Master profile

Leading nineteenth-century master

Johann Jacob Löwenthal

Löwenthal was a strong match player, tournament winner, chess journalist, and one of the most important European masters Paul Morphy faced in London.

Active
1840s–1860s
Rating
Pre-FIDE era
Standing
Elite European master
Era
Romantic Era

Why he matters

Löwenthal competed with the strongest European players of the 1850s, defeated Adolf Anderssen at Manchester in 1857, won Birmingham in 1858, and played one of the defining matches of Morphy’s European tour.

Legacy

Beyond his match with Morphy, Löwenthal helped shape nineteenth-century chess as a player, analyst, editor, and organizer, leaving a substantial body of practical match and tournament games.

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