Carl Schlechter
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| Carl Schlechter | ||
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| Country |  Austria |
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| Born | March 2, 1874 Austria |
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| Died | December 27, 1918 (aged 44) |
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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.
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[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.
For details on the match, including the uncertainty over whether Schlechter had to win by a two point margin, see World Chess Championship 1910 (Lasker-Schlechter).
In any case, 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 Oldřich 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 endgame: White sacrifices his queen, then makes a quiet move with his king - and black is unable to prevent a mate in two moves.
[edit] References
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