Josef Kling (19 March 1811 – 1 December 1876), also found in English-language sources as Joseph Kling, was a German

chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...

and

chess composer A chess composer is a person who creates endgame studies or chess problems. Chess composers usually specialize in a particular genre, e.g. endgame studies, twomovers, threemovers, moremovers, helpmates, selfmates, fairy problems, or retrogr ...

. He has been called "a pioneer of the modern style of chess." Although Kling was an expert on endgames and

problems A problem is a difficulty which may be resolved by problem solving. Problem(s) or The Problem may also refer to: People * Problem (rapper), (born 1985) American rapper Books * ''Problems'' (Aristotle), an Aristotelian (or pseudo-Aristotelian) co ...

, he rarely played competitively. Kling wrote several studies of the game. He co-edited the problem book ''Chess Studies'' (1851) with

Bernhard Horwitz Bernhard Horwitz (1807 in Neustrelitz – 1885 in London) was a German and British chess master, chess writer and chess composer. Horwitz was born in Neustrelitz and went to school in Berlin, where he studied art. From 1837 to 1843, he was part ...

. From January 1851 to December 1853, the pair also co-edited the weekly journal ''The Chess Player,'' also known as ''The New Chess Player''. As co-authors, they made notable contributions to endgame theory, and are thought to have originated the term "

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

" in reference to "an unsound chess problem having two solutions." Kling began as a teacher of instrumental music, but in the early 1850s found himself with few students. He emigrated from

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

, Germany, to England, where in 1852 he opened a

coffee house A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non- ...

with chess rooms, located at 454

New Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...

in London. He occasionally employed Horwitz as a resident professional player there.Harding, ''Eminent Victorian Chess Players,'' p. 48. The Kling and Horwitz Defensive Technique enables Black to force a draw with Black to move against perfect play in the diagram shown to the right. For a detailed analysis of this position, se
here

References

External links

Josef Kling
at

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1811 births 1876 deaths German chess players Chess composers Chess theoreticians German chess writers German male non-fiction writers 19th-century chess players {{Germany-chess-bio-stub