Adolf Zytogorski

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Adolf Żytogórski
CountryPoland and England
Bornc. 1806–1807/1812
Translyvania
Died (aged 69–75)
London, England

Adolf Żytogórski (or Adolph Zytogorski, [Żɨtɔɡurski], later known as John Hanstein) (c. 1806–1807/1812 – 28 February 1882)[1] was a Polish-British chess master and translator.

Biography[]

Details of Zytogorski's early life are sparse. He is usually said to have been born in 1806–1807 based on his obituary in the British Chess Magazine, though his death certificate gives his year of birth as 1812.[2] Despite being Polish, he gave his place of birth on census records as Transylvania, which was part of the Austrian Empire, leading chess historian Tim Harding to speculate that he may have had one Polish and one Austrian parent.[3][4]

Following the collapse of the Polish–Russian War in 1830–31 (November Uprising), Zytogorski became a political refugee, and emigrated to England. His role in the uprising is unknown, but in 1837 he joined both the Union of Polish Emigration, and the Polish Democratic Society.[5][4][6] During Nicholas I of Russia's 1844 visit to London, Zytogorski and other exiles were offered an amesty, but Zytogorski did not accept, and remained in England.[5]

From about 1850 he adopted the surname Hanstein, though he kept using the name Zytogorski for chess.[3]

Zytogorski died on 28 February 1882 in the German Hospital, Dalston, London.[3]

Chess[]

Zytogorski was a frequent contributor to the Chess Player's Chronicle, and in 1841 carried out a thorough analysis of the Rook and bishop versus rook endgame, including a challenge that four starting positions could be won, including one said by Giambattista Lolli to be a draw.[4][7][8] Much of this work was included in Howard Staunton's Chess-Players' Handbook (1847) with analysis by Josef Kling, who showed that there was an error in Zytogorski's logic.[9]

From 1859 to 1862, Zytogorski, Ignatz Kolisch, and Josef Kling revived the Chess Player's Chronicle, which had been discontinued by R. B. Brien in 1856. Zytogorski's role is not clear, but in 1861 it was reported that it would "henceforth be edited by Herr Kolisch conjointly with its late manager Mr. Zytogorski".[10]

Zytogorski won a match against Franciscus Janssens (6:4) in 1854, took second behind Ernst Falkbeer and ahead of Brien in 1855 (Triangular),[11] and lost to Valentine Green (7:8) in 1856 (Zytogorski gave odds of pawn and move).[12]

He won at London 1855 (Kling's Coffee House),[13] played in semifinals at London 1856 (McDonnell Chess Club),[14] and lost to Ignaz von Kolisch at Cambridge 1860 (semifinal).[15]

Bibliography[]

As editor:

As translator:

  • Select Popular Tales from the German of Musaeus (1845) (anonymous) by Johann Karl August Musäus
  • The Enchanted Knights; or The Chronicle of the Three Sisters (1845) (anonymous) by Johann Karl August Musäus
  • The Nymph of the Well and The Barber's Ghost (1848) (as Adolphus Zytogorski) by Johann Karl August Musäus
  • Libussa, Duchess of Bohemia; also The Man Without a Name (1852) (as Adolphus Zytogorski, then reissued as J. T. Hanstein) by Johann Karl August Musäus
  • The Immaculate Conception (1857) (as J. F. Hanstein)
  • Oswald Dorn (1857) (as J. F. Hanstein) by Carl Franz van der Velde
  • The Captain's Daughter (1859) (as J. F. Hanstein) by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin
  • Popular Works of Musæus (1865) (as J. T. Hanstein) by Johann Karl August Musäus
  • The Chronicle of the Three Sisters, and Mute Love (1866) (as J. T. Hanstein) by Johann Karl August Musäus

References[]

  1. ^ Gaige, Jeremy (1987), Chess Personalia, A Biobibliography, McFarland, p. 482, ISBN 0-7864-2353-6; date of birth not known, biographies give date of death and "Age 75"
  2. ^ Zavatarelli, Fabrizio (2015). Ignaz Kolisch: The Life and Chess Career. McFarland. p. 97. ISBN 9780786496907.
  3. ^ a b c Harding, Tim (2012). Eminent Victorian Chess Players: Ten Biographies. McFarland. pp. 41–42. ISBN 9780786465682.
  4. ^ a b c Harding, Tim (2011). "The Kibitz: The Double Life of Adolphus Zytogorski Part One" (PDF). ChessCafe.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2012.
  5. ^ a b Lissowski, Tomasz. "The Greatest One Before Winawer". Archived from the original on 7 September 2004.
  6. ^ Tomasz Lissowski (26 December 1997). "Zytogorski". Astercity.net. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  7. ^ Harding, Tim (2011). "The Kibitz: The Double Life of Adolphus Zytogorski Part Two" (PDF). ChessCafe.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Challenge to the Chess Clubs of Europe: A King, Rook, and Bishop to Win Against the King and Rook". Chess Player's Chronicle. 2: 125–127. 1841.
  9. ^ Beasley, John (March 2007). "K+R+B v K+R: What Zytogorski and Crosskill Actually Wrote" (PDF). British Endgame Study News (Special number 50). ISSN 1363-0318. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2020.
  10. ^ Harding, Tim (2018). British Chess Literature to 1914: A Handbook for Historians. McFarland. p. 209. ISBN 9781476668390.
  11. ^ http://www.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/~spin/chessmatches.html
  12. ^ "Edo Ratings, Zytogorski, A". Edochess.ca. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  13. ^ "London". Xoomer.alice.it. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  14. ^ "London". Xoomer.alice.it. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  15. ^ "Cambridge". Xoomer.alice.it. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  16. ^ Gay, Jean (1864). Bibliographie anecdotique du jeu des échecs par Jean Gay. p. 30.

Further reading[]

External links[]

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