Chess Players Biography

Joseph Henry Blackburne, known as “The Black Death,” was born on December 10, 1841, in Chorlton, Manchester, England. He learned to play chess at the age of 17 or 18 and quickly rose to prominence in the British chess scene during the latter part of the 19th century. Blackburne was the strongest British player for […]

Isidor Arthur Gunsberg was born on November 1, 1854, in Pest, Kingdom of Hungary. He began his chess career operating the remote-controlled chess automaton Mephisto, which had been developed by his friend and mentor, Charles Stanley. Gunsberg’s early life and career can be summarized as follows: Toured Europe as a child prodigy, playing exhibitions against

Johann Hermann Bauer (1861-1891) was an Austrian chess master born in Kotopeky, Bohemia (then in the Austrian Empire). He settled in Vienna and won the master title at Frankfurt in 1887. His best tournament achievement was at Graz in 1890, where he finished in 2nd place behind Gyula Makovetz and ahead of Emanuel Lasker and

Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin was a chess player from the Russian Empire who lived from 1850 to 1908.  He was born in Gatchina, a small city near St. Petersburg, and at the age of 9, he had to live in an orphanage since both of his parents were dead.  Chigorin became serious about chess while at

Harry Nelson Pillsbury was a prominent American chess player who made significant contributions to the game in his short life. Here are some key details about his life and career, organized into subheadings: Early Life and Chess Career Pillsbury was born on December 5, 1872, in Somerville, Massachusetts. He did not learn to play chess

Géza Maróczy was a Hungarian chess player who was one of the leading players in the world in his time. He was born on March 3, 1870, in Szeged, Hungary, and died on May 29, 1951, in Budapest, Hungary, at the age of 81. Career Maróczy won the “minor” tournament at Hastings in 1895, and

Akiba Rubinstein was a Polish chess player born in Stawiski, Congress Poland, Russian Empire (now Poland) in 1880. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players never to have become World Chess Champion.  Rubinstein learned the game at the late age of 16 but quickly became one of the four strongest players in

Efim Dmitriyevich Bogolyubov, also known as Efim Bogoljubow, was a Russian-born German chess player who made significant contributions to the world of chess. He was born on April 14, 1889, in the Russian Empire, in what is now Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Bogoljubov learned to play chess at the age of 15 and developed a serious

Aron Nimzowitsch was born on November 7, 1886, in Riga, Latvia, which was part of the Russian Empire at the time.  He learned to play chess from his father at the age of eight and began his serious chess career in Berlin, where he studied philosophy and played in German clubs and tournaments.  Nimzowitsch’s dedication

Isaac Kashdan was an American chess grandmaster and chess writer, born in New York City on November 19, 1905, and passed away in Los Angeles on February 20, 1985.  He was twice U.S. Open champion (1938, 1947) and played five times for the United States in chess Olympiads, winning a total of nine medals.  Kashdan