DTFC Wilhelm Steinitz Memorial

One day.. Will be 2 rounds and the final between the best five players. 8 concurrents games 

Born in Austria, William Steinitz was one of the most influential players, writers, and theoreticians in the history of the game. After beginning to play competitively in his 20s, he would win every serious match he played between 1862 and 1892, including victories against Adolf Anderssen and Johannes Zukertort.  In the early 1880s he came to the U.S. and settled in New York City shortly thereafter.

First Official World Champion

The Steinitz - Zukertort match of 1886 would be the first to decide an official world champion.  The format for this match would be the first to ten wins.  Steinitz had a terrible start to the match, and after five games Zukertort led by a score of 4-1. Then the match had a complete reversal, as Steinitz mounted a comeback for the ages.  The final score was 12.5-7.5 (10 wins, 5 losses, 5 draws) in favor os Steinitz.  The results of this match put an end to any debate regarding who was the top player at the time, and Steinitz was crowned the first official world champion.

In 1889, Steinitz would play Chigorin (a well-respected top player and Russian master).  The match was sponsored by the Havana chess club, and Steinitz won again.  The score was 10.5-6.5 (10 wins, 6 losses, 1 draw), and Steinitz' undefeated match record grew to 27 years.  Here is a game example from this match where Steinitz uses positional and tactical themes to conduct an aesthetically pleasing attack:

In 1890, Steinitz would play Isidor Gunsberg for the title.  Gunsberg had placed 3rd in the 1889 New York tournament (Chigorin tied for first with Weiss) to earn the right to face Steinitz.  Steinitz defeated Gunsberg by a score of 10.5-8.5 (6 wins, 4 losses, 9 draws).  In 1892, Steinitz would have a re-match with Chigorin for the world championship.  The score was closer this time, but the results were the same: Steinitz defeated Chigorin by a score of 12.5-10.5 (10 wins, 8 losses, 5 draws).

It appeared that nobody on the planet could defeat Steinitz, and his undefeated match record had achieved the 30 year mark; an almost unbelievable feat!  But in 1894, a newcomer who was relatively untested in match play sent Steinitz a challenge -Emanuel Lasker.  Lasker had some recent tournament successes, but had not played Chigorin or Tarrasch (the recognized 2nd and 3rd best players in the world at the time) in a match.  It should be noted that Tarrasch had declined a match invitation from both Lasker and Steinitz in the early 1890s.

The chess world felt that Lasker stood little to no chance of defeating Steinitz, and Steinitz was on record as saying that he would win without a doubt.  Then the young Lasker performed what seemed to be a miracle, as he defeated Steinitz in the 1894 World Championship match by a convincing score of 12-6 (10 wins, 5 losses, 4 draws).  This was not only Steinitz' first match loss ever, but it ended his 32 year undefeated match streak while simultaneously removing the championship crown from Steinitz' head.

Steinitz continued playing after the loss to Lasker.  He won the 1894 tournament in New York, and won the brilliancy prize in 1895 in Hastings (this famous game can be found below, under the "Best Game" section).  In the 1895 St. Petersburg tournament he finished in second place behind Lasker, but ahead of Chigorin and Pillsbury.

From late 1896 to early 1897, Steinitz had a rematch with Lasker for the world championship.  Lasker won even more convincingly than in their first match, by a score of 12.5-4.5 (10 wins, 2 losses, 5 draws).  He would play in two more tournaments after the rematch with Lasker, but his results had noticeably declined.  Steinitz passed away in 1900, at the age of 64 (the same number of squares that are on a chess board).

Steinitz’s contributions to chess theory were just as valuable to the game as his playing talent. Giving up an early reliance on attacking at all costs, he explained in a logical and specific way why methods of sound development and strategic planning were the keys to correct play. The theories of Steinitz, along with those of his contemporary Paul Morphy, are widely regarded as having laid the foundation for the beginning of modern chess. Indeed, his early observations and theories are still quoted as the foundations and basic principles of chess mastery.

Best game: