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Mikhail Chigorin M English <

Full name Mikhail Chigorin

Life Nov 12, 1850 - Jan 25, 1908 (age 57)
Place of Gatchina, St. Petersburg Governorate,
birth Russian Empire Remove Ads

Federation Russia

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Bio

Mikhail Chigorin was a Russian master and a world-class player. He tied for first place in Latest News …
the 1889 New York tournament and won the first three All-Russian tournaments from
1899-1903. Chigorin is considered the forefather of the Soviet school and played the first
Evgeni Vasiukov,
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official world champion Wilhelm Steinitz for the title on two separate occasions.

-0:02
Meier Misses Opportunity vs
Carlsen In Grenke
Style
Early Chess Career To World Class Player
World Championship Matches Carlsen Falters In Winning
Position, Loses To MVL
Life After The World Championship Matches
Legacy

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Style

Chigorin's style was tactical, aggressive and imaginative. Like most players from the
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1860s through the 1890s, he played in a romantic fashion with many sacrifices and
ferocious attacks. He was known to play unique openings (like the Evans gambit and his Sandra Zybrant
famous 1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 system). In this example, Chigorin uses his own off-beat system Grzegorz Zybrant
versus the French defense against Siegbert Tarrasch (a world-class player at the time). Angelina Zybina
Gintas Zybartas
This game from the late 19th century sees a system very close to what we now know as
Gabriele Zybartaite
the King's Indian Attack,and ends in a nice tactical combination:

Mikhail Chigorin vs. Siegbert Tarrasch

1-0 | Chigorin - Tarrasch / St. Petersburg RUE / 23 Oct 1893 | Round: 8 | ECO: A07
8
1. e4 e6 2. Į e2 c5 3. g3 Ė c6 4.
7
Ă g2 Ä e7 5. Ç c3 Ķ c7 6. Ç h3 a6
7. Ç f4 Ė d4 8. Į d1 Ė f6 9. d3 b5

6
10. O-O Ä b7 11. Ă e3 Ļ c8 12. a4
b4 13. Ç b1 e5 14. Ç d5 Ä xd5 15.

5 exd5 Ķ d6 16. Ç d2 Ķ c7 17. Ç c4

h5 18. f4 Ė f5 19. Ă d2 exf4 20.

4 Ă xf4 d6 21. Į e2 Ļ d8 22. Ľ ae1

Ą f8 23. c3 a5 24. Ă d2 bxc3 25.
3 bxc3 Ė h6 26. Ç xa5 Ė fg8 27.
Ç c6 Ļ e8 28. c4 Ķ d7 29. Ă f4 h4
2 30. g4 Ė xg4 31. Ă h3 Ė 8f6 32.
Ă g5 Ļ h5 33. Ă xf6 gxf6 34.
1 Į xg4 1-0
a b c d e f g h

Δ¥ f J # , … @
Early Chess Career To World Class Player

Chigorin did not learn to play chess until the age of 16 and did not take the game
seriously until he was 24. After finishing his education and starting a career as a
government officer, he quit his job in order to pursue chess full-time. In the late 1870s he
started a chess magazine and began playing matches against established Russian
masters.

After defeating the strong Russian master Semyon Alapin in 1880, he was quickly
recognized as one of the strongest players in the country. Here is an early example of
Chigorin's aggressive play, where he sacrifices his queen very early for a memorable
mating net created with the bishop pair and a rook:

Victor Knorre vs. Mikhail Chigorin

0-1 | St Petersburg / St. Petersburg / 1874 | ECO: C50
1
1. e4 e5 2.Ç f3 Ė c6 3. Ă c4 Ä c5
4. O-O Ė f6 5. d3 d6 6. Ă g5 h6 7.
2
Ă h4 g5 8. Ă g3 h5 9. Ç xg5 h4 10.
3
Ç xf7 hxg3 11. Ç xd8 Ä g4 12.
Į d2 Ė d4 13. Ç c3 Ė f3+ 14. gxf3
4 Ä xf3 0-1

h g f e d c b a

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In 1881, Chigorin had his international debut in Berlin. He came in third place (tied with
Szymon Winawer) behind world-class players Johannes Zukertort and Joseph
Blackburne, but ahead of many masters. In the historic London tournament of 1883, he
finished in fourth place (behind Zukertort, Wilhelm Steinitz, and Blackburne) ahead of
many world-class players.

