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Johann Jacob Löwenthal (; 15 July 1810 – 24 July 1876) was a Hungarian-born professional
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 ...
. He was among the top 3 players of the 1850s.


Biography

Löwenthal was born in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, the son of a Jewish merchant. He was educated at the gymnasium of his native city. In 1846, he won a match against Carl Hamppe in Vienna (with 5 wins, 4 losses, and no draws). He received a civil appointment under the administration of
Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (; ; ; ; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, r ...
in 1848. On the downfall of the latter, Löwenthal was expelled from Hungary, and he emigrated to America in 1849. In 1851, he went to London and resided permanently in England thereafter. At the Manchester tournament of 1857, Löwenthal defeated
Adolf Anderssen Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen (6 July 1818 – 13 March 1879)"Anderssen, Adolf" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 385. was a German chess master. ...
for first place. During his 1850 visit to
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, Löwenthal played
Paul Morphy Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. During his brief career in the late 1850s, Morphy was acknowledged as the world's greatest chess master. A prodigy, Morphy emerged onto the chess scene in 1857 ...
on two separate occasions, losing a total of three games straight. He was one of the first masters to play a match against Morphy after the latter's arrival in London in 1858. Morphy won with a score of nine wins, three losses, and two draws. "...I am convinced that I was vanquished by superior strength," Löwenthal said about the match, as reported by an English writer named Frederick Edge, who wrote extensively about Morphy and other famous players in a book called ''The Exploits and Triumphs, in Europe, of Paul Morphy, the Chess Champion''. No doubt aware that chess was Löwenthal's only source of livelihood, and conscious to not be considered a professional player himself, Morphy, after winning the match stakes of £100, presented Löwenthal with a gift of furniture valued at £120 for his new house. Just days after being defeated by Morphy, Löwenthal had his greatest success by winning the British Chess Association Congress knockout tournament in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, England, on 27 August 1858. His prize was £63. In 1860, Löwenthal took advantage of Morphy's extreme popularity to create a collection of the American master's games titled ''Morphy's Games of Chess''. According to Morphy's biographer David Lawson, Morphy was friendly to Löwenthal and therefore agreed to sign his name to material in the book, which was purported to be written by Morphy but in fact was not. For a time, Löwenthal served as club secretary of the St. George's Chess Club in London. He taught chess and invented the first . He helped organise an international tournament in 1862, and then published a . Löwenthal was for some time chess editor of ''The Illustrated News of the World'' and of ''The Era''. He was editor also of ''The Chess Players' Magazine'' (1863–1867). In 1860, he published Morphy's ''Games of Chess, with Analytical and Critical Notes''. When Löwenthal became ill in 1874 and could no longer financially support himself, a collection was taken up for him.
Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British aristocrat and politician. Churchill was a Tory radical who coined the term "One-nation conservatism, Tory democracy". He participated in the creation ...
and many others contributed to the charity fund. Under the influence of W. G. Ward, with whom he played chess, Löwenthal became a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
. He died on 24 July 1876 at St. Leonards-on-Sea, near
Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
, at the age of 66.


See also

* List of Jewish chess players


References

*


Further reading

*'' British Chess Magazine'', 1926, pages 345–8, and 1976, pages 308–14 *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowenthal, Johann 1810 births 1876 deaths Hungarian Jews Hungarian Roman Catholics English Roman Catholics British Jews Hungarian chess players British chess players Jewish chess players Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism 19th-century chess players Chess players from Budapest