Szymon Winawer
Born in
Warsaw,
Poland,
Szymon Abramowicz Winawer (
March 5 1838 –
January 12 1920) was a leading
chess player who won the
German chess championship in
1883.
At
Paris 1867, his first international tournament, Winawer finished 2nd tied with
Steinitz behind
Kolisch.He remained one of the world's best players for the next fifteen years.At Paris
1878 Winawer tied for 1st (+14, =5, -3) with
Zukertort ahead of
Blackburne and George Henry Mackenzie, but took 2nd prize after the play-off.Winawer's best result was a first place tie with
Wilhelm Steinitz at
Vienna 1882, in what was the strongest chess tournament in history up to that time.After a long absence he returned to chess in the
1890s but by then he had been surpassed by younger players including
Tarrasch and
Lasker.Winawer continued to play competitive chess into his 60s, and in his career he faced all of the top players from the last third of the
19th century, from
Anderssen to Lasker.His rivalry with Blackburne stretched from 1870 to 1901 and they met in competitive games in five consecutive decades.Winawer died in Warsaw on
January 12 1920.
Winawer has several opening variations named for him.The most important is the popular Winawer Variation of the
French Defence.His name is also associated with the Winawer Attack in the
Ruy Lopez.At
Monte Carlo 1901, Winawer's last international tournament, he introduced the Winawer Countergambit in the
Slav Defense in a game against
Marshall.
In one of his finest games, he beat Steinitz in
Nuremberg in
1896 (moves given in
Algebraic chess notation):
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qe3 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Bd2 O-O 7. O-O-O Re8 8. Bc4 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 Nxe4 10. Qf4 Nf6 11. Nf3 d6 12. Ng5 Be6 13. Bd3 h6 14. h4 Nd5 15. Bh7+ Kh8 16. Rxd5 Bxd5 17. Be4 f6 18. Bxd5fxg5 19. hxg5 Ne5 20. g6 1-0
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Szymon Winawer download 35 of his games in pgn format.
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The Kibitzer: Who Was Winawer?, Tim Harding
