Johannes Zukertort

by Bill Wall

Johannes Hermann
Zukertort (SOOK-er-
tort) was born in
Lublin, Congress
Poland (then an
occupied country by
Tsarist Russia) on
September 7, 1842.
His original name was
Jan Herman
Cukiertort. His mother
was the Baroness Bill Wall
Krzyzanovska. His
father, Yenkel Ezekiel
Cukiertort (1801-
1887) was a Christian
Protestant (Lutheran)
Johannes Zukertort missionary. He If your opponent offers
worked for the you a draw, try to work
'London Society' to out why he thinks he's
convert Polish Jews worse off. -Nigel Short
into Polish Christians.
Both parents were
Polish.

Zukertort had a
younger brother,
Adolf, who had 2 sons
(Johannes's nephews)
that were German
generals during World
War II.

The Tsarist-occupying
regime had closed
most Polish schools
and banned the Polish
language in
administrative service,
insisting on using the
Russian language.
Jewish peasants were
forced to speak
exclusively Russian
and many were
converted to Orthodox
Christianity (Russian
speaking) rather than
Roman Catholic or
Lutheran Christianity
(Polish speaking).

In the 1840s, the

family moved from
Russian Poland to
Warsaw, Prussia, 100
miles northwest of
Lublin, in a
missionary house of
the 'London Society.'
There, they could
practice and use their
Polish language.

In the summer of
1850, the family
moved to Piotrkow
Trybunalski
(Petrikau), near Lodz,
Poland, about 75 miles
southwest. He
attended the Piotrkow
School until he was
13.

In February 1855, the

family had to leave
Russian territory. The
'London Society' was
banned and accused of
being a front for
espionage. This Polish
Christian mission was
not approved by the
Russian Tsarist
occupying
administration (due to
the fact that Tsarist
regime wanted Jews to
learn to speak Russian
– rather than Polish
- and to be converted
into Orthodox
Christianity, rather
than into Roman
Catholicism or
Lutheran), and
therefore the Zukertort
family was expelled in
1855 out of Poland by
the occupying Tsarist
regime.

The family moved to

Breslau (present day
Wroclaw), in western
Poland, home of Adolf
Anderssen. The family
changed their name
from the Polish
version Cukiertort to
the German version of
Zukertort. Zukertort
attended a local
grammar school in
Breslau, the Mary
Magdalen
Gymnasium.

Zukertort learned to
play chess from his
father in Breslau
around 1858, when he
was 16. He bought his
first chess set at a fair.

In 1861, at the age of

19, he joined the
'Akademischer
Schachklub' in
Breslau. He entered a
local tournament in
Breslau, but lost every
game. He later became
a student of Adolf
Anderssen. He also
took up the study of
Bilguer's Handbuch to
improve his chess
openings.

In 1861, he enrolled at
the University of
Breslau to study
medicine. Zukertort
claimed he obtained
his medical degree at
the University of
Breslau in 1865 or
1866. While at the
university, he became
a member of the
Slavic Literature
Culture Society, which
was a club for Polish
students at Breslau
University who left
Russian-occupied
Poland.

He studied chemistry,
physiology, philology,
and theology with
distinction.

In 1862, Zukertort was

considered the second
best player in Breslau,
after Adolf Anderssen.
Zukertort wrote that he
had played thousands
of chess games against
Anderssen and gained
much experience.

In 1863, his fiancee

died during the 1863
Polish Uprising
against the Tsarist
Russians.

In 1864, Zukertort was

giving blindfold chess
exhibitions to
popularize chess. He
gave a 3-board
blindfold exhibition on
Poznan, Prussia (now
part of west-central
Poland).

In 1866, he obtained
German citizenship.

In 1866, during the

Austro-Prussian War,
he was active in the
Prussian medical
corps.

In 1867, Zukertort was

struck from the list of
students on account of
poor attendance. He
left the university
without taking either
intermediate or final
exams, and was not
licensed to practice
medicine. He was not
a medical doctor.

In 1867, he moved to
Berlin and became co-
editor of the Neue
Berliner
Schachzeitung with
Adolf Anderssen.
Zukertort remained
editor until 1871.

In 1868, he lost to
Adolf Anderssen
(1818-1879) in a
match in Berlin, with 3
wins, 8 losses, and 1
draw.

In 1868, Zukertort
gave a 9-board
blindfold exhibition in
Berlin.

In 1869, Zukertort got

into a dispute with
chess composer
Johannes Minckwitz, a
chess publicist.
Minckwitz, in his
Leipziger
Scachzeitung chess
magazine, published a
negative review of a
collection of chess
problems published by
Zukertort. The dispute
was carried out in
several issues of
Zukertort's magazine
and Minckwitz's
magazine.

In 1870-71, he was
active in the medical
corps during the
Franco-Prussian war.

