Zukertort, Johann Herman

Born Sept. 7, 1842, in Lublin; died June 20, 1888, in London. German chess player and journalist.

Zukertort, the son of a Prussian missionary, graduated from the University of Breslau. He moved to Berlin in 1867 and to London in 1872; in 1879 he founded in London The Chess Monthly, the most popular chess magazine of the second half of the 19th century. In the 1870’s and 1880’s he competed successfully in numerous matches and in major international tournaments. He won first place in Paris in 1878. second place in 1881, and first place in London in 1883.

In 1886, Zukertort and W. Steinitz, as the best chess players of their day, competed for the world championship; Steinitz was victorious and was declared the first official world champion.