It was after this tournament that he was recognized as a world-class player. In 1889,
Chigorin tied for first (with Max Weiss) in the strong New York tournament. His
performance in this 1889 tournament allowed him to challenge World Champion Steinitz
to a match for the title.

World Championship Matches

Chigorin and Steinitz played their first world championship match in 1889. This was also
the first time that the first official world champion, Steinitz, would defend his title.
Chigorin played well but ultimately lost the match by a score of 10.5-6.5. Three years
later, Chigorin and Steinitz played again for the title. The 1892 rematch had many
memorable games, and the match was closer than the first. When it was over, Steinitz
had defeated Chigorin by a more narrow margin of 12.5-10.5.

•M.TSCHIGORINundANDR.ASCHARIN
amSchachbrett
Rigaer-Schachverein den aDt 140

H Chigorin (left) playing against Andreas Ascharin in 1892. Photo: Wikimedia.

In Chigorin's brilliant round-one win in the 1892 world championship match, he employs
his beloved Evans gambit and gets great compensation for the gambit pawn. He
establishes an octopus knight on d6 before sacrificing it for a powerful attack that keeps
Steinitz's king on the sixth rank for the remainder of the game:

Mikhail Chigorin vs. Wilhelm Steinitz

1-0 | Steinitz - Chigorin World Championship Rematch / Havana CUB / 01 Jan 1892
| Round: 1 | ECO: C52
8
1. e4 e5 2.Ç f3 Ė c6 3. Ă c4 Ä c5
4. b4 Ä xb4 5. c3 Ä a5 6. O-O d6
7
7. d4 Ä g4 8. Ă b5 exd4 9. cxd4

6
Ä d7 10. Ă b2 Ė ce7 11. Ă xd7+
Ķ xd7 12. Ç a3 Ė h6 13. Ç c4 Ä b6
5 14. a4 c6 15. e5 d5 16. Ç d6+
Ą f8 17. Ă a3 Ą g8 18. Ľ b1 Ė hf5
4 19. Ç xf7 Ą xf7 20. e6+ Ą xe6 21.
Ç e5 Ķ c8 22. Ľ e1 Ą f6 23. Į h5
3 g6 24. Ă xe7+ Ą xe7 25. Ç xg6+
Ą f6 26. Ç xh8 Ä xd4 27. Ľ b3
2 Ķ d7 28. Ľ f3 Ļ xh8 29. g4 Ļ g8
30. Į h6+ Ļ g6 31. Ľ xf5+ 1-0
1

a b c d e f g h

Δ¥ f J # , … @
Life After The World Championship Matches

Chigorin would never play for the world championship title again after his loss to Steinitz
in 1892, but he did not give up on chess at all. By the end of his career, Chigorin had an
extremely close lifetime score against Steinitz (24 wins, 27 losses, eight draws). Here is a
nice win from Chigorin from this period, where he dominates the dark squares on the
kingside before ending the game by controlling the entire first rank:

Isidor Gunsberg vs. Mikhail Chigorin

0-1 | Chigorin - Gunsberg / Havana CUB / 03 Jan 1890 | Round: 2 | ECO: C77
Ç 8.Ä Ç 9.
10. Į e2 b5 11. Ă c2 d4 12. g4
1

Ķ d6 13. Ç 1d2 Ä e6 14. cxd4

2
Ė xd4 15. Ç xd4 Ķ xd4 16. Ç f3
Ķ b4+ 17. Ā f1 Ķ d6 18. b3 c5 19.
3
Ă b2 Ė d7 20. Ç g5 Ė b8 21. Ç xe6
fxe6 22. Ā g2 Ļ a7 23. Ľ hf1 Ļ af7
4
24. f3 Ė c6 25. Į d2 Ļ f4 26.

