View source for Dawid Janowski

{{short description|Belarusian-French chess player (1868–1967)}}
{{Infobox chess biography
| name        = Dawid Janowski
| image       = DavidJanowski.jpg
| caption     = Janowski, {{Circa|1910}}
| birthname   = Dawid Markelowicz Janowski
| country     = France/Poland
| birth_date  = 25 May 1868
| birth_place = [[Vawkavysk|Wołkowysk]], [[Grodno Governorate]], Russian Empire<br/><small>(modern Vawkavysk, [[Belarus]])</small>
| death_date  = {{death date and age |1927|1|15|1868|5|25|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Hyères]], [[Var (department)|Var]], [[French Third Republic|France]]
}}
'''Dawid Markelowicz Janowski''' {{IPA|pl|ˈd̪avʲit̪ ˈmaʁkəlɔvit͡ʂ ˈjanɔfski|}} (25 May 1868 – 15 January 1927; often spelled ''David'') was a Polish [[chess]] player. Several [[Chess openings|opening variations]] are [[List of chess openings named after people|named]] after Janowski.

== Biography ==
Born into a [[Polish Jews|Jewish-Polish]] family<ref>[http://www.jinfo.org/Chess_Warriors_List.html "JEWS RANKED AMONG THE 64 STRONGEST CHESS PLAYERS OF ALL TIME"], ''JINFO.ORG''.</ref> in [[Wołkowysk]], [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Belarus]]), he settled in Paris around 1890 and began his professional chess career in 1894. He won tournaments in [[Monte Carlo chess tournament|Monte Carlo]] 1901, [[Hanover]] 1902 and tied for first at [[Vienna]] 1902. 

Janowski was devastating against the older masters such as [[Wilhelm Steinitz]] (+5−2), [[Mikhail Chigorin]] (+17−4=4) and [[Joseph Henry Blackburne]] (+6−2=2).  He had minus scores, however, against newer players such as [[Siegbert Tarrasch]] (+5−9=3), [[Frank Marshall (chess player)|Frank Marshall]] (+28−34=18), [[Akiba Rubinstein]] (+3−5), [[Géza Maróczy]] (+5−10=5) and [[Carl Schlechter]] (+13−20=13). He was outclassed by [[world chess champion|world champions]] [[Emanuel Lasker]] (+4−25=7) and [[José Raúl Capablanca]] (+1−9=1), but scored respectably against [[Alexander Alekhine]] (+2−4=2). In particular, he was able to beat at least once each of the first four world champions, a feat shared with Siegbert Tarrasch alone.

Janowski played three matches against [[Emanuel Lasker]]: two friendly matches in 1909 (+2−2 and +1−7=2) and one [[World Chess Championship 1910 (Lasker-Janowski)|match for the world chess championship in 1910]] (−8=3). The longer 1909 match has sometimes been called a world championship match,<ref>For instance: "From Morphy to Fischer", [[Israel Horowitz]], Batsford 1973, p. 64; "The Centenary Match - Kasparov-Karpov III", [[Raymond Keene]] and David Goodman, Batsford 1986</ref> but research by [[Edward Winter (chess historian)|Edward Winter]] indicates that the title was not at stake.<ref>[http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter38.html#5199._Lasker_v_Janowsky_Paris_1909 Chess Notes 5199], by [[Edward Winter (chess historian)|Edward Winter]]</ref>

