Historical Players (Pre-1900)

Philidor learned chess at the Cafe de la Regence in Paris, the center of French chess life. By the 1740s, he was playing regularly at the cafe and studying the game seriously. He traveled to the Netherlands and England, where he found he could earn more from chess than from music.

Greco traveled through Italy, Spain, France, and England, playing chess for money and recording his games. His manuscripts, written between 1619 and 1625, were published posthumously in 1665 as 'Le Jeu des Eschets' and went through many editions.

In 1559, Lopez traveled to Rome and played chess there. The following year, he published 'Libro de la invencion liberal y arte del juego del Axedrez' (Book of the Liberal Invention and Art of the Game of Chess) in Alcala de Henares. This was one of the first modern chess books and the first to systematically analyze openings.

Morphy won the First American Chess Congress in New York in 1857, defeating strong players including Louis Paulsen in the final. But America was not the center of the chess world. European players, particularly Howard Staunton, were considered the true elite.

Anderssen burst onto the international scene by winning the London 1851 tournament, the first international chess tournament ever held. He defeated Lionel Kieseritzky, Jozsef Szen, Howard Staunton, and Marmaduke Wyvill to take first prize. During this tournament, between rounds, he played the Immortal Game against Kieseritzky and the Evergreen Game against Dufresne the following year.

Staunton rose to prominence by defeating Pierre Saint-Amant in a match in 1843, establishing himself as the strongest player in the world. He organized the London 1851 tournament, the first international chess tournament, though he performed poorly in it (eliminated in the second round).

La Bourdonnais learned chess in Paris at the Cafe de la Regence, the historic center of French chess. He studied under Alexandre Deschapelles, the dominant French player of the early 19th century, and quickly surpassed his teacher.

Blackburne learned chess relatively late, at age 18 or 19, after seeing Paul Morphy's games during Morphy's visit to England in 1858-59. Morphy's brilliancy inspired the young Blackburne to take up the game seriously.

Zukertort learned chess from Adolf Anderssen and quickly became one of the strongest players in Germany. He defeated Anderssen in a match in 1871, signaling the changing of the guard in German chess.

McDonnell was a merchant and financial secretary to the Committee of Merchants in Calcutta, India, before returning to London. He learned chess relatively late in life but progressed rapidly, studying the games of Philidor and the French masters.

After fleeing Hungary, Lowenthal traveled to the United States, where he encountered a 12-year-old Paul Morphy in New Orleans in 1850. Lowenthal lost to the boy, later writing that each good move by Morphy caused his eyebrows to rise in surprise.

Saint-Amant was a clerk at the Paris Ministry of Finance and a wine merchant before dedicating himself to chess. He was a leading figure at the Cafe de la Regence, the historic center of French chess, and edited the chess periodical 'Le Palamede' (taking over from La Bourdonnais).

Burn learned chess as a teenager but did not take the game seriously until his twenties. He studied in Germany and was influenced by the developing German school of positional play. His style was notably different from the typical English attacking players of the era.

Paulsen first came to attention at the First American Chess Congress in 1857, where he finished second to Paul Morphy. Even before losing the final, Paulsen declared that Morphy would prove to be the world's greatest player.

Mackenzie dominated American chess for nearly two decades. He won the U.S. Chess Championship five times (1880, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888), a record that stood until Frank Marshall surpassed it.

Deschapelles served as a colonel in Napoleon's army, was wounded in battle, and decorated for bravery. He was also an accomplished whist and billiards player.

Tarrasch won or tied for first in five consecutive major international tournaments between 1889 and 1894, a feat unmatched at the time. He was considered by many to be the strongest player in the world during this period, though he never challenged for the World Championship, partly because of his medical practice and partly because he considered tournament results more meaningful.

Orphaned at age 10, Chigorin grew up in the Gatchina Orphanage. He learned chess there and showed exceptional talent. By the late 1870s, he was the strongest player in St. Petersburg, and by the 1880s, the strongest in Russia.

Nimzowitsch studied philosophy at the University of Berlin but devoted most of his energy to chess. He was a strong player by his early twenties but found himself frustrated by the dogmatic chess establishment, particularly the Tarrasch school, which insisted on rigid rules about center control and piece development.

Gunsberg began his chess career operating the mechanical chess player 'Mephisto,' an early chess automaton. This unusual start gave him extensive practice and he rapidly became a strong player.