Chess History:

By: Matt Pedraza

History:

Paul MorphyAdolf Anderssen

Francois Andre

Philidor

Before the official World Championship title was created, there were three players who could have held the title. Philidor, an early French master said, “The pawns are the soul of chess.” Anderssen, a brilliant attacker, played “The Immortal Game”. Morphy, the brilliant American, outclassed all of his European rivals in matches before his early retirement.

First World Champions:

Wilhelm Steinitz

Emmanuel Lasker

Jose Raul Capablanca

Alexander Alekhine

Wilhelm Steinitz was the first official “world champion”, as he called himself after beating Zukertort in a match. The title stayed with him until Lasker defeated him. Lasker held the title for a record 27 years! Capablanca defeated the aging Lasker without losing a single game in the match, but lost his title to Alexander Alekhine in a marathon match several years later. Capablanca’s pure, classical style should have been an interesting match with Alekhine’s attacking style, but the match itself was dull with 30 games in the Queen’s Gambit Declined!

Soviet World Champions:

Mikhail Botvinnik

Vassily Smyslov

Mikhail Tal Tigran Petrosian

After the sudden death of Alekhine, Botvinnik calmly assumed the title of FIDE(Federacion Internacional du Echecs) World Champion after winning the Candidates Tournament of 1946. He was briefly over taken by Smyslov for a year before regaining his title only to lose it to Tal. However, he also regained the title after a year. Finally, after losing the title to Petrosian, he retired from competitive chess to research in computer design. Botvinnik’s style is the result of uncompromising and efficient Soviet training techniques. He also created the Soviet School of Chess which was the training ground for countless Grandmasters.

Modern World Champions:

Boris Spassky

Bobby Fischer

Anatoly Karpov Garry

KasparovSpassky defeated his old rival Petrosian in 1969. In 1972,

the most publicized chess match ever occurred, in which Fischer beat Spassky at the height of the Cold War. After Fischer’s abrupt retirement, Karpov became World Champion by default. After winning many top tournaments by convincing margins, he barely escaped defeat by Kasparov in their 1984 match. The following year, Kasparov managed to win and defended his title 3 more times. During this period, professionals began to protest the regulations enforced by FIDE, and in 1997 Kasparov split from FIDE altogether. This caused a schism in the line of champions.

Disupted World Champions:

Vladimir Kramnik Viswanathan

AnandRustam

Kasimdzhanov Peter Leko

In 2000, Kramnik defeated Kasparov in a match to become the “Brain Games World Champion”. This organization quickly collapsed however. Anand has been one of the strongest players in the world and was FIDE world champion for a while, but has not won any World Championship matches. Kasimdzhanov is the current FIDE World Champion, but this title is meaningless today as he won it in a Rapid tournament in Dubai which he won on blitz tiebreaks. Leko drew Kramnik in the 2004 Classical World Championship match, but this title is also likely to not last long. The current state of chess politics is a mess with no remedy in sight. Kasparov is still #1 on the ratings list, even after his retirement.

The Evolution of Chess Style and Theory:

The oldest chess style is the Romantic style. The first diagram is the position resulting after the King’s Bishop Gambit, a very aggressive and attacking opening in which white will frequently give away material for a tremendous initiative. Chigorin was a master of this style. The second style was the refined Romantic style. In it, the game took on a more logical course with less material sacrifice and more standard maneuvers. The attacks still came though! Morphy and Steinitz were the masters of this style.

King’s Gambit Accepted

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4

Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5

The Classical School:

Steinitz’s pupil, Tarrasch, devised the Classical School. This approach stressed the harmonious development of the pieces and the creation of a full pawn center. It also emphasized the principles of a “good” piece and a “bad” piece. “If a piece stands badly, the whole game stands badly,” was one of the axioms of the day. Through Tarrasch’s teachings, countless amateurs played much better chess. Unfortunately, Tarrasch was too dogmatic in his beliefs and certain “sacred” beliefs would be soon contested…

Queen’s Gambit Declined

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6

The Ideal Classical setup.

The Hypermodern School:

Alekhine’s Defense

1.e4 Nf6

Nimzo-Indian Defense

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4

Led by Nimzowitsch and Reti, the hypermodern school defied many of the principles held by the classicalists. They argued that a pawn center was only an advantage if it could be maintained. An unmaintained pawn center would be destroyed by the active enemy pieces. Their concepts of blockade, restraint, and prophylaxis revolutionized chess thought. Today, many of their concepts are held in as high esteem as those laid down by Tarrasch.

The Dynamic School:

Modern Benoni

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4

Sicilian Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6

As a result of Soviet studies, the Dynamic school was born. They created the concepts of static factors versus dynamic factors. One side would play classically and “correctly” while the dynamic side would accept positional weaknesses in favor of dynamic strengths. This concept led to many lively games and new ideas. Tal and Spassky were the masters of this uncompromising style.

Chess Theory Today:

Ruy Lopez, Zatisev

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0

9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8

King’s Indian, Bayonet Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6

8.d5 Ne7 9.b4

Chess theory today is an always changing creature. With the aid of computers, new theoretical novelties and ideas and being created all the time. Openings are become deeper in length, with many players not getting out of book until after the 25th move! Today’s masters of preparation are Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik. The emphasis today is on flexibility and restraint; a balance has been reached between the old feuding schools.