Najdorf, Miguel (1910-1997)
Polish-born player who stayed in Argentina after the outbreak of World War II and became a naturalized citizen of Argentina five years later. He changed his first name from Mieczyslaw to Mendel to Miguel. In 1943 he played 40 games blindfolded. He then played 222 opponents simultaneously, over-the board, winning 202, drew 12 and lost 8 games. In January, 1945 he played 45 opponents simultaneously blindfolded in Sao Paulo,Brazil. After 23 hours and 30 minutes of play, he won 39 games, drew 4, and lost 2.
Napier, William (1881-1952)
English-born US player of GM strength. He won the British championship in 1904. He married Pillsbury's niece.
Napoleon (1769-1821)
Played The Turk in 1806 in Berlin. When he lost he knocked all the pieces from the board and yelled, "Bagatelle," then stormed out of the room. When Napoleon died, he willed that his heart be cut out and placed inside a chess table.
National Chess Centre
Largest chess club in London with 700 members until it burnt down in 1940 after a German air raid.
National Elementary Championship
In 1992 the National Elementary Championship held in Knoxville, Tennessee, had a record 1,201 participants, giving out a record 375 trophies.
National Scholastics
The first National High School Championship began in 1969. The first National Junior High began in 1973. The first National Elementary began in 1976.
Neimetdinov, Rashid (1912- )
First USSR master in chess and checkers. He wrote the first chess book in the Tatar language.
New York 1857
Also known as the American Chess Congress, it was the first American chess tournament to determine the national champion. It was won by Paul Morphy with 14 wins, 1 loss, and 3 draws.
New York 1869
The New York 1859 had 48 players who played each other twice in a round-robin. 2,256 games were played, the largest individual tournament ever held.
New York State Championship
America's longest running state championship which began in 1878. In 1944 the New York State Championship was called off because IBM, who were to be the hosts, were requested bu the U.S. government to cancel all conventions to reduce the burden of tralling facilities for the war.
Nicephorus
Emperor of Byzantium who was introduced to chess (zatrikon) in 802. It is the earliest evidence of chess among the Greeks.
Nightrider
A Fairy chess piece that makes continuous knight leaps in a straight line in one direction to move or capture until it is blocked.
Nimzovich, Aron (1886-1935)
Founder of the hypermodern movement in chess and author of MY SYSTEM. He would stand on his head during chess events and did exercises in the tournament room. After losing a game, he jumped up on the table and yelled, "Why must I lost to this idiot?" He had business cards printed which read, 'A. Nimzovich: Candidate for the World Championship of Chess and Crown Prince of the Chess World." He once broke a leg while playing chess. He twisted his leg around the leg of his chair and then, having made his move, leaped up, only to crash to the floor in pain with a broken leg.
N.N.
Nescio Nomen, a Latin phrase meaning name unknown. It has been customary to use N.N. for the given name of an unknown person.
Nobel Prize winners and chessplayers
Samuel Becket (1969-Literature), Menachem Begin (1978-Peace), Willy Brandt (1971-Peace), Elias Canetti (1981-Literature), Winston Churchill (1953-Literature), John Cornforth (1975-Chemistry), Gerard Debrem (1983-Economics), Albert Einstein (1921-Physics), William Golding (1983-Literature), Henry Kissinger (1973-Peace), Sinclair Lewis (1930-Literature), Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1982-Literature), Boris Pasternak (1958-Literature), Robert Robinson (1947-Chemistry), Bertrand Russell (1950-Literature), Anwar Sadat (1978-Peace), George Bernard Shaw (1925-Literature), Henryk Sienkiewicz (1905-Literature), Isaac Singer (1978-Literature), Frederick Soddy (1921-Chemistry), William Butler Yeats (1923-Literature), Woodrow Wilson (1919-Peace)
Nogueris, Jesus (1959- )
Cuban champion (1978, 1984, 1991) and Grandmaster (1979) who usually plays on board 1 for the Cuban Chess Olympic team.
Non-stop chess
Roger Ling and Graham Croft set the non-stop playing world record of 200 hours in 1982.
Norman Conquest
Introduced chess in Britain in 1066 A.D.
Northern Philidor
Nickname of Alexander Petroff.
Nunn, John (1955- )
British Grandmaster who went to Oxford at age 15, graduated at 18, and got his doctorate in math at 23. In the 1984 Thessaloniki Olympiad, he received 3 gold medals: best score on board 2, best performance rating in the Olympiad, and winner of the problem-solving contest.
