Theodor (Theodore) Lichtenhein (January 1829 – 19 May 1874) was an American chess master. Theodor Lichtenhein

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

, he learned chess at the age of 12, and six years afterwards, he was president of the Königsberg Chess Club. He studied at first for the medical profession, and afterwards entered the service of the Prussian army. He moved to the US in November 1851 aboard the ship ''Henry Clay'', and at first devoted nearly all his time to his mercantile wholesale business. Then in 1856, he joined the New York Chess Club and soon became its strongest member. In the 1st American Chess Congress held in New York from 6 October – 10 November 1857, and won by Paul Morphy, he took third prize. He won against

Charles Henry Stanley Charles Henry Stanley (September 2, 1819 – October 6, 1901) was the first chess champion of the United States. When the first U.S. championship match took place in 1845, Stanley defeated Eugène Rousseau of New Orleans, and claimed the title o ...

(3–2) in 1st round, beat Frederick Perrin (3–0) in 2nd round, lost to Morphy (½–3½) in semifinal, and beat Benjamin Raphael (3–0) in the 3rd place final. Lichtenhein was elected the New York CC's president in 1858. He drew with Perrin (1–1) in a match New York vs. Brooklyn in 1860, and won a match against Hardman Philips Montgomery (7½–2½) at Philadelphia 1861. He served as a

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the 58th Regiment of New York Volunteers during the Civil War, acting also as a correspondent for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. He died in Chicago.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtenhein, Theodor 1829 births 1874 deaths German chess players American chess players Sportspeople from Königsberg People from the Province of Prussia 19th-century chess players