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Hypermodernism is a
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...
of
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
that emerged after
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. It featured challenges to the chess ideas of central European masters, including
Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first official World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and c ...
's approach to the and the rules established by
Siegbert Tarrasch Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century. Life Tarrasch was born in Bresla ...
.


Overview

The Hypermodernists demonstrated their new ideas with games and victories.
Aron Nimzowitsch Aron Nimzowitsch ( lv, Ārons Nimcovičs, russian: Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич, ''Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich''; 7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935) was a Latvian-born Danish chess player and writer. In the late 1920s, Nimz ...
, considered the founder and leading practitioner of hypermodernism, showed that games could be won through indirect control of the centre, breaking with Tarrasch's view that the centre must be occupied by pawns. Nimzowitsch advocated controlling the centre with distant pieces rather than with pawns, thus inviting the opponent to occupy the centre with pawns, which can then become targets of attack. This was part of the hypermodern framework, which Nimzowitsch encapsulated in his seminal book '' My System'', which greatly influenced many chess players. It introduced and formalised concepts of the , , undermining,
prophylaxis Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...
, restraint, rook on the seventh ,
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
outposts, the dynamics of the isolated queen's pawn, and other areas of chess. Although none of the primary exponents of the Hypermodern school ever achieved the title of
World Chess Champion The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013. The first event recognized as a world championship was the 1886 matc ...
, they were among the world's strongest players. World Champion
Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...
was associated with hypermodernism, but his style was more of a blend with the Classical school. In practice, hypermodernism has not replaced the classical theory of Steinitz and Tarrasch. Instead, modern chess textbooks describe hypermodernism as an addition, or extension, to classical theory. Hypermodern openings include the
Réti Opening The Réti Opening is a hypermodern chess opening whose "traditional" or "classic method" begins with the moves: :1. Nf3 d5 :2. c4 White attacks Black's pawn from the , which may occasion 2...dxc4. White may couple this plan with a kingside ...
,
King's Indian Defence The King's Indian Defence is a common chess opening. It is defined by the following moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 g6 Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6 (the Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead, and is consid ...
,
Queen's Indian Defence The Queen's Indian Defense (QID) is a chess opening defined by the moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nf3 b6 The opening is a solid defense to the Queen's Pawn Game. 3...b6 increases Black's control over the central light squares e4 and d5 by ...
,
Nimzo-Indian Defence The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nc3 Bb4 Other move orders, such as 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d4 Bb4, are also feasible. In the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'', the Nimzo-Indian ...
, Nimzowitsch Defence,
Grünfeld Defence The Grünfeld Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 g6 :3. Nc3 d5 Black offers White the possibility of 4.cxd5, which may be followed by 4...Nxd5 and 5.e4, giving White an imposing central pawn duo. If Whi ...
,
Bogo-Indian Defence The Bogo-Indian Defense is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nf3 Bb4+ The position arising after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 is common. The traditional move for White here is 3.Nc3, threatening to set up a big pawn c ...
, Old Indian Defence,
Catalan Opening The Catalan Opening is a chess opening where White plays d4 and c4 and fianchettoes the white bishop on g2. A common opening sequence is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3, although various other openings can transpose into the Catalan. The ''Encyclopaedia of ...
,
King's Indian Attack The King's Indian Attack (or KIA), also known as the Barcza System (after Gedeon Barcza) is a chess opening for White, characterized by several moves. The center pawns are developed to e4 and d3, the knights are developed to d2 and f3, the king ...
,
Alekhine's Defence The Alekhine's Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 Nf6 Black tempts White's pawns forward to form a broad , with plans to undermine and attack the white structure later in the spirit of hypermodern defence. White's im ...
,
Modern Defence The Modern Defense (also known as the Robatsch Defence after Karl Robatsch) is a hypermodern chess opening in which Black allows White to occupy the with pawns on d4 and e4, then proceeds to attack and undermine this "ideal" center without att ...
,
Pirc Defence The Pirc Defence (pronounced ) is a chess opening characterised by the response of Black to 1.e4 with 1...d6 and 2...Nf6, followed by ...g6 and ...Bg7, while allowing White to establish a with pawns on d4 and e4. It is named after the Slovenian ...
,
Larsen's Opening Larsen's Opening (also called the Nimzo–Larsen Attack or Queen's Fianchetto Opening) is a chess opening starting with the move: :1. b3 It is named after the Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen. Larsen was inspired by the example of the great La ...
, and to a lesser degree the English Opening. Openings such as 1.a3 do not constitute hypermodern openings since, although they delay the occupation of the centre with pawns, they also delay piece .