In July–August 1914, he was playing an international chess tournament, the 19th [[DSB Congress]] (German Chess Federation Congress) in [[Mannheim]], Germany, with four wins, four draws and three losses (seventh place), when [[World War I]] broke out.<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.chessbase.de/nachrichten.asp?newsid=5003
| title=Das unvollendete Turnier: Mannheim 1914
| date=20 December 2005
}}</ref>
Players at Mannheim representing countries now at war with Germany were interned. He, as well as [[Alexander Alekhine]], was interned but released to [[Switzerland]] after a short internment.<ref>[http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4588 ChessBase.com - Chess News - Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (28)]</ref>
In 1915, he left Europe for the United States and spent the next nine years there before returning to Paris. At New York 1916, in the final, he shared second place with [[Oscar Chajes]], after [[José Raúl Capablanca]]. He won at [[Atlantic City]] 1921 (the eighth [[American Chess Congress]]) and took third place at [[Lake Hopatcong]] 1923 (the ninth ACC).<ref>[http://www.anders.thulin.name/SUBJECTS/CHESS/CTCIndex.pdf Name Index to Jeremy Gaige's ''Chess Tournament Crosstables'', An Electronic Edition, Anders Thulin, Malmö, 2004-09-01] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704030849/http://www.anders.thulin.name/SUBJECTS/CHESS/CTCIndex.pdf |date=July 4, 2007 }}</ref>

He died in France on 15 January 1927 of [[tuberculosis]].

== Playing style ==
Janowski played very quickly and was known as a sharp tactician who was devastating with the [[bishop pair]]. Capablanca annotated some Janowski games with great admiration, and said, "when in form [he] is one of the most feared opponents who can exist".  Capablanca noted that Janowski's greatest weakness as a player was in the [[Chess endgame|endgame]], and Janowski reportedly told him, "I detest the endgame."  American champion Frank Marshall remembered Janowski's talent and his stubbornness. In ''Marshall's Best Games of Chess'' he wrote that Janowski "could follow the wrong path with greater determination than any man I ever met!" [[Reuben Fine]] remembered Janowski as a player of considerable talent, but a "master of the alibi" with respect to his defeats. Fine said that his losses invariably occurred because it was too hot, or too cold, or the windows were open too far, or not far enough. He also noted that Janowski was sometimes unpopular with his colleagues because of his predilection for doggedly playing on even in an obviously lost position, hoping his opponent might blunder.{{Citation needed|date=January 2016}} [[Edward Lasker]] in his book ''Chess Secrets I Learned from the Masters'' recalled that Janowski was an inveterate but undisciplined gambler who would often lose all of his chess winnings at the roulette wheel.

