Aaron Nimzowitsch
| Aron Nimzowitsch | |
|---|---|
Aron Nimzowitsch
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| Full name | Aron Nimzowitsch |
| Country |
Russia Latvia Denmark |
| Born |
7 November 1886 Riga, Russian Empire |
| Died | 16 March 1935 (aged 48) Copenhagen, Denmark |
Aron Nimzowitsch (Latvian: Ārons Nimcovičs, Russian: Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич, Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich; born Aron Niemzowitsch; 7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935) was a Russian-born, Danish leading chess grandmaster and influential chess writer. He was the foremost figure amongst the hypermoderns.
Born in Riga, a part of the Russian Empire, the Jewish Yiddish-speaking Nimzowitsch came from a wealthy family, where he learned chess from his father Shaya Abramovich Nimtsovich (1862, Pinsk – ?), who was a timber merchant. By 1897 the family lived in Dvinsk. In 1904, he travelled to Berlin to study philosophy, but set aside his studies soon and began a career as a professional chess player that same year. He won his first international tournament at Munich 1906. Then, he tied for first with Alexander Alekhine at Saint Petersburg 1913/14 (the eighth All-Russian Masters' Tournament).
During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Nimzowitsch was in the Baltic war zone. He escaped being drafted into one of the armies by feigning madness, insisting that a fly was on his head. He then escaped to Berlin, and gave his first name as Arnold, possibly to avoid anti-Semitic persecution.
Nimzowitsch eventually moved to Copenhagen in 1922, which coincided with his rise to the world chess elite, where he lived for the rest of his life in one small rented room. In Copenhagen, he twice won the Nordic Chess Championship, in 1924 and 1934. He obtained Danish citizenship and lived in Denmark until his death in 1935.
The height of Nimzowitsch's career was the late 1920s and early 1930s. Chessmetrics places him as the third best player in the world from 1927 to 1931, behind Alexander Alekhine and José Capablanca. His most notable successes were first-place finishes at Copenhagen 1923, Marienbad 1925, Dresden 1926, Hanover 1926, the Carlsbad 1929 chess tournament, and second place behind Alekhine at the San Remo 1930 chess tournament. Nimzowitsch never developed a knack for match play, though; his best match success was a draw with Alekhine, but the match consisted of only two games and took place in 1914, thirteen years before Alekhine became world champion.
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