Tarrasch Settles A Grudge - Best Of The 1910s - Nimzowitsch vs. Tarrasch, 1914
Few rivalries in chess have been so consequential as that of Aron Nimzowitsch and Siegbert Tarrasch. Famously, in their first game, a game played in front of many spectators, Tarrasch asserted: "Never in my life have I had such a won game after ten moves as I have now!"
Never in my life have I had such a won game after ten moves as I have now!
Tarrasch's dismissive turn of phrase (the game was eventually drawn) was taken as nigh unforgivably rude by Nimzowitsch. Thanks to this comment, to Nimzowitsch's reaction, and to fundamentally different philosophies of chess, the two engaged in extensive back and forths in editorials and books and games.
Ultimately, the most famous game between these two legends of the game was the following double-bishop sacrifice classic won by Tarrasch. It is fitting that in this game both players played according to their style, Nimzowitsch creatively and hypermodern - Tarrasch classically and directly.
Tarrasch felt this game deserved the brilliancy prize in the tournament, but it received second prize to the game Capablanca vs. Bernstein. Supposedly, Tarrasch cried foul and claimed the judges had wrongly deemed the game too similar to Lasker vs. Bauer, 1894 when that game featured a simpler and less aesthetic version of the theme. Ultimately, brilliancy prizes are always a matter of personal taste. Which game do you like best? Tarrasch's win or Capablanca's?
Top 10 Games of the 1910s
- #1: ????
- #2: ????
- #3: Nimzowitsch vs. Tarrasch, 1914
- #4: Capablanca vs. Marshall, 1918
- #5: Schlechter vs. Rubinstein, 1912
- #6: Janowski vs. Chajes, 1916
- #7: Spielmann vs. Rubinastein, 1911
- #8: Reti vs. Flamberg, 1912
- #9: Rubinstein vs. Vidmar, 1918
- #10: Nimzowitsch vs. Baron Ungern-Sternberg, 1910
- See also: Top 10 of the 1920s, Top 10 of the 1930s, Top 10 of the 1940s, Top 10 of the 1950s, Top 10 of the 1960s, Top 10 of the 1970s, Top 10 of the 1980s, Top 10 of the 1990s, Top 10 of the 2000s, and Top 10 of the 2010s
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I'm the Head of Community for Chess.com. I earned the National Master title in 2012, and in 2014, I returned to my home state of South Carolina to start Strategery: Chess and Games. In late 2015, I began working for Chess.com and haven't looked back since.
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