Johann Nepomuk Berger (11 April 1845,

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

– 17 October 1933) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

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, theorist,

endgame study In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a type of chess problem that starts with a composed position—i.e. one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—where the goal is to find the essentially unique way for ...

composer, author and editor. In September 1870, he won the first tournament in the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. In 1875, he won a match against

Alexander Wittek Alexander Wittek (12 October 1852, Sisak – 11 May 1894, Graz) was an Austrian-Hungarian architect and chess master. As an architect, Wittek worked in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Austro-Hungarian Empire. His most well-known works in Sarajevo ...

(14 : 4) in Graz, and drew a match with Paul Lipke (3½ : 3½) at Eisenach 1896. He tied for 5–6th at Graz 1880 (

Max Weiss Miksa (Max) Weisz (21 July 1857 – 14 March 1927) was an Austrian chess player born in the Kingdom of Hungary. Weiss was born in Sereď. Moving to Vienna, he studied mathematics and physics at the university, and later taught those subjects. Wei ...

, Johannes von Minckwitz and Adolf Schwarz won); tied for 9–10th at Berlin 1881 (second

DSB Congress The '' Deutscher Schachbund'' (DSB) was founded in Leipzig on 18 July, 1877. When the next meeting took place in the Schützenhaus on 15 July 1879, sixty-two clubs had become member of the chess federation. Hofrat Rudolf von Gottschall became Ch ...

Joseph Henry Blackburne Joseph Henry Blackburne (10 December 1841 – 1 September 1924) was a British chess player. Nicknamed "The Black Death", he dominated the British scene during the latter part of the 19th century. Blackburne learned the game at the relatively late ...

won); took fourth at Nuremberg 1883 (third DSB–Congress,

Simon Winawer Szymon Abramowicz Winawer (March 6, 1838 – November 29, 1919) was a Polish chess player who won the German Chess Championship in 1883. Tournament and match results At the Paris 1867 tournament held at the Café de la Régence, his first inte ...

won); tied for 11–12th at Hamburg 1885 (fourth DSB–Congress,

Isidor Gunsberg Isidor Arthur Gunsberg (also spelled ''Günzberg'', ; 1 November 1854 – 2 May 1930) was a Hungarian chess player, best known for narrowly losing the 1891 World Chess Championship match to Wilhelm Steinitz. Biography Gunsberg began his caree ...

won); tied for 5–6th at Frankfurt 1887 (fifth DSB–Congress,

George Henry Mackenzie George Henry Mackenzie (24 March 1837, in North Kessock, Scotland – 14 April 1891, in New York City) was a Scottish-born American chess master. Biography Mackenzie was educated mainly in Aberdeen, at the Aberdeen Grammar School and the Mar ...

won); took tenth at Breslau 1889 (sixth DSB–Congress,

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 ...

won); tied for 4–5th at Graz 1890 ( Gyula Makovetz won); tied for 8–9th at Leipzig 1894 (ninth DSB–Congress, Tarrasch won). He took eighth place at

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

1898 (eleventh DSB–Congress,

Amos Burn Amos Burn (31 December 1848 – 25 November 1925) was an English chess player, one of the world's leading players at the end of the 19th century, and a chess writer. Burn was born on New Year's Eve, 1848, in Hull.Richard Forster, ''Amos Burn: ...

won); tied for 7–10th at Munich 1900 (twelfth DSB–Congress,

Géza Maróczy Géza Maróczy (; 3 March 1870 – 29 May 1951) was a Hungarian chess player, one of the leading players in the world in his time. He was one of the inaugural recipients of the Grandmaster (chess), International Grandmaster title from FIDE in 1 ...

Carl Schlechter Carl Schlechter (2 March 1874 – 27 December 1918) was a leading Austro-Hungarian chess master and theoretician at the turn of the 20th century. He is best known for drawing a controversial World Chess Championship match with Emanuel Lasker. Ea ...

and

Harry Pillsbury Harry Nelson Pillsbury (December 5, 1872 – June 17, 1906) was a leading American chess player. At the age of 22, he won the Hastings 1895 chess tournament, one of the strongest tournaments of the time, but his illness and early death prevented ...

won); tied for 6–7th at

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

1904 (fourteenth DSB–Congress,

Curt von Bardeleben Curt Carl Alfred von Bardeleben (4 March 1861 – 31 January 1924) was a German chess master, journalist, and member of the German nobility. Biography Curt von Bardeleben started playing chess when he was ten years old and quickly developed into ...

, Schlechter and Rudolf Swiderski won); took sixth at

Barmen Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal. Barmen, together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the first electric ...

1905 (

Dawid Janowski Dawid Markelowicz Janowski (25 May 1868 – 15 January 1927; often spelled ''David'') was a Polish chess player. Several opening variations are named after Janowski. Biography Born into a Jewish-Polish family in Wołkowysk, Russian Empire ...

and Maroczy won); tied for 7–8th at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

1907 (

Jacques Mieses Jacques Mieses (born Jacob Mieses; 27 February 1865 – 23 February 1954) was a German chess player. Mieses, who was Jewish, fled the Nazi regime in 1938 and later became a British citizen. Hooper, David and Kenneth Whyld 1996. ''The Oxford comp ...

won); tied for 16–18th in the Carlsbad 1907 chess tournament (

Akiba Rubinstein Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein (1 December 1880 – 14 March 1961) was a Polish chess player. He is considered to have been one of the greatest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Rubinstein was granted the title International Grandma ...

won), and took fifteenth in the

Vienna 1908 chess tournament The ''Internationales Schachturnier Wien 1908'' was held in honour of the sixtieth anniversary of Franz Joseph I of Austria’s elevation as Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. Twenty masters played at the ''Wiener Schach-Club'' in Vienna, from ...

(

Oldřich Duras Oldřich Duras (born Důras; 30 October 1882 – 5 January 1957) was a Czech chess master. He was among the leading chess masters of the early 20th century. Biography Duras was born on 30 October 1882 in Pchery, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary. He cam ...

, Maróczy and Schlechter won). Berger was the first Austrian to win an important international correspondence tournament the ''Monde Illustré 1889–1892'', and he did so with the result of 45 wins, no losses, and three draws. He was editor of the ''Deutsche Schachzeitung'' and author of ''Das Schachproblem und dessen Kunstgerechte Darstellung'' (Leipzig 1884), ''Theorie und Praxis der Endspiele'' (Leipzig 1890), ''Problemen, Studien und Partien'' (Leipzig 1914). Berger was a major

composer, having published more than 100 studies, many of which gave notable contributions to endgame theory. His book ''Theorie und Praxis der Endspiele'' (''Theory and Practice of the Endgame'') was published in 1891, revised in 1922, and supplemented in 1933. This was the first modern comprehensive book on practical endgames, and was the standard work on endgames for decades. Berger discussed the tie-break system now called the Sonneborn–Berger system, but he did not invent it. See Tie-breaking in Swiss system tournaments#Sonneborn–Berger for details.Deutscher Schachbund / Schacholympiade Dresden 2008

References

Bibliography *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Johann Nepomuk 1845 births 1933 deaths Sportspeople from Graz People from the Duchy of Styria Chess players from Austria-Hungary Austrian chess players Chess composers Chess theoreticians