Carl Ferdinand von Jaenisch (; April 11, 1813 – March 7, 1872) was a Finnish and Russian

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player and theorist. In the 1840s, he was among the top players in the world.Adriano Chicco, Giorgio Porreca, ''Dizionario enciclopedico degli scacchi'', Milan: Mursia, 1971

Life and career

Born in

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

, he began a military career in Finland, but soon moved to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

to teach rational mechanics. He dedicated his life to mathematics and chess, two subjects which he considered closely related. He tried to show their connections in his work ''Découvertes sur le cavalier (aux échecs)'', published in Saint Petersburg in 1837. In 1842–43, he published a book on the openings in two volumes: ''Analyse Nouvelle des ouvertures''. In 1862–63, he published his major work: ''Traité des applications de l'analyse mathématique au jeu des échecs'', in three volumes. He wanted to take part in the

London 1851 chess tournament London 1851 was the first international chess tournament. The tournament was conceived and organised by English player Howard Staunton, and marked the first time that the best chess players in Europe would meet in a single event. Adolf Anderssen o ...

, but arrived late and instead played a match with

Howard Staunton Howard Staunton (April 1810 – 22 June 1874) was an English chess master who is generally regarded as the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-A ...

, which he lost +2–7=1. Three years later, he also lost to Ilya Shumov (+3–5=4).

Legacy

Jaenisch is best remembered for having analysed and helped develop Petrov's Defence with Alexander Petrov, and for his work on the Schliemann–Jaenisch Gambit of the

Ruy Lopez The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez remains one of the most popular chess openings, featuring many variations. In ...

, which begins 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5!? The postmodern gambit 1.c4 b5!? is the Jaenisch Gambit, but while Jaenisch mentioned this move, he did not advocate it. Staunton was most upset at his death in 1872, writing to Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa in November of that year:

I was sorry to lose Lewis and St. Amant, my dear friends Bolton and Sir T. Madden, and others of whom we have been deprived, but for Jaenisch I entertained a particular affection, and his loss was proportionately painful to me. He was truly an amiable and an upright man.

After Jaenisch's death, a scholarship fund in his honor, which survives to this day, was established by his sister.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaenisch, Carl 1813 births 1872 deaths Sportspeople from Vyborg People from Viipuri Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Chess players from the Russian Empire Chess theoreticians 19th-century chess players