- published: 25 Apr 2014
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Aron Nimzowitsch (or Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich, or Aaron Nimzovich) (Latvian: Ārons Ņimcovičs, Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич; born Aron Niemzowitsch) (7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935) was a Russian-born Danish unofficial chess grandmaster and a very influential chess writer. He was the foremost figure amongst the hypermoderns.
Born in Riga in Livonia, then part of the Russian Empire, the Jewish German-speaking Nimzowitsch came from a wealthy family, where he learned chess from his father, who was a merchant. In 1904, he traveled to Berlin to study philosophy, but set aside his studies soon and began a career as a professional chess player that same year. He won his first international tournament at Munich 1906. Then, he tied for first with Alexander Alekhine at St. Petersburg 1913/14 (the eighth All-Russian Masters' Tournament).
During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Nimzowitsch was in the Baltic war zone. He escaped being drafted into one of the armies by feigning madness, insisting that a fly was on his head. He then escaped to Berlin, and gave his first name as Arnold, possibly to avoid anti-Semitic persecution.