Jacques Mieses had a remarkably long and successful chess career, spanning more than eight decades. Below, I explore his life and games.
Photo: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Table of contents:
Biography
Early life
Jacques Mieses was born in 1865 in Leipzig. He gave notice of his talent when he won the Berlin Championship in 1882, at the age of only 17. After finishing school, Mieses began further education, studying physics and chemistry at Leipzig and Berlin.
1888 was an important year in Mieses’ young career, as he finished 3rd at Leipzig, behind von Bardeleben and Riemann, but ahead of Tarrasch, who was improving rapidly. That same year, Mieses shared 2nd place with von Gottschall at Nuremberg, behind only Tarrasch.
Gaining experience
At Breslau 1889, Mieses finished 3rd at Breslau, behind only Burn and Tarrasch. At the end of the year, he played an interesting match against Lasker, who in just four years’ time would go on to become World Champion. Lasker dominated the match, winning 6,5-1,5, but this was undoubtedly great experience for Mieses.
The next few years saw Mieses continue to play in various events in Germany. He drew a match against Walbrodt in Berlin 1894 (+5 =3 -5), and finished 10th in a field of 18 at the 9th German Chess Congress in Leipzig later that year. Shortly after this event, he left German borders, and travelled to Russia, where he toured the country giving simuls.
Mieses began 1895 by drawing a match against Janowski in Paris, each player scoring six wins. He then lost a short match against Teichmann in London (+1 =1 -4). However, the most important and prestigious event of his career came later in the year, when he was invited to take part at the famous tournament Hastings 1895. In an incredibly strong field which included all of the world’s strongest players, including the current and previous World Champions Lasker and Steinitz, Mieses could only manage 20th place. However, he gained invaluable experience, competing against the world elite.
A new century
At the famous tournament Paris 1900, Mieses shared 7th place with Marco. However, he won the brilliancy prize for his victory over Janowski. At Hanover 1902, Mieses finished 4th, ahead of famous names such as Wolf, Chigorin, Marshall and Gunsberg. 1903 saw Mieses win the 2nd brilliancy prize at Monte Carlo, although he finished in 8th place.
Mieses’ greatest triumph
1907 was an important year in Mieses’ chess career. He finished in clear 1st at a strong tournament in Vienna, ahead of a very strong field which included Duras, Maroczy, Tartakower, Vidmar, Schlechter and Spielmann. This is considered to be Mieses’ greatest achievement. That same year, he finished 3rd at Ostend, behind only Bernstein and Rubinstein, and ahead of Nimzowitsch, Teichmann, Duras, Tartakower, Spielmann and Blackburne. It became clear that Mieses had become one of the world’s strongest players.
However, Mieses suffered a disappointment later that year when he shared 16th place at Karlsbad, although the field included many of the world’s strongest players.
Before the war
Mieses played an interesting blindfold match with Schlechter in 1909, which he won with two wins, one draw, and no losses. This is particularly impressive when considering that Schlechter would go on to contest a very close World Championship Match with Lasker the following year.
Mieses played an important role as an organiser of the famous tournament San Sebastian 1911. He insisted that the players’ travel and accommodation costs should be paid for by the organisers, which was rare at the time. After this tournament, however, this practice became more common.
WWI
The chess world was unfortunately interrupted by the outbreak of WWI in 1914, and international tournaments became very rare. There were not many events to play in during this time, although Mieses did find the time to play a match with Tarrasch in 1916. By now, however, Mieses had passed the age of 50, and was no longer in his prime, and lost the match by the score +2 -7 =4.
A long career
After the war, Mieses continued to compete at a high level, although his results did not match what he had achieved in the past. Despite this, there were a few highlights. Mieses finished in clear 1st at Liverpool 1923, ahead of Maroczy, Yates and Thomas. The following year, he shared 1st place with Teichmann at Leipzig.
Mieses continued to compete regularly at top events throughout the next decade and a half, such as Baden-Baden 1925, the London Olympiad in 1927, Paris 1930, and Margate 1935. However, he was no longer part of the world elite. In the late 1930s, antisemitism made it impossible for Mieses to remain in Germany, and he settled in England in 1938. He also became a British citizen. It was around this time that Mieses published a book, called Instructive Positions from Master Chess.
Later years
The following year was marked by the outbreak of WWII, making international tournaments very difficult to organise. Despite his advancing years, Mises survived the war, and took part at the Hastings tournament of 1945/6. There, at the age of 80, he finished 10th, but received the brilliancy prize for his victory over Christoffel.
In 1947, Mieses published another book, The Chess Pilot, which was an endgame manual. Three years later, he was awarded the grandmaster title in acknowledgement of what he had achieved in his chess career, making him the first British citizen to receive the title. Mieses died in 1954, at the age of 88.
Legacy
Today Mieses has his name attached to an important line in the Scotch opening, and is remembered for his exciting attacking games. He was the first British citizen to become a grandmaster, and generations of players have grown up learning from his games.
Game Analysis
Mieses recorded an impressive victory over Pillsbury at Cambridge Springs 1904, producing an attractive kingside attack.
Lessons from this game:
- A rook lift via the third rank is often an effective way to introduce a rook into the attack.
- It is important to take the time to bring as many pieces as possible into the attack. In this game, Mieses ensures that all his pieces are working together towards the same goal.
- The active bishop pair can be a dangerous attacking team!
Puzzles
Marco – Mieses, Monte Carlo 1901
Vidmar – Mieses, Vienna 1907
Mieses – Loewy, Vienna 1907
Rubinstein – Mieses, Berlin 1918
Solutions
Further Reading
To find out more about Mieses’ life and games, the following are useful sources:
Mieses’ chessgames.com page,
this chess.com article by Bill Wall,
this chessbase article by André Schulz (in German),
this britishchessnews.com article by John Upham,
this article by Edward Winter,
this article by Edward Winter,
and this collection of Mieses’ tournament and match results.
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