It featured challenges to the chess ideas of central European masters, including Wilhelm Steinitz's approach to the centre and the rules established by Siegbert Tarrasch.
This was part of the hypermodern framework, which Nimzowitsch encapsulated in his book My System, which greatly influenced many chess players.
Leading members were Aron Nimzowitsch, Richard Réti, Savielly Tartakower, Gyula Breyer, Efim Bogoljubov, and Ernst Grünfeld, who all came from Central Europe.
They also believed that chess could not be defined by a simple set of laws or principles, such as those laid out by Siegbert Tarrasch.
Steinitz was the first player who in his play demonstrated a mastery of positional chess, and the ideas he developed came to be known as the "Classical" or "Modern" school of thought.