Their rematch, three years later, was even more lopsided: Lasker won 10-2. Steinitz held the title of world champion until 1894, when Emanuel Lasker soundly defeated him (10-5). Wilhelm Steinitz, the first official world champion. Steinitz initially had no equal in this kind of positional play, and used it to become the first official world champion in 1886. He preferred to accept the popularly offered gambit pawn, and then closed the position down in order to grind out a win. Steinitz's theories about the game are still widely felt today, especially his disdain for overly-aggressive play. Wilhelm Steinitz never played Morphy, who had retired from the game by the time Steinitz rose to prominence. The First World Champions and the Advent of Positional Chess Morphy throws everything, including the proverbial kitchen sink, at his opponents. Morphy steamrolled Adolf Anderssen, Louis Paulsen, Daniel Harrwitz, and a host of other masters. In 1858, the famous 'Opera House' game was played by Morphy vs the allies (the Duke of Brunswick and a French Count), and is considered one of the best games of all time. During his tour of Europe, Morphy soundly trounced every major player in the world except Howard Staunton (who was past his prime and didn't accept Morphy's challenge).

Morphy was the embodiment of all of these romantic and aggressive attacking ideas. Paul Morphy, the embodiment of romantic and aggressive play. If a player wasn't sacrificing their pieces right and left trying to checkmate their opponent in a violent manner, then it wasn't a fun game! It was during this attacking era in chess that the American player Paul Morphy entered the scene. The most famous games of this time period were swashbuckling attacking games - strong defensive ideas hadn't been learned yet. Before chess clocks became the norm, a single game could last up to 14 hours! With the standardization of chess sets and introduction of chess clocks, the equipment needed for modern matches and tournaments were set in place.Ĭhess, itself, was developing greatly during the 1800s. The 19th century also marked the introduction of chess clocks to competitive play. The Staunton pieces, and minor variations of it, are still considered to be the standard for tournament chess sets. This new style of pieces, known as the Staunton pattern, became instantly popular and were used in tournaments and clubs all over the world. These same pieces were endorsed by Howard Staunton, the strongest player of his time. In 1849, Jaques of London (a manufacturer of games and toys) introduced a new style of pieces created by Nathaniel Cooke. Before the 1850s, chess sets weren't uniform at all.

Philidor's famous statement that 'The pawns are the soul of chess' was first introduced to the world in this book.Ĭhess continued to gain popularity throughout the world, and in the mid 19th century the standardization of chess sets occurred. In 1749, the French Master Francois-Andre Philidor stepped onto the scene with his book titled Analyse du jeu des Échecs. This book covered some new opening ideas (including the defense which still bears his name), and also contained Philidor's famous defense in rook and pawn endgames - an endgame technique that is still used today. Chess theory was so primitive back then that Lopez advocated the strategy of playing with the sun in your opponent's eyes! An antique Chaturanga board and pieces Chess Theory and Development Through the 19th centuryĬhess theory moved at a snail's pace until the mid 18th century. Although he didn't invent the opening named after him, he analyzed it in a book he published in 1561. One of the first masters of the game was a Spanish priest named Ruy Lopez. The game spread throughout Asia and Europe over the coming centuries, and eventually evolved into what we know as chess around the 16th century.

Karpov, Kasparov, Computers, and CarlsenĬhess, as we know it today, was born out of the Indian game chaturanga before the 600s AD.

The First World Champions and the Advent of Positional Chess.

Chess Theory and Development Through the 19th century.

Computer engines and databases didn't come into play until the very late 20th century. Although the first book on openings was published as early as 1843, theory as we know it didn't truly evolve until the early/mid 20th century.

The official world championship title came into existence by the late 19th century, shortly after the first big tournaments were held and multiple styles of play had begun to fully develop. There were no clocks, and the pieces were not standardized until the 19th century. The modern iteration we enjoy today wasn't known until the 16th century. Chess has a long and storied history. The game has changed quite a bit from its earliest forms in India.

Chess pieces names changed