WILHELM STEINITZ

Wilhelm Steinitz deserves a name on the list of greatest chess players not only because he spent 8 years as the reigning World Champion (1886-1894), but also because of the contribution he made to the development of the modern chess. In 1873 he unveiled a new style of positional play that sharply differed from the traditional method of all out attack, and it was called cowardly by many but by early 1890’s it was widely considered as superior and was being used by the next generation of players. Also called “Austrian Morphy” by many he became the World Champion by defeating bitter rival Zukertort. Over the next 8 years, Steinitz successfully defended his crown by defeating Gunsberg and Chigorin before finally losing it to Emanuel Lasker in 1894 and unsuccessfully challenging again in 1897. His immense contribution in the standardization of World Championship deserves a special mention. Unfortunately, he died in poverty in 1900.