Carl Schlechter

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Carl Schlechter

Carl Schlechter (March 2, 1874 - December 27, 1918) was a leading Austrian chess master at the turn of the 20th century. He is best known for drawing a World Chess Championship match with Emanuel Lasker.

1 Early Life
2 Lasker-Schlechter match
3 Later life
4 Notable chess games
5 External links

[edit] Early Life

Schlechter was born in Vienna. From 1893 onwards he played in over 50 international chess tournaments, including four wins: Munich in 1900 (shared), Ostend in 1906, Vienna in 1908 (shared) and Hamburg in 1910.

[edit] Lasker-Schlechter match

In 1910 Schlechter played a match against Emanuel Lasker for the World Chess Championship (in Vienna and Berlin). He needed only a draw in the tenth and last game to win the match, but missed first a win, then a clear draw before losing the game. The match ended tied at 5-5 (+1 -1 =8), and Lasker retained his title.

It may be that this was because Schlechter needed to win by a two point margin in order to win the title, and so had no choice but to play for a win in the final game; historians are divided over whether this was the case. Researcher Graeme Cree writes,

There are still some who doubt whether this two-point clause existed, and as far as I know, positive proof does not exist. But the evidence of Schlechter's play in that final game, plus the difficulty of imagining a cagey bird like Lasker risking his title in such a short match without some extra protection seems pretty telling. Not to mention the fact that negotiations for a Lasker-Capablanca match broke down the very next year over over that very same 2-point tie clause.[1]

In contrast, journalist Larry Evans writes,

The truth is Schlechter probably never saw a clear draw! He missed 35...Rd8! with good winning chances. Later he said he intended 38...Qh4 39 Kg2 Qg4 40 Rg3 Qxc8 overlooking 41 Qg6! Flustered, he then missed a draw -- and the title -- by 39...Qh4! 40 Kd2 Qh2 41 Ke3 Rxf3 42 Kxf3 Qh3 43 Ke2 Qxc8 44 Qxb5, etc. The last hope to hold was 46...Qa2.[2]

Nevertheless, Schlechter distinguished himself by being the first person in 16 years to seriously threaten to claim Lasker's world title.

[edit] Later life

Schlechter also played matches with Siegbert Tarrasch in 1911 (drawn) and Akiba Rubinstein in 1918 (lost).

He died in Budapest of pneumonia and starvation.

Schlechter was a typical example of a gentleman chess player of old, offering courteous draws to opponents who felt unwell. If his opponent arrived late for a game, Schlechter would inconspicuously subtract an equal amount of time from his own clock. He also mentored many of his rivals, including Oldrich Duras.

[edit] Notable chess games

Fried-Schlechter, Vienna 1894, From's Gambit (A02), 0-1 A breezy 14-move win by Schlechter, who sacrifices his queen and mates his opponent's king in the middle of the board.
Bernhard Fleissig-Schlechter, Vienna 1895, Polish Opening: General (A00), 0-1 One of Schlechter's most famous games, a scintillating win where Black sacrificed both his rooks and both his bishops.
Schlechter-Steinitz, Cologne 1898 Vienna Game (C28), 1-0 Schlechter routs the former World Champion in 24 moves.
Schlechter-Meitner, Vienna 1899, Italian Game: Classical Variation. Greco Gambit Moeller-Therkatz Attack (C54), 1-0 An interesting combination in the engame: White sacrifices his queen, then makes a quiet move with his king - and black is unable to prevent a mate in two moves.