Jacques Mieses
Encyclopedia
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Jacques Mieses was a German
-born Jewish chess
Grandmaster and writer. He became a naturalized British citizen after World War II
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1903). His best achievement was to win the first Trebitsch Memorial at Vienna 1907, and he came third at the 28-round Masters tournament at Ostend
the same year.
He organized the 1911 San Sebastian master tournament
and insisted that all the masters' expenses were paid. This was the first international tournament of José Raúl Capablanca
, who surprised everyone by winning.
Mieses moved to England
in the 1930s to escape Nazi
persecution. In 1950 he became the first FIDE-authorized British grandmaster
, though not (as is sometimes claimed) the first British grandmaster. ('Grandmaster' is a title first used of chess players in the nineteenth century,p156 and a number of British players were considered to be grandmasters in their day, the most obvious examples being Howard Staunton
and Joseph Blackburne. When FIDE first awarded the grandmaster title in 1950, Mieses was one of the 27 original recipients.)
Mieses wrote many tournament reports, but his style was regarded as fairly dry, in contrast with his wittiness in person.
and greatly developed its theory in the early 1900s. The chess opening
1.d3 is named the Mieses Opening
. He is also known for the Mieses Variation of the Vienna Game, which runs 1.e4 e5. 2.Nc3 Nf6 (or 2...Nc6) 3.g3. It's king bishop fianchetto can be seen as an early example of hypermodernism
. There is also a line in the Scotch Game
named Mieses Variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Nxc6) after he employed it four times at Hastings 1895
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Jacques Mieses was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born Jewish chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
Grandmaster and writer. He became a naturalized British citizen after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.p258
Chess career
Mieses was a dangerous attacker with a number of brilliant victories to his credit, e.g. against Frank Marshall (Monte CarloMonte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
1903). His best achievement was to win the first Trebitsch Memorial at Vienna 1907, and he came third at the 28-round Masters tournament at Ostend
Ostend 1907 chess tournament
The tournament was divided into two sections: the Championship Tournament and the Masters' Tournament. The first section was for players who had previously won an international tournament. The Championship Tournament took place in the Casino of Ostend from 16 May to 14 June 1907...
the same year.
He organized the 1911 San Sebastian master tournament
San Sebastian chess tournament
-San Sebastian 1911:The tournament was held from February 20 to March 17, 1911. The event was organized by Jacques Mieses, who insisted that all of the expenses of the masters were paid....
and insisted that all the masters' expenses were paid. This was the first international tournament of José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
, who surprised everyone by winning.
Mieses moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the 1930s to escape Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
persecution. In 1950 he became the first FIDE-authorized British grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
, though not (as is sometimes claimed) the first British grandmaster. ('Grandmaster' is a title first used of chess players in the nineteenth century,p156 and a number of British players were considered to be grandmasters in their day, the most obvious examples being Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton was an English chess master who is generally regarded as having been the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Saint-Amant. He promoted a chess set of clearly distinguishable pieces of standardised shape—the Staunton pattern—that...
and Joseph Blackburne. When FIDE first awarded the grandmaster title in 1950, Mieses was one of the 27 original recipients.)
Mieses wrote many tournament reports, but his style was regarded as fairly dry, in contrast with his wittiness in person.
Legacy
Mieses often used the Scandinavian DefenseScandinavian Defense
The Scandinavian Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves:The Center Counter Defense is one of the oldest recorded openings, first recorded as being played between Francesco di Castellvi and Narciso Vinyoles in Valencia in 1475 in what may be the first recorded game of modern chess,...
and greatly developed its theory in the early 1900s. The chess opening
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
1.d3 is named the Mieses Opening
Mieses Opening
The Mieses Opening is a chess opening:It is named after the German-British grandmaster Jacques Mieses.White's 1.d3 releases his c1 bishop and makes a modest claim for the center, but since it does not stake out as large a share of the centre as 1.d4 does, it is not a popular opening move. Of the...
. He is also known for the Mieses Variation of the Vienna Game, which runs 1.e4 e5. 2.Nc3 Nf6 (or 2...Nc6) 3.g3. It's king bishop fianchetto can be seen as an early example of hypermodernism
Hypermodernism (chess)
Hypermodernism is a school of chess that emerged after World War I. It featured challenges on the chess ideologies presented by central European masters, such as on Wilhelm Steinitz’ approach to the centre. It also challenged in particular the dogmatic rules set down by Siegbert Tarrasch...
. There is also a line in the Scotch Game
Scotch Game
The Scotch Game is a chess opening that begins with the movesWhite aims to dominate the centre by exchanging his d-pawn for Black's e-pawn. Black usually plays 3...exd4, as he has no good way to maintain his pawn on e5...
named Mieses Variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Nxc6) after he employed it four times at Hastings 1895
Hastings 1895 chess tournament
The Hastings 1895 chess tournament was a round-robin tournament of chess conducted in Hastings, England from August 5 to September 2, 1895.Hastings 1895 was arguably the strongest tournament in history at the time it occurred. All of the strongest players of the generation competed...
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External links
- Jacques Mieses - Information, Pictures and Games (in GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
)