Siegbert Tarrasch
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Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century.


Life

Tarrasch was born in Breslau, in what was then
Prussian Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...
and now is Poland. Having finished school in 1880, he left Breslau to study medicine in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and then in Halle. With his family, he settled in
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 ...
,
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, and later in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, setting up a successful medical practice. He had five children. Tarrasch was Jewish, converted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
in 1909, and was a patriotic German who lost a son in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, yet he faced
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
in the early stages of the
Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.


Chess career

A medical doctor by profession, Tarrasch may have been the best player in the world in the early 1890s. He scored heavily against the ageing World Champion
Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first official World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and che ...
in tournaments (+3−0=1) but refused an opportunity to challenge Steinitz for the world title in 1892 because of the demands of his medical practice. Soon afterwards, in St. Petersburg in 1893, Tarrasch drew a hard-fought match against Steinitz' challenger
Mikhail Chigorin Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin (also ''Tchigorin''; russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Чиго́рин; – ) was a Russian chess player. He played two World Championship matches against Wilhelm Steinitz, losing both times. The last great ...
(+9−9=4) after leading most of the way. He also won four major tournaments in succession: Breslau 1889,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
1890,
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
1892, and
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
1894. However, after
Emanuel Lasker Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champ ...
became
world chess champion The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013. The first event recognized as a world championship was the 1886 match ...
in 1894, Tarrasch could not match him. Fred Reinfeld wrote: "Tarrasch was destined to play second fiddle for the rest of his life." For example, Lasker scored much better against mutual opponents, e.g. vs. Chigorin, Tarrasch had +2 over 34 games while Lasker scored +7 in 21; vs.
Akiba Rubinstein Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein (1 December 1880 – 14 March 1961) was a Polish chess player. He is considered to have been one of the greatest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Rubinstein was granted the title Grandmaster (chess), ...
, Tarrasch was −8 without a single win, while Lasker scored +2−1=2; vs.
David Janowski Dawid Markelowicz Janowski (25 May 1868 – 15 January 1927; often spelled ''David'') was a Polish-born French chess player. The Janowski variations of the Old Indian Defense and of the Queen's Gambit Declined are named after him. Biography B ...
, Tarrasch scored +3 compared to Lasker's huge +22; vs.
Géza Maróczy Géza Maróczy (; 3 March 1870 – 29 May 1951) was a Hungarian chess player, one of the leading players in the world in his time. He was one of the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Early career G ...
, Tarrasch was +1 over 16 games while Lasker scored +4−0=1, vs.
Richard Teichmann Richard Teichmann (24 December 1868 – 15 June 1925) was a German chess master. He was known as "Richard the Fifth" because he often finished in fifth place in tournaments. But in Karlsbad 1911, he scored a convincing win, crushing Akiba Rub ...
Tarrasch scored +8−5=2, while Lasker beat him all four tournament games. However, Tarrasch had a narrow plus score against
Harry Nelson Pillsbury Harry Nelson Pillsbury (December 5, 1872 – June 17, 1906) was an American chess player. At the age of 22, he won one of the strongest tournaments of the time (winning the Hastings 1895 chess tournament), but his illness and early death prevent ...
of +6−5=2, while Lasker was even +5−5=4. Still, Tarrasch remained a powerful player, demolishing Frank Marshall in a match in 1905 (+8−1=8), and winning Ostend 1907 over Schlechter, Janowski,
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...
,
Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...
, and Chigorin. There was no love lost between Tarrasch and Lasker. The story goes that when they were introduced at the opening of their 1908 championship match, Tarrasch clicked his heels, bowed stiffly, and said, "To you, Dr Lasker, I have only three words, check and mate"—then left the room. When Lasker finally agreed to a title match in 1908, he beat Tarrasch convincingly +8−3=5. Tarrasch continued to be one of the leading players in the world for a while. He finished fourth in the very strong St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament, behind only World Champion Lasker and future World Champions
José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. Capablanc ...
and
Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...
, and ahead of Marshall,
Ossip Bernstein Ossip Samoilovich Bernstein (20 September 1882 – 30 November 1962) was a Russian-French chess player and businessman. He was one of the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Biography Born in Zhytomyr, ...
, Rubinstein, Nimzowitsch, Blackburne, Janowski, and Gunsberg. His win against Capablanca in the 19th round, though much less famous than Lasker's win against Capablanca the round before, was essential to enable Lasker to achieve his famous come-from-behind victory over Capablanca in the tournament. This tournament was probably Tarrasch's swan song, because his chess career was not very successful after this, although he still played some highly regarded games. Tarrasch lost +0-5=1 to Lasker in a 1916 match.