5
Ľ ad1 Ķ e7 27. Į e1 Ä f6 28. Į e2
Ä h4 29. Ă b1 h5 30. a3 hxg4 31.
hxg4 Ķ g5 32. Ā h3 Ļ 8f7 33. Ľ c1
6
Ķ h6 34. Ā g2 Ļ h7 35. Ľ h1 Ļ xf3
36. Į xf3 Ķ d2+ 37. Ā g1 Ä f2+
7
38. Ā f1 Ė d4 39. Ă xd4 Ķ xc1+
40. Ā e2 Ļ xh1 41. Ă xf2 Ķ xb1
8
42. g5 Ķ f1+ 0-1
h g f e d c b a

Δ¥ f J # , … @
In 1893, he drew a match with Siegbert Tarrasch, who was also considered a top-five
player. In 1895, Chigorin had arguably the best result of his career in the historic Hastings
tournament. He came in second place (behind Harry Pillsbury), ahead of the world
champion Emanuel Lasker, Tarrasch, and his old foe Steinitz. In the following game from
1896, we see that Chigorin was not a single-dimensional player as he grinds out an
endgame win versus Tarrasch:

Mikhail Chigorin vs. Siegbert Tarrasch

1-0 | Budapest / Budapest AUH / 17 Oct 1896 | Round: 10 | ECO: C65
Ļ
16. Ç Ķ 17. Į
8
Ļ xd3 18. Ç xf6 gxf6 19. Ľ fd1
Ļ cd8 20. Ľ xd3 Ļ xd3 21. g3 Ļ d2
7
22. Ľ c1 Ļ xb2 23. Ľ xc7 Ļ xa2 24.
Ľ xf7 Ļ a6 25. Ā g2 Ą g8 26. Ľ b7
6
Ļ a2 27. h4 a6 28. Ā f3 h5 29.
Ľ c7 Ļ a5 30. Ā f4 Ą f8 31. f3
5
Ą g8 32. Ľ a7 Ą f8 33. g4 hxg4
34. fxg4 Ļ a1 35. Ā f5 Ļ f1+ 36.
4
Ā g6 Ļ f4 37. g5 fxg5 38. hxg5
3
Ļ a4 39. Ľ a8+ Ą e7 40. Ā h6 a5
41. g6 Ļ a1 42. g7 Ļ h1+ 43. Ā g6

2
Ļ g1+ 44. Ā h7 Ļ h1+ 45. Kg8 Ra1
46. Ra7+ Ke8 47. Ra6 Rh1 48. Rxa5
Re1 49. Rh5 Rg1 50. Re5+ Kd7 51.
1
Kh7 1-0
a b c d e f g h

Δ¥ f J # , … @
From 1899-1903, Chigorin won the first three All-Russia tournaments, which helped
cement his legacy as the strongest Russian master to that time. Chigorin continued
teaching, lecturing and playing until his final days. After a tournament in 1907, he was
diagnosed with an advanced form of diabetes. He passed away in early 1908.

H Chigorin in 1908. Photo: National French Library, Wikimedia.

Legacy

Chigorin will always be remembered most for playing against Steinitz twice (in the second
and third world championships). He should also be remembered for his brilliant attacking
style, opening innovations and his overall contributions to chess. Former world
champions Mikhail Botvinnik and Vasily Smyslov (among others) consider him a great
influence on the Soviet school of the 20th century.

Chigorin's opening contributions, alone, are considerable. He made many innovations in

the Evans gambit that are still used today. The variation named after him in the Ruy Lopez
is still popular, and the off-beat Chigorin Defense to the Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4
Nc6?!) is still employed by adventurous players. He also was the first to use the move
order 1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 against the French Defense. His imaginative opening choices have
stood the test of time.

