Adolf Żytogórski (or Adolph Zytogorski, , later known as John Hanstein) ( – 28 February 1882) was a Polish-British

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 ...

master and translator.

Biography

Details of Zytogorski's early life are sparse. He is usually said to have been born in 1806 or 1807 based on his obituary in the ''

British Chess Magazine ''British Chess Magazine'' is the world's oldest chess journal in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as ''BCM''. The founder and ...

'', but according to chess historian Tim Harding, around 1811 or 1812 is most likely, based on his census records and death certificate. Despite being

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

, he gave his place of birth on census records as

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

, which was part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

at the time, leading Harding to speculate that he may have had one Polish and one

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

parent. Following the collapse of the Polish–Russian War in 1830–31 (

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

), Zytogorski became a political refugee, and emigrated to England. His role in the uprising is unknown, but in 1837 he joined both the Union of Polish Emigration, and the

Polish Democratic Society The Polish Democratic Society ( or TDP) was a radical constitutionalist political organization established in Paris by émigrés from the Kingdom of Poland in 1832. While not explicitly socialist with respect to their political program, the Democ ...

. During

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

's 1844 visit to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Zytogorski and other exiles petitioned the Emperor to be allowed to return to Poland. They were offered an amnesty on the condition that they first travelled to Russia to be examined for possible state crimes. Like many others, Zytogorski did not accept, and remained in England. From about 1850 he adopted the surname Hanstein (possibly his mother's maiden name), though he kept using the name Zytogorski for chess. Zytogorski died on 28 February 1882 in the

German Hospital, Dalston The German Hospital, Dalston, was a hospital in Dalston, East London. History The hospital was established in 1845 to offer free treatment to London’s then large German-speaking community which had a significant presence in the East End. Th ...

, London.

Chess

Zytogorski was a frequent contributor to the ''

Chess Player's Chronicle The ''Chess Player's Chronicle'', founded by Howard Staunton and extant in 1841–56 and 1859–62, was the world's first successful English-language magazine devoted exclusively to chess. Various unrelated but identically or similarly named publi ...

'', and in 1841 carried out a thorough analysis of the Rook and bishop versus rook endgame, including a challenge that four starting positions could always be won, including one said by

Giambattista Lolli Giambattista Lolli (1698 – 4 June 1769) was an Italian List of chess players, chess player and one of the most important Chess theory, chess theoreticians of his time. He is most famous for his book ''Osservazioni teorico-pratiche sopra il giuoc ...

to be a draw. Much of this work was included in

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 ...

's ''Chess-Players' Handbook'' (1847) with analysis by

Josef Kling Josef Kling (19 March 1811 – 1 December 1876), also found in English-language sources as Joseph Kling, was a German chess master and chess composer. He has been called "a pioneer of the modern style of chess." Although Kling was an expert on ...

, who showed that there was an error in Zytogorski's logic. By 1851, Zytogorski appears to have fallen out with Staunton, and did not play in the St. George's Club tournament that Staunton organised that year.

William Wayte William Wayte (4 September 1829 – 3 May 1898) was a Church of England cleric and a British chess master. He was one of a group of ministers who played a prominent role in English chess in the late nineteenth century. Although little remembe ...

suggested that this was because Staunton had suppressed all mention of Zytogorski in the ''Chess Player's Chronicle'' and the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...

''. Robert Barnett Brien took over from Staunton as editor of the ''Chess Player's Chronicle'' in 1854, and soon afterwards also seems to have fallen out with Staunton. In 1855, Brien published a claim that Zytogorski had beaten Staunton 6−0 in 1843, at Staunton's usual

odds In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outcome. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. For example for an event that is 40% probable, one could say that the odds are or When gambling, o ...

of pawn and two moves. However, with no independent evidence to support this claim, and considering their relative strength at the time, it is considered very unlikely by chess historians such as

Philip Walsingham Sergeant Philip Walsingham Sergeant (27 January 1872, Notting Hill, LondonBirths, Marriages and Deaths – 20 October 1952) was a British professional writer on chess and popular historical subjects.Harry Golombek, ''Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess'', Cr ...

and Tim Harding. Zytogorski won a match against Franciscus Janssens (6−4) in 1854. In 1855, he took second behind

Ernst Falkbeer Ernst Karl Falkbeer (June 27, 1819 – December 14, 1885) was an Austrian chess Chess master, master and journalist. Life and chess career Falkbeer was born in Brünn in Austrian Empire (today known as Brno in the Czech Republic). He moved to Vi ...

and ahead of Brien (''Triangular''), and won at London ( Kling's Coffee House). In 1856, he lost to Valentine Green (7−8) (Zytogorski gave odds of pawn and move), and played in semifinals at London (McDonnell Chess Club). He lost to

Ignatz Kolisch Baron Ignatz von Kolisch (6 April 1837 – 30 April 1889), also Baron Ignaz von Kolisch (German) or báró Kolisch Ignác ( Hungarian), was a merchant, journalist and chess master with Jewish roots. Kolisch was born into a Jewish family in Pres ...

at Cambridge 1860 (semifinal). From 1859 to 1862, Zytogorski,

, and

revived the ''Chess Player's Chronicle'', which had been discontinued by Brien in 1856. Zytogorski's role is not clear, but in 1861 it was reported that it would "henceforth be edited by Herr Kolisch conjointly with its late manager Mr. Zytogorski".

Bibliography

As editor: * ''

'' (1859–1862) As translator: * ''Select Popular Tales from the German of Musaeus'' (1845) (anonymous) by

Johann Karl August Musäus Johann Karl August Musäus (29 March 1735 – 28 October 1787) was a German author. He was one of the first collectors of German folk stories, most celebrated for his '' Volksmärchen der Deutschen'' (1782–1787), a collection of German fairy t ...

* ''The Enchanted Knights; or The Chronicle of the Three Sisters'' (1845) (anonymous) by Johann Karl August Musäus * ''The Nymph of the Well and The Barber's Ghost'' (1848) (as Adolphus Zytogorski) by Johann Karl August Musäus * ''Libussa, Duchess of Bohemia; also The Man Without a Name'' (1852) (as Adolphus Zytogorski, later reissued as J. T. Hanstein) by Johann Karl August Musäus * ''Oswald Dorn'' (1856) (as J. F. Hanstein) by Carl Franz van der Velde * ''The Immaculate Conception'' (1857) (as J. F. Hanstein) by

Edmond de Pressensé Edmond Dehault de Pressensé (7 January 18248 April 1891) was a French Protestant religious leader. Biography He was born in Paris, and studied in Lausanne under Alexandre Vinet. He went on to the University of Halle as a pupil of Friedrich Aug ...

* ''

The Captain's Daughter ''The Captain's Daughter'' () is a historical novel by the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. It was first published in 1836 in the fourth issue of the literary journal '' Sovremennik'' and is his only completed novel. The novel is a romanticize ...

'' (1859) (as J. F. Hanstein) by

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is conside ...

* ''Popular Works of Musæus'' (1865) (as J. T. Hanstein) by Johann Karl August Musäus * ''The Chronicle of the Three Sisters, and Mute Love'' (1866) (as J. T. Hanstein) by Johann Karl August Musäus

Notes

References

External links

*
Adolf Zytogorski
player profile at

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