foxychess.comJoin free

FoxyChess › Grandmasters › Aron Nimzowitsch

Aron Nimzowitsch

1900s – 1930sWorld Champion —Peak rating Pre-FIDE516 games

Hypermodern pioneer and author of My System. He taught prophylaxis, blockade and overprotection, controlled the centre from a distance, and gave his name to the Nimzo-Indian Defence.

Aron Nimzowitsch
Photo: Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How Nimzowitsch plays

Nimzowitsch was the leading hypermodern thinker: he argued that the centre can be controlled from a distance, and his book My System taught prophylaxis, blockade and overprotection to generations of players. He was one of the world's top three in the late 1920s and gave his name to the Nimzo-Indian Defence.

What to learn from Nimzowitsch

Nimzowitsch's games show how a plan can be built around a single weak square or a blockading knight. His 'Immortal Zugzwang Game' below ends with White, a piece up in material terms, unable to move anything without loss.

A game to play through

Saemisch, Fritz vs Nimzowitsch, Aaron - Copenhagen 1923 0-1 — the final position. Sämisch vs Nimzowitsch, Copenhagen 1923, the 'Immortal Zugzwang Game'. In the final position White resigned, because every move loses material: zugzwang in the middlegame.

Aron Nimzowitsch: the final position
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.Nc3 O-O 7.O-O d5 8.Ne5 c6 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.Bf4 a6 11.Rc1 b5 12.Qb3 Nc6 13.Nxc6 Bxc6 14.h3 Qd7 15.Kh2 Nh5 16.Bd2 f5 17.Qd1 b4 18.Nb1 Bb5 19.Rg1 Bd6 20.e4 fxe4 21.Qxh5 Rxf2 22.Qg5 Raf8 23.Kh1 R8f5 24.Qe3 Bd3 25.Rce1 h6
Play through 516 Aron Nimzowitsch games

Watch every game move by move, or play the winner's moves yourself and see how close you get. Free to join, no card needed.

or

By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. You must be 13 or over.

Aron Nimzowitsch games on FoxyChess

Watch each game move by move, or play the winner's moves yourself and see how close you get.

…and 476 more inside FoxyChess.

More grandmasters