Wilhelm Steinitz

Lore & Background

Steinitz was born in the Jewish ghetto of Prague, the youngest of tailor Josef-Salomon Steinitz's thirteen sons by his first wife. He learned chess at age 12 and studied mathematics at the Vienna Polytechnic. He became the strongest player in Austria by 1861.

In 1866, he defeated Adolf Anderssen in a match to first 8 wins; after 12 games Steinitz led 6–5 (no draws), and the match ended after 14 games with Steinitz winning. He was unbeaten in match play for 32 years, from 1862 to 1894. He lost his world title to Emanuel Lasker in 1894 and lost a rematch in 1896–97.

Reader's Guide

Steinitz unveiled a new positional style of play in 1873, which became the basis of modern chess. He was a prolific writer and defended his ideas in the 'Ink War'.

His approach was widely accepted by the early 1890s. He co-operated with the American Chess Congress from 1888 to 1889 to define rules for future world championships. He was unskilled at managing money and lived in poverty all his life.

Did You Know?

• Steinitz was nicknamed 'the Austrian Morphy' after winning the 1861 Vienna City championship with a score of 30/31.
• He won the brilliancy prize at the London 1862 tournament for his win over Augustus Mongredien.
• Steinitz had a 25-game winning streak in serious competition starting at the Vienna 1873 tournament.