Aaron Nimzowitsch

Chessmetrics Ranking: ranked as world number two for six months in 1913, continuously world number three from 1927-1931

Tournament Career: winner of nine super-tournaments:

winner of the 1914 Russian Championship alongside Alekhine

winner of the Karlovy Vary 1929, Copenhagen 1923, Marienbad 1925, Dresden 1926, Hanover 1926 tournaments

and three others…

Why He Deserved It:

We are reaching the heavyweights. Author of one of the most famous chess textbooks, a leading figure of chess hypermodernism, a significant theorist, composer of chess problems, and author, described by his contemporaries as eccentric yet friendly, all of this is Danish chess player Aaron Nimzowitsch.

He managed to break into the world elite even before the outbreak of World War I, but it was the interwar period that he most influenced with his presence in the world of chess. For a time, he was the second-best player in the world and spent many years in the elite top five. He won significant tournaments, notably triumphing in Karlovy Vary 1929, where he finished ahead of Capablanca, Spielmann, Rubinstein, Euwe, Bogoljubow, and Vidmar among many others. His list of victorious super-tournaments includes many other triumphs.

And he would have undoubtedly achieved many more milestones had he not died in 1935 at a relatively young age due to a treacherous illness.

Many world players have repeatedly stated that his book My System significantly influenced their chess development. I, the author of this article, can also attest to this. Reading his book greatly helped my chess growth, and I recommend it to any beginner eager to improve their chess game.

Best Games:

Friedrich Saemisch vs Aron Nimzowitsch

Copenhagen 1923