Alexander Petrov (chess player)
Alexander Dmitrievich Petrov (Russian: Александр Дмитриевич Петров, scientific transliteration Aleksandr Petrov Dmitrievič; * 1 Februarjul / February 12 1794greg in Bisserowo, Circle Opochka, governorship Pskov, .. † 10 Apriljul / April 22 1867greg in Warsaw.. ) was the first chess champion of Russia, chess theorist and writer. He was one of the strongest players in the world in the first half of the 19th century. Before moving to Warsaw in 1840, he was professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Saint Petersburg.
Petrov, who was regarded as a Russian Philidor, played chess already over 7 years. At 15, he defeated in Saint Petersburg A. Kopiew and was starting at that time as the best chess players in Russia. In 1824 he was in St. Petersburg, one of the first chess books in the Russian language out: " Schachmatnaja igra, priwjedjennaja w sistematitscheski porjadok, s prisowokuplenjem igor Filidora i primjetschani na onyja " - German: " The game of chess, presented in a systematic order and with lots Philidor and comments added to them. " (Reprint Moscow 1977). Among the most famous readers of his book included the chess enthusiastic Russian writer Alexander Pushkin, Ivan Turgenev and Nikolai Chernyshevsky Gawrilowitsch. Appeared in 1821 by Ivan A. Butrimow the first Russian chess book ever. In the 1840s he defeated in several competitions the young Russian champion Carl Ferdinand Jänisch, where he was a target. He won in 1854 (3-1) and 1859 ( 13-7 ) against Sergei Urussoff competitions. In 1862 he beat Ilya Schumow 4-2. In 1851 he was invited by Howard Staunton the first international tournament in London, but could Petrov not accept the invitation.
Since 1840 Petrov lived in Warsaw, where he worked in the tsarist administration as a senior official. His house was a favorite haunt of Polish and Russian chess player. In 1863 he undertook a trip abroad, to avoid being suspected of conspiring with the Poles, who undertook an uprising against the Tsarist government this year. In Vienna and Paris, he made the acquaintance of the leading masters of the West, so also in Paris with Paul Morphy, but no parts were changed.
Petrov's contributions to the opening and endgame theory were of high importance for the further development of chess. He analyzed thoroughly in the English-speaking countries named after him Petrov 's defense Russian Defense ( 1.e2 -e4 e7 - e5 -f3 2.Sg1 Ng8 - f6). Also named after him is a gambit in the rotor game: 1.e2 -e4 e7 - e5 - c4 2.Lf1 Bf8 - c5 3.Sg1 -f3 d7 d6 4.c2 - c3 Qd8 - e7 5.d2 -d4. Petrov also created a series of widely publicized chess compositions.
Chess composition
His most famous composition is probably the escape of Napoleon from Moscow to Paris.
Solution: 1 Nd2 Ka2 2 Sc3 Ka3 3 sdb1 kb4 4 Sa2 KB5 5 SBC3 Ka 6 6 Nb4 KA7 7 Sb 5 Kb8 8 Sa6 KC8 9 Sa7 Kd7 10 Sb8 Ke7 11 Sc8 Kf8 12 Nd7 Kg8 13 Ne7 Kh8 14 K g2 matt.
(Note: the field a1 is Moscow, the field h8 is Paris, the diagonal h1 - a8 is the river Bjaresina, the black king is Napoleon, the white knight, the Russian cavalry. )