Schlechter (02.03.1874 – 27.12.1918)

Austrian world-class player, one of the pretenders in the World Championship at the beginning of the twentieth century. Chess theoretician and composer. Main editor of the magazine Deutsche Schachzeitung 1912-18. German Champion in 1900 (joint), 1904 (joint) and 1910.

Schlechter started to play chess at the age of 13. Already at 1, he was one of the strongest players in Vienna. After the match against Marco (5:5) in 1893, he became a  professional chess player. He made his debut at the international competition in Leipzig 1894, where he took the eleventh place. The next year, he was ninth in the international tournament at Hastings 1895. Tarrasch wrote about him: “As Schlechter is young, we’re expecting his growing with great impatience”.

Between 1896 and 1908, he participated in 28 international tournaments, with the best results at: Nuremberg 1896, 7^th-8^th;; Budapest 1896;4^th-5^th; Vienna 1896, 2^nd; 1898, 5^th; 1902, 3^rd; 1904, 1^st; and 1908, 1^st-3^rd; 1900, 1^st-2^nd; 1901 and 1904, 2^nd; Coburg 1904, 1^st-3^rd. His best achievements were surely: Ostend 1906, 1^st; Nuremberg 1906, 3^rd-4^th; Stockholm 1906, 1^st-2^nd; Copenhagen 1907, 2^nd-3^rd; Prague 1908, 1^st-2^nd.

                                                                     Schlechter – Tarrasch 1911

In 1910, Schlechter became a challenger and a 10-game match against Lasker was agreed to be played. Schlechter was leading for nine games scored +1=8 but lost the last game and the match was declared to be drawn, and Lasker retained the title of World Champion.

During the period of 1893-1918, he played 10 matches: beat D. Janowski 7½-2½ in 1902; lost to A. Rubinstein 2½-3½ in 1918 and drew the rest. Schlechter is the follower of the Schteinitz’s school, to build up the game by seeking a positional advantage, and not to attack until an advantage had been obtained. He was a universal player possessing encyclopedia knowledge of the chess theory. “I cannot find any vulnerable point in Schlechter’s play… He is taking his position with absolute objectivity. … He is an example of the true fighter” (Lasker). Schlechter also composed many chess problems and made great contributions to the theory of openings. He is considered to be the great all-round master of the art of chess, a blindfold expert of the foremost rank. Playing chess, he always sought for a positional advantage and never attacked until he was sure that he had an advantage.

During World War I, Schlechter edited the eighth issue of Bilguer’s Handbuch. He was also the editor of Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung.

He died in1918 at Budapest of pneumonia and without financial resources.