Max Harmonist (Berlin, 10 February 1864 – 16 October 1907) was a leading German

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

master. He was probably the only famous chess player to have been by profession a ballet dancer. He often performed in the royal ballet. He became famous after winning a game at

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

1887 against

Isidor Gunsberg Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is an English and French masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος) and can literally be translated to "gift of Isis." The name has survived ...

, widely regarded as one of the strongest masters of that period. In the same tournament he also beat

Joseph Blackburne Joseph Henry Blackburne (10 December 1841 – 1 September 1924) was a British chess player. Nicknamed "The Black Death", he dominated the British scene during the latter part of the 19th century. Blackburne learned the game at the relatively late ...

(who placed 2nd) and

Emil Schallopp Emil Schallopp (1 August 1843, Friesack, Germany – 9 April 1919, Berlin) was a German chess master and author. He became head of the shorthand department of the Reichstag. He wrote many books, including one on the Steinitz– Zukertort 188 ...

. In tournaments, he was 1st–4th at Berlin 1883, took 3rd at Berlin 1883, won at

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

1885 (Hauptturnier), won at Berlin 1887, took 21st at Frankfurt 1887, tied for 4–5th at Berlin 1888, tied for 4–5th at

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

1888, tied for 15–16th at Breslau 1889, and tied for 5–8th at Berlin 1890.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harmonist, Max 1864 births 1907 deaths German chess players 19th-century chess players