Semyon Zinovyevich Alapin (russian: Семён Зиновьевич Алапин; – 15 July 1923) was a Russian

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

player, openings analyst, and

puzzle A puzzle is a game, Problem solving, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (Disentanglement puzzle, or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at th ...

composer. He was also a

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

, railway engineer and a grain commodities merchant.

Biography

Born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, into a Jewish family on , nephew of the Jewish memoirist

Pauline Wengeroff Pauline Wengeroff (1833–1916), born Pessele Epstein, was the author of a first-of-its kind memoir by a Jewish woman, in which she refracts a period in Jewish history—the emergence and unfolding of Jewish modernity in nineteenth-century Russian ...

. He was one of the strongest chess players in the

in the late 19th century. He died in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, Germany, on 15 July 1923.

Legacy

Today he is best known for his creation of opening systems in almost all major openings. Most of these are of little significance today, but Alapin's Variation of the

Sicilian Defence The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: :1. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4, e4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5, c5 The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. Ope ...

is an important opening line that is often played by leading grandmasters.

List of openings named after Alapin

* Alapin's Variation of the

: 1. e4 c5 2. c3 *

Alapin's Opening Alapin's Opening is an unusual chess opening that starts with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Ne2 It is named after the Russo- Lithuanian player and openings analyst Semyon Alapin (1856–1923). Although this opening is rarely used, Ljubojević ( ...

in the

Open Game An Open Game (or Double King's Pawn Opening) is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: :1. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4, e4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5, e5 White has moved the king's pawn two squares and Black has replied in ...

: 1. e4 e5 2. Ne2!? *Alapin's Gambit of the

French Defence The French Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e6 This is most commonly followed by 2.d4 d5, with Black intending ...c5 soon after, attacking White's and gaining on the . The French has a reputation for solidity ...

: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Be3!? *Alapin's Defence of the

Ruy Lopez The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez is named after 16th-century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura. It is one o ...

: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bb4 *Alapin's Variation of the Caro-Kann Defence: 1. e4 c6 2. c3 *Alapin's Variation of the

Dutch Defence The Dutch Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 f5 Black's 1...f5 stakes a claim to the e4-square and envisions an attack in the middlegame on White's ; however, it also weakens Black's kingside to an extent (especia ...

(also known as the "Manhattan Variation"): 1. d4 f5 2. Qd3 *Alapin's Variation of the

Queen's Gambit The Queen's Gambit is the chess opening that starts with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 It is one of the oldest openings and is still commonly played today. It is traditionally described as a ''gambit'' because White appears to sacrifice the c ...

: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 b6 *Alapin–Steinitz Variation of the

Evans Gambit The Evans Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 Bc5 :4. b4 The Evans Gambit is an aggressive line of the Giuoco Piano. White offers a pawn to divert the black bishop on c5. If Black accepts, ...

: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. 0-0 d6 7. d4 Bg4 *Sanders–Alapin Variation of the

: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. 0-0 d6 7. d4 Bd7

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alapin, Semyon 1856 births 1923 deaths Chess players from the Russian Empire Chess theoreticians Chess composers Jewish chess players Sportspeople from Saint Petersburg 19th-century chess players Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany

Biography

Legacy

List of openings named after Alapin

See also

References

External links