== Legacy ==
{{AN chess|pos=secright}}
Several opening variations carry Janowski's name.   
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{{Chess diagram small
|tleft
|[[Old Indian Defense#Janowski Variation|Janowski Variation]] <br />in the [[Old Indian Defence]]
|rd|nd|  |qd|kd|bd|  |rd
|pd|pd|pd|  |pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |pd|  |nd|  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |bd|  |  
|  |  |pl|pl|  |  |  |  
|  |  |nl|  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|  |  |pl|pl|pl|pl
|rl|  |bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
|1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Bf5<ref>[https://old.chesstempo.com/gamedb/opening/1469 Old Indian Defense, Janowski Variation], old.chesstempo.com, access date 2 April 2021</ref>
}}
{{col-break}}
{{Chess diagram small
 |tleft
 |[[Queen's Gambit Declined#Black avoids 3...Nf6|Janowski Variation]] <br />in the [[Queen's Gambit Declined]] 
 |rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
 |  |pd|pd|  |  |pd|pd|pd  
 |pd|  |  |  |pd|  |  |  
 |  |  |  |pd|  |  |  |  
 |  |  |pl|pl|  |  |  |  
 |  |  |nl|  |  |  |  |  
 |pl|pl|  |  |pl|pl|pl|pl
 |rl|  |bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
 |1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 a6<ref>[https://www.chess.com/openings/Queens-Gambit-Declined-Janowski-Variation Queen's Gambit Declined: Janowski Variation], www.chess.com, access date 2 April 2021</ref> <br /><small>[[Jackson Showalter|Showalter]] vs. Janowski, London 1899<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1481901 |title=Jackson Whipps Showalter vs. David Janowski, London 1899 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] |access-date=11 February 2023 }}</ref></small>
}}
{{col-break}}
{{Chess diagram small
 |tleft
 |Janowski Variation{{efn|Primarily called the Botvinnik Variation.}} <br />in the [[Queen's Gambit Declined]] 
 |rd|  |bd|qd|  |rd|kd|
 |pd|pd|pd|nd|bd|pd|pd|pd  
 |  |  |  |  |pd|nd|  |  
 |  |  |  |pd|  |  |bl|  
 |  |  |pl|pl|  |  |  |  
 |  |  |nl|bl|pl|nl|  |  
 |pl|pl|  |  |  |pl|pl|pl
 |rl|  |  |ql|kl|  |  |rl
 |1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 0-0 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.Bd3<ref name="OCC">Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 186. ''Janowski Variation''.</ref> <br /><small>Janowski vs. [[Alphonse Goetz|Goetz]], Paris 1896<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1606508 |title=David Janowski vs. Alphonse Goetz, Championship of the Cafe de la Regence, Paris 1896 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] |access-date=11 February 2023 }}</ref></small>
}}
{{col-break}}
{{Chess diagram small
 |tleft
 |Janowski Variation{{efn|Sometimes called the New York Variation.}} <br />in the [[Queen's Gambit Declined]] 
 |rd|  |bd|qd|  |rd|kd|
 |pd|pd|  |nd|bd|pd|pd|pd  
 |  |  |pd|  |pd|  |  |  
 |  |  |  |nd|  |  |bl|  
 |  |  |bl|pl|  |  |  |pl  
 |  |  |nl|  |pl|nl|  |  
 |pl|pl|  |  |  |pl|pl|  
 |  |  |rl|ql|kl|  |  |rl
 |1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 0-0 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.Rc1 c6 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nd5 10.h4<ref name=OCC /> <br /><small>Janowski vs. [[José Raúl Capablanca|Capablanca]], New York 1924<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1102094 |title=David Janowski vs. Jose Raul Capablanca, New York 1924 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] |access-date=11 February 2023 }}</ref></small>
}}
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{{Chess diagram small
 |tleft
 |[[Queen's Gambit Accepted#3.Nf3|Janowski–Larsen Variation]]{{efn|Sometimes called the Modern Variation.}} <br />in the [[Queen's Gambit Accepted]] 
 |rd|nd|  |qd|kd|bd|  |rd
 |pd|pd|pd|  |pd|pd|pd|pd  
 |  |  |  |  |  |nd|  |  
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
 |  |  |pd|pl|  |  |bd|  
 |  |  |  |  |pl|nl|  |  
 |pl|pl|  |  |  |pl|pl|pl
 |rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|  |rl
 |1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4<ref>Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 186. ''Janowski–Larsen Variation''.</ref> <br /><small>[[Frank Marshall (chess player)|Marshall]] vs. Janowski, St. Petersburg 1914<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1064763 |title=Frank Marshall vs. David Janowski, St. Petersburg 1914 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] |access-date=11 February 2023 }}</ref></small> <br /><small>[[László Szabó (chess player)|Szabó]] vs. [[Bent Larsen|Larsen]], Portoroz 1958<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1136991 |title=Laszlo Szabo vs. Bent Larsen, Portoroz Interzonal, Portoroz 1958 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] |access-date=11 February 2023 }}</ref></small>
}}
{{col-break}}
{{Chess diagram small
 |tleft
 |Janowski Variation <br />in the [[Albin Countergambit]] 
 |rd|  |bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
 |pd|pd|pd|  |  |  |pd|pd  
 |  |  |nd|  |  |pd|  |  
 |  |  |  |  |pl|  |  |  
 |  |  |pl|pd|  |  |  |  
 |  |  |  |  |  |nl|  |  
 |pl|pl|  |nl|pl|pl|pl|pl
 |rl|  |bl|ql|kl|bl|  |rl
 |1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 f6<ref name=OCC /> <br /><small>[[Ossip Bernstein|Bernstein]] vs. Janowski, Barmen 1905<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1002998 |title=Ossip Bernstein vs. David Janowski, Barmen Meisterturnier A, Barmen 1905 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] |access-date=11 February 2023 }}</ref></small>
}}
{{col-break}}
{{Chess diagram small
 |tleft
 |Janowski Variation <br />in the [[French Defence]] 
 |rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|  |  |rd
 |pd|pd|pd|  |  |pd|pd|  
 |  |  |  |  |pd|nd|  |pd  
 |  |  |  |pd|pl|  |  |  
 |  |bd|  |pl|  |  |  |  
 |  |  |nl|  |bl|  |  |  
 |pl|pl|pl|  |  |pl|pl|pl
 |rl|  |  |ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
 |1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Be3<ref name=OCC /> <br /><small>Janowski vs. [[Amos Burn|Burn]], Ostend 1907<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1036030 |title=David Janowski vs. Amos Burn, Ostend Championship, Ostend 1907 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] |access-date=11 February 2023 }}</ref></small>
}}
{{col-break}}
{{Chess diagram small
 |tleft
 |[[French Defense#Early deviations for White|Janowski Variation]]{{efn|Primarily called the Alapin Variation.}} <br />in the [[French Defence]] 
 |rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
 |pd|pd|pd|  |  |pd|pd|pd
 |  |  |  |  |pd|  |  |  
 |  |  |  |pd|  |  |  |  
 |  |  |  |pl|pl|  |  |  
 |  |  |  |  |bl|  |  |  
 |pl|pl|pl|  |  |pl|pl|pl
 |rl|nl|  |ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
 |1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Be3<ref name=OCC />
}}
{{col-end}}
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{{col-break}}
{{Chess diagram small
 |tleft
 |Janowski Variation <br />in the [[Four Knights Game]] 
 |rd|  |bd|qd|  |rd|kd|
 |pd|pd|pd|  |  |pd|pd|pd  
 |  |  |nd|pd|  |nd|  |  
 |  |bl|  |  |pd|  |  |  
 |  |  |  |  |pl|  |  |  
 |  |  |pl|pl|  |nl|  |  
 |pl|  |pl|  |  |pl|pl|pl
 |rl|  |bl|ql|rl|  |kl|
 |1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.0-0 0-0 6.d3 Bxc3 7.bxc3 d6 8.Re1<ref name=OCC /> <br /><small>Janowski vs. [[Harry Nelson Pillsbury|Pillsbury]], Paris 1900<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1000073 |title=David Janowski vs. Harry Nelson Pillsbury, Paris 1900 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] |access-date=11 February 2023 }}</ref></small>
}}
{{col-end}}
{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist|notes=}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

