Wilhelm Steinitz

Wilhelm Steinitz was a Bohemian-Austrian, later American, chess player who lived from 1836 to 1900 and became the first official World Chess Champion, defeating Johannes Zukertort in 1886 by a score of 12 and a half to 7 and a half. He was unbeaten in match play for 32 years, from 1862 to 1894, before losing his title to Emanuel Lasker in 1894 and a rematch in 1896 to 1897. A highly influential writer and theoretician, he introduced positional chess strategy in 1873, fundamentally changing how the game was understood and played, and is regarded alongside Paul Morphy as a founder of modern chess.