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Wilhelm Steinitz (May 17 1836 - August 12 1900), born in Prague, was the first official World Champion of chess. Known for his original contributions to chess strategy such as his ideas on positional play, his theories were held in high regard by disparate chess players such as Aron Nimzowitsch, Siegbert Tarrasch, and Emanuel Lasker.
Steinitz was world champion from 1886 to 1894, retaining the title in four matches against Zukertort, Chigorin (two times) and Gunsberg. He lost two matches against his successor, Lasker. Steinitz adopted a scientific approach to his study of the game. He would formulate his theories in scientific terms, and "laws".
Outside of his chess career, Steinitz was a regular tap-dancer. In a letter to his friend shortly before his death, Steinitz expressed regret at having never attempted a contest against the world champion of tap-dancing, who at that time was the Spanish-born American Eduardo Corrochio. His love of dancing is indicative of his general character. a man of passion and a lover of art, who had a burning desire to compete and win. Steinitz became an US citizen on November 23 1888, after having resided for five years in the State of New York.
Steinitz in his final days shortly before his death has been said to have gone insane and claimed that he had played chess over an invisible telephone line with God and defeated him.
Emanuel Lasker, who took the championship from Steinitz, once said, "I who defeated Steinitz shall do justice to his theories, and I shall avenge the wrongs he suffered." Steinitz died a pauper in New York, a fact noted by Lasker, who was determined to not suffer the same financial ruin as poor Steinitz.
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