Gioachino Greco

Gioachino Greco ( * 1600 in Calabria, † 1634 "India ", probably in the West Indies ) was the most important chess masters of the 17th century.

Life

Born in 1600 in Calabria Greco appears at the end of the "golden age" of Italian chess. Already in 1619 he was in Rome talked about when he played against several leading champion and won. In that year he also wrote his first treatise on chess with annotated games from him.

What was new to his chess writings that he intuitively captured the essence of the combination game. He devoted himself particularly to the figure game and its tactical possibilities and found wonderful combinations and surprising twists that he demonstrated in his games. Today they are among the essential equipment every tournament player, then they were groundbreaking. A found by Greco combination motif against the castling position, contained in its collection of games from 1619, has entered the term " Greco Matt" in the history of chess.

In 1621, Greco went to France and dedicated to Nancy a copy of his book to the Duke of Lorraine. In Paris he won a game of chess because of its excellent game art 5000 scudi, a fortune for that time. All the money, however, was taken from him during a trip to London by a robbery again.

In 1625 Greco revised his treatise, mentioned for the first time the new form of castling, which corresponds to the present, adding a richer set of playoffs and game analysis. The revised manual was not published until after his death.

About Madrid he went to "India ", probably meaning the West Indies and especially the Antilles are meant. There he died 1634th he bequeathed his property to the Jesuits. His chess book was later translated into many languages ​​and published in many editions. Greco's influence on chess in Europe persisted for several centuries.