In 1871, he beat Adolf

Anderssen in a match
with 5 wins, 2 losses,
and no draws.

In 1871, Zukertort
worked on a
tournament book for
the West German
Chess Congress held
in Krefeld.

In 1871, the
publication of
Zukertort's Neue
Berliner
Schachzeitung ended
by its publisher, J.
Springer, which was
the source of his main
income.

In 1872, he moved to
London after being
offered 20 guineas
travel expenses by
some English patrons.
The patrons hoped that
Zukertort would be the
main rival of the less-
popular Wilhelm
Steinitz. He was
invited to join the St.
George's Chess Club
in London.

Zukertort lived at 187

Walworth Road,
London.

In 1872, played in a
London tournament.
He came in 3rd,
behind Wilhelm
Steinitz and Joseph
Blackburne.
In 1872, he lost to
Steinitz in a match
with 1 win, 7 losses,
and 4 draws. The
stakes was 20 pounds
for the winner and 10
pounds for the loser.

In 1872, in an account
of his life for the
Norfolk News in East
Anglia, England,
Zukertort claimed
aristocratic descent,
fluent in 9 languages,
fought in numerous
battles, and that he got
a medical degree from
Breslau.

In 1873, Zukertort
published a series of
chess articles in the
Westminster Papers
and also wrote for the
City of London Chess
Magazine.

In 1873, he
demonstrated his
blindfold chess skills
by playing 6 games
blindfolded
simultaneously during
the first Oxford
University vs.
Cambridge University
chess match.

In 1876, he took 2nd

in a London
tournament.
On December 16,
1876, he played 16
simultaneous blindfold
games in London (St.
George's Chess Club),
winning 12, drawing
3, and losing only 1
game. It was a new
world record for
simultaneous blindfold
games. The records
stood for 24 years,
until Pillsbury equaled
then exceeded the
number of
simultaneous blindfold
games in 1900 to as
many as 20
simultaneous blindfold
games.

In 1877, he took 1st at

Cologne and 2nd at
Leipzig.

In 1878, he became a
naturalized citizen of
the United Kingdom.

In June-July 1878, he
tied for 1st at the Paris
International Chess
Congress with
Winawer and beat
Winawer in the play-
off. Zukertort won
1,000 francs and was
given two Sevres
vases, worth 5,800
francs each, by the
President of France.
He sold those three
days later at a pawn
shop for half the
value.

From August 1878 to

February 1886, he was
ranked #1 in the
world. (Source:
chessmetrics)

In January 1879,
Zukertort started
playing and teaching
Lord Randolph
Churchill.

In 1879, he was co-

editor, with Leopold
Hoffer, of The Chess
Monthly. The two
collaborated on the
magazine until 1888.

In 1880, he won a
match in London
against Rosenthal with
7 wins, 1 loss, and 11
draws.

In 1881, he was 2nd at

Berlin, behind
Blackburne. He then
beat Blackburne in a
match in London with
7 wins, 2 losses, and 5
draws.

In 1882, he tied for 4th

at Vienna.

In April-June 1883, he
took 1st place at
London (played at
Victoria Hall), 3
points ahead of
Steinitz, scoring 22.5
out of 29. His
performance rating for
this event was 2844.
He could have done
even better, as he lost
his last three games,
attributed by some to
the use of drugs to
deal with the pressure.
After this tournament,
Zukertort was widely
regarded as the
unofficial World
Chess Champion.

On October 20, 1883,

Zukertort left England
for and extended tour
of the North American
continent. He wanted
to bring his name to
the public in an
attempt to secure
backers for a world
championship match
between him and
Steinitz. Zukertort
gave simultaneous and
blindfold exhibitions
for $100 each.

In April-May 1884,
Zukertort visited New
Orleans, but there is
no record that he met
with Paul Morphy,
who died in New
Orleans on July 10,
1884.

In December 1884, the

Zukertort Amstelveen
Chess Club was
organized in the
Netherlands.

In March 1885,
Zukertort listed his
conditions of a world
championship match
with Steintiz, which
appeared in The Chess
Monthly.

In 1885, Steinitz and

Zukertort agreed to
play an official world
championship chess
match. The first to
achieve 10 wins,
draws not counting,
would be recognized
as the world chess
champion. Steinitz
was living in Brooklyn
at the time and
Zukertort was living in
London. (see my
article on Steinitz for
more detail).

The match was held in

New York for the first
5 games. The match
then moved to St.
Louis for the next 4
games. The final 11
games were held at the
New Orleans Chess,
Checker, and Whist
Club in New Orleans.

