Wilhem Steinitz (1836-1900) from Prague, Czech Republic, was the first official World Champion of chess. He was recognized as the world’s number one player in 1866, after he defeated Adolf Anderssen in a match, but it was not until he defeated his most powerful rival, Johannes Zukertort in their historic match of 1886 that he was recognized as the official champion. He defended his title twice against Mikhail Tchigorin and once against Isidor Gunsberg. He lost his title to Emanuel Lasker in 1894.
Steinitz lived in New York for several years, he changed his first name to “William” after he became an American citizen in 1888.
In the game below, Steinitz outplays his oponent Augustus Mongredien with high class style.
Click HERE to see the article and to play through the game of Steinitz and Mongredien.
Read HERE more about him on Wikipedia.
“Wilhem Steinitz (1836-1900) from Prague, Czech Republic, was the first official World Champion of chess.”
Well, yes, but at the time, Prague was in the Austrian Empire. There was no “Czech Republic” then.
When he defeated Zuckertort to become the official World Champion, Steinitz was actually a citizen (naturalised) of the United States. He died in New York City.
Whoops! Just read down a bit and saw that the article acknowledged that Steinitz had become an American citizen. ;o)
😉