LaviChess

Wilhelm Steinitz

Wilhelm Steinitz was the first official world chess champion. He won the title in 1886 and held it for eight years. He showed that patience and calm defense could beat the wild attacks that were in fashion, and that way of thinking is still part of chess today.

  • BornMay 1836, Prague
  • DiedAugust 12, 1900, New York
  • CountryAustria, later the United States
  • World champion1886–1894
  • In the line of championsNo. 1 of 18
  • Highest ratingNo FIDE rating
    FIDE's official lists began in July 1971

The road to the title

Steinitz was born in Prague. In 1862 he played his first big tournament, in London, and he stayed in England. In 1866 he won a match against the German Adolf Anderssen, who was then regarded as the strongest player in the world. From then on many saw Steinitz as the best, but there was no official title yet.

In 1883 he moved to the United States, and in 1888 he became an American citizen.

The title matches

Steinitz's points come first, then wins (+), losses (−) and draws (=) in the classical games. A rapid tiebreak is given separately.
YearAgainstResultWhere
1886Johannes Zukertort12½–7½ (+10 −5 =5)
Won the title		New York, St. Louis, and New Orleans
1889Mikhail Chigorin10½–6½ (+10 −6 =1)
Kept the title		Havana
1890–1891Isidor Gunsberg10½–8½ (+6 −4 =9)
Kept the title		New York
1892Mikhail Chigorin12½–10½ (+10 −8 =5)
Kept the title		Havana
1894Emanuel Lasker7–12 (+5 −10 =4)
Lost the title		New York, Philadelphia, and Montreal
1896–1897Emanuel Lasker4½–12½ (+2 −10 =5)
Lost		Moscow

The first title match

In 1886 Steinitz met Johannes Zukertort in the first match that every chess historian counts as a world championship match. It was played in three cities, New York, St. Louis and New Orleans, and the first to win ten games would take it.

It started badly. After five games Zukertort had won four and Steinitz one. Then everything turned: of the last fifteen games, Zukertort won only one. Steinitz took the match by ten wins to five.

How he played

Before Steinitz, players loved quick attacks and bold sacrifices. Steinitz argued that an attack has to be prepared: first the pieces must stand well, then the attack can come. He collected small advantages, a weak pawn here and a better square there, until they were enough to win.

He often accepted his opponent's sacrifices and defended calmly. Many of his contemporaries found that dull, but the next generation of masters built on his ideas.

Afterward

Steinitz defended the title three times: against Mikhail Chigorin in Havana in 1889 and 1892, and against Isidor Gunsberg in New York in 1890–1891. In 1894 he lost it to Emanuel Lasker, 32 years his junior, and Lasker won the return match in Moscow in 1896–1897 even more clearly.

Between the two matches Steinitz played one of his best-known games, against Curt von Bardeleben at Hastings in 1895. He died in New York in 1900.

Steinitz's games here

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Steinitz vs. von Bardeleben, Hastings 1895. After 22.Rxe7+: all four white pieces can be taken, but Black can't take any of them without losing.

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Wilhelm Steinitz
  • Store norske leksikon: Wilhelm Steinitz
  • OlimpBase: the title matches 1886–1897 (game-by-game results)
  • PGN Mentor: the title matches' games

The facts on this page come from the sources above, checked against each other. Where the sources disagree, only what they agree on is given. The match results are also checked against the games themselves.

Updated November 8, 2026