Mikhail Tchigorine

Mikhail Ivanovitch Tchigorine (November 12th, 1850 with Gatchina, Russia - January 25th, 1908 with Lublin, Poland) was one of best the players of Russian failures. It was a source of major inspiration of the Soviet school, which dominated the world of the failures in second half of the 20th century.

The player of failures

Mikhail Tchigorine was born close to Saint Pétersbourg and began the failures relatively late in its life. Its professor initiated it with the play whereas it was 16 years old, but it seriously did not put at the play before 1874, after having finished its studies and having begun a career with the service of the government.

Having adopted the career of professional player, he played a series of matches against established Masters, such Emanuel Schiffes and Semyon Alapine. He was not long before being regarded as the best player of the capital and perhaps of all the Russia.

Tschigorine made its first appearance with an international tournament with Berlin in 1881, where it finishes 3rd, with equality with Simon Winawer, behind Johannes Zukertort and Joseph Henry Blackburne. With the tournament of London of 1883, it finished 4th, behind Zukertort, Wilhelm Steinitz and Blackburne.

Against Steinitz, it disputed two matches for the world title; the first in 1889, which it lost 10.5-6.5; the second in 1892 which it lost 12.5-10.5. Its total score against Steinitz is however sizeable: +24-27=8.

In 1893, it makes a success of a tie against Siegbert Tarrasch in Saint Pétersbourg (+9-9=4). It will have a positive total score besides +14-13=8 against Tarrasch.

Tournament of Hastings 1895

With Hastings, in 1895 a tournament bringing together took place the strongest world players of the time. Gaining, Harry Nelson Pillsbury, lost its part against Tchigorine, for which it had much respect . Tchigorine also established a slightly positive score against him (+8-7=6). Tchigorine finishes second, in front of the champion of the mode in title Emanuel Lasker and the ex-champion of Steinitz world. In spite of a negative score against Lasker (+1-8=4), it beat it in their first meeting with the blacks.

The theorist

He is regarded as the founder of the Russian school of failures and created a magazine of failures, of which the collections will become later the preferred literature of Mikhaïl Botvinnik . Without equal in the play by correspondence, it arrived to him of commetre of enormous blunders in front of the chess-board.

Tchigorine gave its name to several openings, in particular:

Tchigorine defense of the Spanish Left (1.e4 e5 2.Cf3 Cc6 3.Fb5 a6 4.Fa4 Cf6 5.O-O Fe7 6.Te1 b5 7.Fb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Ca5) always very played high level.
the Défense Tchigorine in the Gambit of the lady was given recently to the last style by the super-GMI Alexander Morozevitch.

Note

Source

Nicolas Giffard, the Guide of the failures. Complete treaty , Collection Book, Robert Laffont, 1993

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