School of chess 1

School of chess
A school of chess means a chess player or group of players that share common ideas about the strategy of the game.
There have been several schools in the history of modern chess. Today there is less dependence on schools – players
draw on many sources and play according to their personal style.

Philidor
In 1749, François-André Danican Philidor published Analyse du jeu
des Échecs. This was the first book to discuss the strategy of chess in
the whole in detail. It was also the first to discuss the interplay of
pieces and pawns in the game. Philidor believed that maintaining the
mobility of pawns was the most important strategic factor of chess, and
he discussed pawn structure, particularly isolated pawns, doubled
pawns, and backward pawns.

Philidor's writings were widely praised and often misunderstood for 90

years. His ideas were taken up by the English school in the 1840s. In
1925 Aron Nimzowitsch recognized the importance of pawn mobility.
Philidor has increasingly been recognized as the founder of modern
chess strategy. Philidor

Modenese school
The Modenese school is due to three 18th-century players known as the Modenese Masters: Domenico Lorenzo
Ponziani, Giambattista Lolli, and Ercole del Rio. They recommended playing the Italian Game opening. In contrast
to Philidor's idea of pawn structure and mobility, the Modenese school emphasized rapid development of the pieces
for an attack on the opposing king, aiming for checkmate or winning material in the process. This style of play was
used by Gioachino Greco, Alessandro Salvio, and other Italian players of the 16th century (Sunnucks 1970:309–10).
School of chess 2

English school
The English school was founded by Howard Staunton in the
1840s. His followers included Bernhard Horwitz, Elijah Williams,
Marmaduke Wyvill, and to some degree Adolf Anderssen and
Daniel Harrwitz. In this style, there was no quick attack on the
opposing king. Instead, the position was prepared – control was
gained over the center and key points. Attacks came only after
strategic advantages were obtained. Pieces were developed behind
pawns to support their advance. Staunton pioneered the use of
flank openings and the fianchetto of the bishop. After Staunton
practically retired in 1853, these ideas were neglected.

Staunton

Romantic chess
Romantic chess was the style of chess prevalent in the 19th century. It
was characterized by brash sacrifices and open, tactical games.
Winning was secondary to winning with style, so much, in fact, that it
was considered unsportsmanly to decline a gambit (the sacrifice of a
pawn or piece to obtain an attack). It is no coincidence that the most
popular openings played by the Romantics were the King's Gambit
Accepted and the Evans Gambit Accepted. Some of the major players
of the Romantic era were Adolf Anderssen, Paul Morphy and Henry
Blackburne. A famous game of this time is the Immortal Game
between Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky. The Romantic style was
effectively ended on the highest level by Wilhelm Steinitz, who, with
his more positional approach, crushed all of his contemporaries and
ushered in the modern age of chess.

Anderssen
School of chess 3

Classical school
Around 1860 Louis Paulsen realized that many attacks on the
king succeeded because of poor defense. Wilhelm Steinitz
agreed with that and rejected the prevailing notion that attack
was more honorable than defense. Steinitz strengthened
defensive techniques and advocated strategic maneuvering to
gain enough of an advantage before launching an attack.
Steinitz was an advocate of the queenside pawn majority and
the use of the bishop pair. He also emphasized occupation of
the center of the chessboard and pawn structure. Steinitz
began using his ideas in games in 1872. Steinitz had few
followers at first, but by the 1890s most masters had been
influenced by his ideas. Siegbert Tarrasch was a great
promoter of the Steinitz school.

Steinitz

Hypermodern school
The hypermodern school was founded by Aron Nimzowitsch, Richard
Réti, Savielly Tartakower, Gyula Breyer, and Ernst Grünfeld in the
1920s (Averbakh 2012:81). The hypermodernists rejected the idea that
occupation of the center was important. Instead, the hypermodern
school emphasizes control of the center by attacking it with pieces
especially from the periphery. The hypermodern school also denied the
superiority of the two bishops (Averbakh 2012:81).

Nimzowitsch
School of chess 4

Soviet hegemony
In the 1940s the Soviet Union began a long domination of chess.
The Soviet school agreed with Tarrasch and emphasized mobility.
A weakness that could not be attacked was not a real weakness.
The Soviet school was based on teachings of Mikhail Chigorin
(1850-1908).

References
• Averbakh, Yuri (2012), A History of Chess from Chaturanga to
the Present Day, Russell Enterprises, ISBN 978-1-936490-44-8
• Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1992), "schools of chess",
The Oxford Companion to Chess (2nd ed.), Oxford University
Press, ISBN 0-19-280049-3
• Sunnucks, Anne (1970), "Modenese masters", The
Encyclopaedia of Chess, St. Martins Press,
ISBN 978-0-7091-4697-1
Chigorin
Article Sources and Contributors 5

Article Sources and Contributors

School of chess  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=587651011  Contributors: Bubba73, Frze, IMEngqvist, Ihardlythinkso, Maurice Carbonaro, OTAVIO1981, Racklever, Rtc,
Tassedethe, 3 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:André Philidor.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:André_Philidor.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Conscious, Elcobbola, Fred J, Materialscientist, Oos,
SunCreator, Väsk, 2 anonymous edits
File:Howard-Staunton-ILN-detail-1.jpeg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Howard-Staunton-ILN-detail-1.jpeg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: R & E Taylor
File:And00278.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:And00278.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Aleksandrit, Eubulides, Lorenzo, Sherbrooke, Wutsje
File:Steinitz1866.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Steinitz1866.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Conscious, Dejvas, JuTa, Przemek Jahr, RainerStaudte, 1
anonymous edits
File:Aron Nimzowitsch.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Aron_Nimzowitsch.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Not mentioned
File:Tschigorin.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tschigorin.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Original uploader was Miastko at de.wikipedia

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