Wilhelm Steinitz

Wilhelm Steinitz was born in Prague in 1836, the son of a tailor, and learned chess at twelve. He moved to Vienna to study at the Polytechnic before pursuing chess professionally. After competing in the London international tournament of 1862, he settled in England. His match victory over Adolf Anderssen in 1866 established his claim to be the strongest active player. He also defeated Johannes Zukertort in 1872 and Joseph Henry Blackburne by seven wins to none in 1876.

Steinitz moved to New York in 1883. In 1886 he defeated Zukertort in the match generally recognised as the first official world championship, played in New York, St Louis and New Orleans. He defended the title against Mikhail Chigorin in 1889 and 1892 and Isidor Gunsberg in 1890-91. Emanuel Lasker defeated him in 1894 and again in their 1896-97 return match. Steinitz continued tournament play after losing the championship.

His influence also came through writing and analysis. He argued that attacks should be grounded in positional advantages, sound development and strategic preparation. He wrote for The Field in London and founded the International Chess Magazine in New York in 1885. His annotations and theoretical explanations helped make positional evaluation a central part of chess instruction. He died in New York in 1900.