The match started on

January 11, 1886, with
Steinitz winning the
first game. Steinitz
wanted the U.S. flag to
be placed next to him
during the match, even
though he still was an
Austrian citizen (he
became an American
citizen almost three
years later). Less than
40 people were present
at the start of this
historical match,
despite Steinitz's
daughter, Flora,
selling programs and
photographs to earn a
few extra dollars for
the family. Steinitz
couldn't even afford a
winter coat for her
daughter. The New
York site was at the
Cartier's Rooms on
Fifth Avenue and
sponsored by the
Manhattan Chess
Club. The time control
was 30 moves in 2
hours, with a 2 hour
dinner break, then 15
moves an hour.

Zukertort won the next

4 games in a row
before moving on to
the St. Louis Chess,
checker, and Whist
Club in St. Louis,
Missouri. In St. Louis,
Steinitz won 3 games,
with one game
drawing. In New
Orleans, Zukertort
could only win one
game. Steinitz won 6,
the rest drawn. Steinitz
won the match on
March 29, 1886, with
10 wins, 5 losses, and
5 draws and was
proclaimed official
world chess
champion.

The match was the

first time that a chess
demonstration board
was used for the
audience. The demo
board was run by one
of America's strongest
players, George
Mackenzie. The stakes
were $4,000 (over
$95,000 in today's
currency) or $2,000 a
side.

On March 29, 1886,

Steinitz was declared
the winner. Zukertort
lost with 5 wins, 10
losses, and 5 draws.
Steinitz received
$1,000 in prize money
and $3,000 was paid to
those who bet on the
winner. Steinitz
returned home to New
York and Zukertort
left for San Francisco.

After the match,

Zukertort suffered
from rheumatism,
coronary heart disease,
kidney problems, and
arteriosclerosis.

In 1886, he took 7th in

London and 3rd in
Nottingham.

In 1887, he took 15th

at Frankfurt and 4th at
London.

In 1887, he lost a
match against
Blackburne with 1
win, 5 losses, and 8
draws.

In 1887, his father,

Yenkel, died.

In 1888, he took 7th at

London.

Zukertort's last
tournament was the
summer British Chess
Club Handicap
Tournament, held at
King Street, Covent
Garden, London in
June-July, 1888. He
had chances of
winning the
tournament and was in
1st place at the time of
his death. At the time
of his death he had
won 7 games, no
draws, and 1 loss. The
playing committee
decided that all his
unfinished games
would be declared
drawn. 6 of his games
were drawn and he
ended up tied for 3rd
place, despite 6 games
not played.
Blackburne and
Gunsberg tied for 1st.

On June 19, 1888,

Zukertort had a
cerebral stroke while
playing an off-hand
chess game against
Sylvain Meyer at the
Simpson's Divan
coffee house. He was
then taken to the
British Chess Club,
and then to a hospital
around 2:30 A.M.

He died at 10 A.M. on
June 20, 1888 at the
Charing Cross
Hospital in London.
He was 45 years old.
His brother, Adolf, a
stenographer, also died
at age 45.

Zukertort was buried

in Brompton Cemetery
in southwest London
on June 26, 1888.
Some of the mourners
at his burial included
Bird, Hoffer, and
Gunsberg.

Over the years, grass

covered his grave, and
his grave went
undiscovered until
March 2011, when it
was restored with the
help of grandmaster
Stuart Conquest and
Polish Heritage
Society member
Marek Stella-Sawicki.
His grave was
rededicated with a new
headstone, donated by
the Polish Heritage
Society, on June 26,
2012. The rededication
of Zukertort's grave
was conducted by
Rev. Walter Jagucki,
Bishop Emeritus of the
Lutheran Church in
Great Britain, in
conjunction with
Father Wladyslaw
Wyzowacki, Polish
Roman Catholic
priest.

A Zukertort Chess
Club in London was
organized a few weeks
after his death.

Zukertort claimed he
was fluent in at 14
languages (English,
German, French,
Spanish, Italian, Latin,
Greek, Hebrew,
Russian, Sanskrit,
Arabic, Turkish,
Danish, and Polish).

He claimed he fought
in several military
campaigns for Prussia
against Austria,
Denmark, and France.
He once had been left
for dead on the
battlefield. He
allegedly was
decorated for gallantry
9 times.
He was a fencer, a
world class whist and
dominoes player, a
pianist, a music critic,
swordsman,
marksman, editor of a
political paper, and on
the staff of Bismark's
newspaper, the
Allgemeine Zeitung.
He was a leading
spokesman for prison
reform.

Although he never
married, he had two
illegitimate daughters,
Iseln and Maud.

It is said that at a
dinner party, with both
Steinitz and Zukertort
attending, a toast was
made to the greatest
chess player in the
world. Both Steinitz
and Zukertort both
rose at the same time.

Zukertort introduced
the move 1.Nf3, which
was once known as
Zukertort's Opening.

In tournament play,
Zukertort plyed 465
games and won 267
games (57.42%), drew
78 games (16.77%)
and lost 120 games
(25.81%).
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