Bernhard Horwitz

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Bernhard Horwitz

Bernhard Horwitz (born May 10, 1807 in Neustrelitz as Benjamin Horwitz , † August 29, 1885 in London ) was a German - British chess master and study composer .

Horwitz was of Jewish descent. He later changed his first name Benjamin to Bernhard. From 1836 to 1839 he studied painting at the Art Academy in Berlin and was a member of the Berlin chess school there , the Pleiades .

The term "Horwitz runner" stands for two runners standing on adjacent diagonals, both aiming at the opposing king position. Aaron Nimzowitsch used this term in his book Mein System .

Chess player

In 1839 Horwitz moved to Hamburg , then to England in 1845 to study his art profession. There he took British citizenship and actively participated in the chess business. He played competitions with the best local players, including Howard Staunton (1846, 7:14 with 3 draws), Lionel Kieseritzky (1846, 4: 7 with 1 draw), Daniel Harrwitz (1846, 4: 6 with 1 draw and 1849, 6: 7 with 2 draws), Henry E. Bird (1851, 7: 3 with 4 draws), Johann Jacob Löwenthal (1852, 1: 4), Ignaz von Kolisch (1860, 1: 3).

In 1851 he took part in the first international tournament in London , where he finished 7th. He defeated Bird 2.5: 1.5 in the first round, but then lost to Staunton 2.5: 4.5.

Horwitzen's best historical rating was 2579. This he reached in October 1846. At times he was third in the world rankings.

Chess composer

His main merit in chess lies far more in his analytical work as a composer of tasks and studies . With the following contribution he won the first study composition tournament in history, which was organized by Löwenthal.

Bernhard Horwitz
tournament London, 1862
1st prize
  a b c d e f G H  
8th Chess --t45.svg Chess bdt45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg 8th
7th Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess qdt45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg 7th
6th Chess --t45.svg Chess plt45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess ndt45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess nlt45.svg 6th
5 Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess kdt45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess nlt45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg 5
4th Chess plt45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess pdt45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg 4th
3 Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess plt45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess rlt45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg 3
2 Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess plt45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess plt45.svg Chess klt45.svg Chess --t45.svg 2
1 Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg Chess --t45.svg 1
  a b c d e f G H  
White to move wins

Template: checkerboard / maintenance / new



Solution:

1. c3xd4 + Kc5 – d5
2. c2 – c4 + Kd5 – e6
3. Rf3xf6 + Qe7xf6
4. d4 – d5 + Ke6 – d6
5. Kg2 – f1 Qf6 – f4
6. Nh6 – f7 + ,
as Black
wins with one on the next move Gabel (the subject of the study) loses his queen.

In 1851, together with Josef Kling, he published a collection of 208 endgames , Chess Studies : These are mainly collaborative works. This work, published in expanded form as Chess Studies and End-Games in 1884 after the death of Kling von Horwitz , became the basis of modern endgame theory. Both authors are also considered to be the founders of the modern endgame study.

From 1855 Horwitz composed under his own name over 200 studies, which he published in magazines such as Westminster Papers , The City of London Chess Magazine and The Chess Monthly .

Works

  • Kling, Horwitz: Chess studies; or endings of games. London 1851

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Aaron Nimzowitsch: My system. Bound edition, Hamburg 1965, p. 226 (first edition Berlin 1925)
  2. [1]