The Book

Jacques Mieses (1865–1954) was one of the most extraordinary chess players in history. His father called him a "lively scatterbrain." He became the last Romantic of chess, won more brilliancy prizes than almost any other master of his era, and competed at international level for over sixty years — longer than any other grandmaster before or since.

He crossed swords with five world champions, from Steinitz to Euwe. He organised the tournament where Capablanca made his breakthrough. He wrote over seventy books and publications and edited the most successful German-language chess textbook for half a century. And in 1938, he fled Nazi Germany for England — with fifteen Reichsmarks in his pocket and a walking disability that would never leave him.

This biography tells his story comprehensively for the first time: from the Galician fur-trading family that emigrated to Leipzig, through the golden years of European chess tournaments, to exile in London. It draws on previously unpublished letters from the Leo Baeck Institute in New York, documents from the Geppert family archive, and the systematic study of historical chess periodicals from six countries.

From the Sources

„Am 27. Februar 1865 wurde uns das erste Kind, ein Sohn geboren: Jacques (Jakob). Er entwickelte sich gut und wurde ein sehr hübscher Knabe, ein lebhafter Windfang, es hielt schwer, ihn zu erziehen."

[On 27 February 1865 our first child was born, a son: Jacques (Jakob). He developed well and became a very handsome boy, a lively scatterbrain — it was hard to raise him.]

„Laskers Stil ist klares Wasser mit einem Tropfen Gift darin, der es opalisieren lässt. Capablancas Stil ist vielleicht noch klarer, aber es fehlt der Tropfen Gift."

[Lasker's style is clear water with a drop of poison that makes it opalescent. Capablanca's style is perhaps even clearer, but the drop of poison is missing.]

"This is a glorious milestone of my life. And I here solemnly pledge to give my remaining years to the furtherance of English chess."

About the Author

Johannes Geppert is the great-great-grandson of Marie Coelestine Mieses, the youngest sister of Jacques Mieses. A family connection spanning five generations — and an unusual starting point for a chess biography. It was this link that first opened the door to private letters, unpublished photographs, and family memories that no previous researcher had access to.

The project brings together materials from the Geppert family archive, the Hanna de Mieses Family Collection at the Leo Baeck Institute in New York, and public sources from six countries. The accompanying research website mieses.info has been documenting the grandmaster's life and work since 2005.

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Key Facts

An English edition is in preparation.