most significant success: he won his games against most of the world's leading players, scoring 22/26, and he finished 3 points ahead of Steinitz, who was second with 19/26. This tournament established that Steinitz and Zukertort were clearly the best two players in the world, and led to the World Chess Championship
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....

 match between these two.

The 1886 World Chess Championship match
World Chess Championship 1886
The World Chess Championship 1886 was the first official World Chess Championship match contested by Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort. The match took place in the USA, the first five games being played in New York, the next four being played in St.Louis and the final eleven in New Orleans....

 lasted from 11 January to 29 March 1886. After building up a 4-1 lead Zukertort wilted, lost four of the last five games and lost the match by 12½-7½.

After this defeat, Zukertort's health suffered and he was a greatly weakened player for the remaining two years of his life. Diagnoses of his ailments include rheumatism
Rheumatism
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the joints and connective tissue. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology.-Terminology:...

, coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease
Coronary artery disease is the end result of the accumulation of atheromatous plaques within the walls of the coronary arteries that supply the myocardium with oxygen and nutrients. It is sometimes also called coronary heart disease...

, kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...

 problems, and arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis refers to a stiffening of arteries.Arteriosclerosis is a general term describing any hardening of medium or large arteries It should not be confused with "arteriolosclerosis" or "atherosclerosis".Also known by the name "myoconditis" which is...

. His results after the 1886 match declined steeply: seventh at London and third at Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

 in 1886; fifteenth at Frankfurt and fourth at London in 1887; lost a match in 1887 against Blackburne (1 win, 5 losses, and 8 draws); and seventh at London in 1888.

Poor health and lack of physical stamina appeared to be one of Zukertort's two long-term weaknesses: some commentators attributed to illness the severity of his defeat in the 1872 match against Steinitz; in the 1883 London tournament he won 22 of his first 23 games, enough to give him an uncatchable lead, but lost his last three games; and he initially built up a 4-1 lead against Steinitz in 1886, but then his performance sharply deteriorated. His other weakness was that, while no one had greater attacking flair, Zukertort never approached Steinitz' understanding of positional play and Steinitz often out-maneuvered him fairly simply.

Unlike the majority of attacking players, Zukertort preferred openings such as 1. c4 and 1. Nf3 that were closed
Closed Game
A Closed Game, also called a Double Queen Pawn Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The move 1.d4 offers the same benefits to development and center control as does 1.e4, but unlike with the King Pawn openings where the e4 pawn is undefended after the first move, the d4 pawn is...

 or semi-closed
Semi-Closed Game
A Semi-Closed Game is a chess opening in which White opens with the queen's pawn 1.d4 but Black does not make the symmetrical reply 1...d5...

 and offered the possibility of transpositions
Transposition (chess)
A transposition in chess is a sequence of moves that results in a position which may also be reached by another, more common sequence of moves. Transpositions are particularly common in opening, where a given position may be reached by different sequences of moves...

—in fact in the early 1880s 1. Nf3 was known as "Zukertort’s Opening", 40 years before it became known as the Réti Opening
Réti Opening
The Réti Opening is a hypermodern chess opening whose traditional or classic method begins with the moves:White plans to bring the d5-pawn under attack from the flank, or entice it to advance to d4 and undermine it later...

.

In his prime Zukertort also excelled at playing while blindfolded
Blindfold chess
Blindfold chess is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces or touch them. This forces players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces...

. In 1876, he played sixteen games simultaneously while blindfolded, winning eleven, drawing four, and losing only one.

Later life

Zukertort died 20 June 1888, in London from a cerebral hemorrhage after playing a game in a tournament Simpson's Divan
Simpson's-in-the-Strand
Simpson's-in-the-Strand is one of London's oldest traditional English restaurants. Situated in the Strand, it is part of the Savoy Buildings, which also contain one of the world's most famous hotels, the Savoy....

, which he was leading at the time. He is buried in Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven...

 in London.

Trivia

It is said that Steinitz and Zukertort, present at the same dinner party, both rose in response to a toast to the "greatest chess-player in the world". Research by Edward G. Winter suggests that this story has been embellished.

Notable chess games

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