Chigorin's games continue to delight chess players around the world and are studied in
books, articles and videos. His attacking style served to inspire an entire generation of
Russian players. The Chigorin memorial tournament, first played in 1909, has been held
continuously since 1947—a wonderful testament to the legacy of this chess legend.

H Chigorin's grave. Photo: Vitold Muratov, CC.

Best Game

Emanuel Lasker vs. Mikhail Chigorin

0-1 | Hastings / Hastings, England / 06 Aug 1895 | Round: 2 | ECO: D02
8
Ļ Ľ
c8 17. g3 c5 18. Ľ ag1 c4 19.
Ă c2 f5 20. Ă c1 Ļ f7 21. Ă a3 Ļ c6
22. Ă c5 Ļ a6 23. a4 Ė c6 24. Ľ b1
7
Ļ d7 25. Ľ gg1 Ė ge7 26. Ľ b2
Ė d5 27. Ā d2 Ļ a5 28. Ľ gb1 b6
6 29. Ă a3 g6 30. Ľ b5 Ļ a6 31. Ă c1
Ė d8 32. Ľ a1 Ė f7 33. Ľ bb1 Ė d6
5 34. f3 Ė f7 35. Ľ a3 g5 36. Ā e2
gxf4 37. e4 Ė f6 38. Ă xf4 Ė h5
39. Ă e3 f4 40. Ă f2 Ļ a5 41. Ľ g1+
4
Ą f8 42. Ľ aa1 e5 43. Ľ ab1 Ė g7
44. Ľ b4 Ļ c7 45. Ă b1 Ė e6 46.
3
Ľ d1 Ė ed8 47. Ľ d2 Ė c6 48. Ľ b5
Ļ xa4 49. dxe5 Ė fxe5 50. Ă h4
2 Ļ g7 51. Ā f2 Ļ g6 52. Ľ dd5 Ļ a1
53. Ă d8 Ė d3+ 54. Ă xd3 cxd3
1 55. Ľ xd3 Ļ ag1 56. Ľ f5+ Ą e8
57. Ă g5 Ļ 6xg5 0-1
a b c d e f g h

Δ¥ f J # , … @

Most Played Openings

White Pieces Black Pieces

French Defense: Chigorin Variation Ruy López Opening: Morphy Defense,

(49 games) Tarrasch Variation (15 games)

French Defense: Exchange Variation, Queen's Pawn Opening: Anti-Torre Attack

3...exd5 4.Bd3 Bd6 5.Nf3 Nf6 (16 games) (11 games)

Giuoco Piano Game: Evans Accepted, Slow Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Slav
Variation (15 games) Defense, Accelerated Move-Order, 4.Nf3
(10 games)
Giuoco Piano Game: Giuoco Pianissimo,
Italian Four Knights Variation, 5...d6 6.Be3 Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin, Main
(15 games) Line, 4.e3 (10 games)

King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer, Ruy López Opening: Berlin, Improved

Blackburne Attack (14 games) Steinitz, Chigorin Variation (9 games)

Games

Players Result Moves Year

Mikhail Chigorin
½-½ 70 2021
Wilhelm Steinitz

Mikhail Chigorin (2600)

1-0 30 1907
Paul F Johner (2480)

Mikhail Chigorin (2600)

1-0 84 1907
Frank Marshall (2570)

Mikhail Chigorin (2600)

1-0 80 1907
Adolf Georg Olland (2450)

Mikhail Chigorin (2600)

1-0 53 1907
Rudolf Spielmann (2560)

Mikhail Chigorin (2600)

1-0 77 1907
Siegbert Tarrasch (2610)

Mikhail Chigorin (2600)

0-1 48 1907
Oldrich Duras (2580)

Mikhail Chigorin (2600)

0-1 99 1907
David Janowsky

Mikhail Chigorin (2600)

0-1 60 1907
Geza Maroczy (2620)

Mikhail Chigorin (2600)

0-1 68 1907
Akiba Rubinstein (2640)

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