Positional play was not a new idea and there are many examples of such games from the Romantic era, however it did not become popular or widely accepted until Steinitz won the 1873 Vienna Tournament with his ideas of defense-based chess. He is considered the first true chess world champion, and remained so for 21 years despite not playing actively for almost 15 of them. In addition, he became the first chess master to make a living exclusively from professional chess, while most players up to this time played the game merely as a hobby or way to earn extra money while having other professions as their main occupation.