History

Howard Staunton and many of his 19th-century contemporaries understood various ideas associated with hypermodernism. The Hypermodern school of chess theory came to prominence in the 1920s. Leading members were
Aron Nimzowitsch Aron Nimzowitsch ( lv, Ārons Nimcovičs, russian: Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич, ''Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich''; 7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935) was a Latvian-born Danish chess player and writer. In the late 1920s, Nimz ...
,
Richard Réti Richard Selig Réti (28 May 1889 – 6 June 1929) was an Austro-Hungarian, later Czechoslovakian, chess player, chess author, and composer of endgame studies. He was one of the principal proponents of hypermodernism in chess. With the ex ...
, Savielly Tartakower,
Gyula Breyer Gyula "Julius" Breyer (30 April 1893 Budapest – 9 November 1921) was a Hungarian chess player and 1912 Hungarian national champion. Chess career In 1912 Breyer won the Hungarian championship in Temesvar. In a 1920 tournament in Berlin he f ...
,
Efim Bogoljubov Efim Bogoljubow ( or ), also known as Ewfim Dimitrijewitsch Bogoljubow, ( (); also Romanized ''Bogoljubov'', ''Bogolyubov''; uk, Юхим Дмитрович Боголюбов, Yukhym Dmytrovych Boholiubov; April 14, 1889 – June 18, 1952) ...
, and
Ernst Grünfeld ---- Ernst Franz Grünfeld (November 21, 1893 – April 3, 1962) was an Austrian chess player and writer, mainly on opening theory. He was among the inaugural recipients of the grandmaster title in 1950. Life and career Grünfeld was bo ...
, who all came from
Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...
. They felt that chess was becoming boring, slow, and not worthwhile. They also believed that chess could not be defined by a simple set of laws or principles, such as those laid out by
Siegbert Tarrasch Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century. Life Tarrasch was born in Bresla ...
. Their ideas were thus a challenge to the existing orthodoxy popularised by Tarrasch in the 1890s. This orthodoxy was a rather dogmatic distillation of the ideas worked out by chess pioneer
Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first official World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and c ...
. Steinitz was the first player who in his play demonstrated a mastery of , and the ideas he developed came to be known as the "Classical" or "Modern" school of thought. This school of thought emphasised the importance of "static" advantages such as avoidance of pawn weaknesses, strong outposts for knights, and striving for "good" rather than "bad"
bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
in positions with locked pawn structures. This school of thought was in turn a reaction to the earlier swashbuckling style of
Adolf Anderssen Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen (July 6, 1818 – March 13, 1879)"Anderssen, Adolf" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 385. was a German chess master. He won the great internat ...
, Henry Blackburne, and others, who represented the Romantic school. In 1922, Réti published ''Die neuen Ideen im Schachspiel'' (English: ''The New Ideas in Chess''), an examination of the evolution of chess thinking from the time of
Paul Morphy Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and is often considered the unofficial World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he was c ...
through the beginning of the Hypermodern school. The name "hypermodern" was originated by Tartakower; his book ''Die hypermoderne Schachpartie'' (English: ''The Hypermodern Chess Game'') was published in 1924. Nimzowitsch's book ''
Mein System ''My System'' (german: Mein System) is a book on chess theory written by Aron Nimzowitsch. Originally over a series of five brochures from 1925 to 1927, the book—one of the early works on hypermodernism—introduced many new concepts to foll ...
'' (English: ''My System'') was published in 1925 through to 1927 in five installments. It discusses elements of hypermodernism, but focuses mainly on positional chess.


References


Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links


"A la découverte des échecs hypermodernes avec MI Gerard Welling"
by Dany Sénéchaud

by Richard Réti {{Chess Chess terminology History of chess