'''Bibliography'''
*{{cite book
 |last1=Hooper 
 |first1=David  
 |authorlink1=David Vincent Hooper
 |last2=Whyld 
 |first2=Kenneth 
 |authorlink2=Kenneth Whyld
 |title=[[The Oxford Companion to Chess]]
 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]
 |year=1996
 |edition=2nd
 |origyear=First pub. 1992
 |isbn=0-19-280049-3 }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
| author1=Cherniaev, Alexander
| author2=Meynell, Alexander
| title=David Janowski: Artist of the Chess Board
| year=2005
| publisher=Hardinge Simpole
| isbn=9781843821687}}
* {{cite book
| author=Ackermann, Daniel
| title=Vabanque Dawid Janowsky 1868–1927 
| year=2005
| publisher=Schachverlag Dreier
| isbn=3-929376-65-2}}
*{{cite book
 | author=Voronkov, S.B. and Plisetsky, D.G.
 | title=David Yanovsky
 | year=1987
 | publisher= Fizkultura i Sport
 }}

==External links==
* {{chessgames player|id=19523}}
* Edward Winter, [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/janowsky.html Janowsky Jottings] (1998)
* [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/laskerjanowsky.html “Lasker v Janowsky, Paris, 1909” by Edward Winter]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janowski, Dawid}}
[[Category:1868 births]]
[[Category:1927 deaths]]
[[Category:Jewish chess players]]
[[Category:French chess players]]
[[Category:Chess theoreticians]]
[[Category:19th-century Polish chess players]]
[[Category:20th-century Polish chess players]]
[[Category:20th-century Polish sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
[[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in France]]
[[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France]]
[[Category:19th-century chess players from the Russian Empire]]