Richard Réti
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- This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
| Richard Réti | ||
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| Full name | Richard Réti | |
| Country | Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia | |
| Born | May 28, 1889 Pezinok, Slovakia |
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| Died | June 6, 1929 (aged 40) |
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Richard Réti (28 May 1889, Pezinok (now Slovakia) – 6 June 1929, Prague) was an Austrian-Hungarian, later Czechoslovakian chess player, chess author, and chess problemist. He was born in Pezinok which at the time was in the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary. His older brother Rudolph Réti was a noted composer and pianist[1].
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[edit] Biography
One of the top players in the world during the 1910s and 1920s, he began his career as a fiercely combinative classical player, favoring openings such as the King's Gambit (1. e4 e5 2. f4). However, after the end of the First World War, his playing style underwent a radical change, and he became one of the principal proponents of hypermodernism, along with Aron Nimzowitsch and others. Indeed, with the notable exception of Nimzowitsch's acclaimed book My System, he is considered to be the movement's foremost literary contributor. The Réti Opening (1. Nf3 d5 2. c4) is named after him. Réti famously defeated the world champion José Raúl Capablanca in New York in 1924 using this opening – Capablanca's first defeat for eight years, the only one to Reti, and the first since becoming World Champion. Réti was also a notable composer of endgame studies.
In 1925 Reti set, and for a time held, the world record for blindfold chess with twenty-nine games played simultaneously. He won twenty-one of these, drew six, and only lost two.
His writings have also become "classics" in the chess world. New Ideas in Chess (1922) and Masters of the Chess Board (1930) are still studied today.
Reti died on June 6, 1929 in Prague of scarlet fever.
[edit] Famous endgame study
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Réti composed one of the most famous chess studies, shown in this diagram. It was published in Ostrauer Morgenzeitung 4 December 1921. It seems impossible for the white king to catch the advanced black pawn, while the white pawn can be easily stopped by the black king. The idea of the solution is to move the king to advance on both pawns at the same time using specific properties of the chess geometry.
- 1. Kg7! h4
- 2. Kf6 Kb6 (or 2. ... h3 3. Ke7 and the white king can support its own pawn)
- 3. Ke5!! (and now the white king comes just in time to the white pawn, or catches the black one)
- 3. ... h3
- 4. Kd6 and draws.
[edit] Notable chess games
- Richard Reti vs Akiba Rubinstein, Karlsbad 1923, King's Indian Attack: General (A11), 1-0 A model game for Réti-type opening.
- Richard Reti vs Jose Raul Capablanca, New York 1924, English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense. King's Indian Formation (A15), 1-0 The famous victory over Capablanca.
[edit] Publications
- New Ideas In Chess (1922)
- Masters Of The Chess Board (1930) ISBN 0-486-23384-7
[edit] References
- ^ Winter, Edward (2003). A Chess Omnibus. Russell Enterprises. ISBN 1-888690-17-8.