Chess teachings

Tarrasch was a very influential chess writer, and was called ''Praeceptor Germaniae'', meaning "Teacher of Germany." He took some of
Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first official World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and che ...
's ideas (''e.g.''
control of the center Chess strategy is the aspect of chess play concerned with evaluation of chess positions and setting of goals and long-term plans for future play. While evaluating a position strategically, a player must take into account such factors as the relat ...
, , ) and made them more accessible to the average chess player. In other areas, he departed from Steinitz. He emphasized piece much more than Steinitz did, and disliked cramped positions, saying that they "had the germ of defeat." Tarrasch formulated a very important rule in
rook Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military * Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft * USS ...
endgames that is often called the
Tarrasch rule The Tarrasch rule is a general principle that applies in the majority of chess middlegames and endgames. Siegbert Tarrasch (1862–1934) stated the "rule" that rooks should be placed behind passed pawns – either the player's or the opponent ...
: :The rooks belong ''behind'' passed pawns, behind their own in order to support their advance, behind the enemy's in order to impede their advance.Tarrasch, ''St Petersburg 1914: International Chess Tournament'', translated by Dr Robert Maxham, Caissa Editions, Yorklyn, DE, 1993, —comment o
Frank James Marshall vs Emanuel Lasker, St. Petersburg (1914), rd 3, Apr-24
p. 83, emphasis in original.


Chess publications

In 1895, Tarrasch's book ''Dreihundert Schachpartien'' was published. It was first translated into English in 1959 by Robin Ault and John Kirwan in a limited edition and a commercial edition in 1999 when S. Schwarz put out ''Three Hundred Chess Games.'' Tarrasch released ''Die moderne Schachpartie'' in 1912, but it has not been translated yet. He wrote a famous book about the St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament, which was translated into English in 1993. His fourth major book ''Das Schachspiel'' (1931), was translated by G. E. Smith and T. G. Bone as '' The Game of Chess'' (1935, ). It was his last book and his most successful. He edited the magazine ''
Deutsche Schachzeitung ''Deutsche Schachzeitung'' (English: "''German Chess Paper''") was the first German chess magazine. Founded in 1846 by Ludwig Bledow under the title ''Schachzeitung der Berliner Schachgesellschaft'' and appearing monthly, it took the name ''Deutsch ...
'' in 1897, and ''Tarrasch's Schachzeitung'', for the last two years of his life.


Clash with hypermodern school

He was a target of the hypermodern school, led by
Richard Réti Richard Selig Réti (28 May 1889 – 6 June 1929) was an Austro-Hungarian, later Czechoslovakian, chess player, chess author, and composer of endgame studies. He was one of the principal proponents of hypermodernism in chess. With the exc ...
,
Aron Nimzowitsch Aron Nimzowitsch ( lv, Ārons Nimcovičs, russian: Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич, ''Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich''; 7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935) was a Latvian-born Danish chess player and writer. In the late 1920s, Nimz ...
, and
Savielly Tartakower Savielly Tartakower (also known as ''Xavier'' or ''Ksawery'' ''Tartakower'', less often ''Tartacover'' or ''Tartakover''; 21 February 1887 – 4 February 1956) was a Polish and French chess player. He was awarded the title of International Grandm ...
, all of whom criticized his ideas as dogmatic. However, many modern masters regard Tarrasch's actual ''play'' as not dogmatic. For example, Tarrasch annotated his victory on the Black side of the Advance French against
Louis Paulsen Louis Paulsen (15 January 1833 in Gut Nassengrund near Blomberg, Principality of Lippe – 18 August 1891) was a German chess player. In the 1860s and 1870s, he was among the top players in the world. He was a younger brother of Wilfried Pa ...
(
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): :1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4 Tarrasch gives this an exclamation mark, and points out that 6...Bd7 allows 7.dxc5 with a good game. However, most accounts credit Nimzowitsch with such anti-dogmatic hypermodern inventiveness when he played 7.dxc5 against
Gersz Salwe Gersz Salwe (12 December 1862, Warsaw – 15 December 1920, Łódź), also written Salve, pl, Henryk Jerzy Salwe, italic=no, was a Polish chess master. Biography Salwe was born into a Jewish family in Warsaw (then Russian Empire). He was Szlama ...
almost a quarter of a century later. 7. cxd4 Bd7 8. Be2 Nge7 9. b3 Nf5 10. Bb2 Bb4+ 11. Kf1 Be7 12. g3 a5 13. a4 Rc8 14. Bb5 Nb4 15. Bxd7+ Kxd7 16. Nc3 Nc6 17. Nb5 Na7 18. Nxa7 Qxa7 19. Qd3 Qa6 20. Qxa6 bxa6 21. Kg2 Rc2 22. Bc1 Rb8 23. Rb1 Rc3 24. Bd2 Rcxb3 25. Rxb3 Rxb3 26. Bxa5 Rb2 27. Bd2 Bb4 28. Bf4 h6 29. g4 Ne7 30. Ra1 Nc6 31. Bc1 Rc2 32. Ba3 Rc4 33. Bb2 Bc3 34. Bxc3 Rxc3 35. Rb1 Kc7 36. g5 Rc4 37. gxh6 gxh6 38. a5 Ra4 39. Kg3 Rxa5 40. Kg4 Ra3 41. Rd1 Rb3 42. h4 Ne7 43. Ne1 Nf5 44. Nd3 a5 45. Nc5 Rc3 46. Rb1 Nxd4 47. Na6+ Kd8 48. Rb8+ Rc8 49. Rb7 Ke8 50. Nc7+ Kf8 51. Nb5 Nxb5 52. Rxb5 Ra8 53. f4 a4 54. Rb1 a3 55. f5 a2 56. Ra1 Ra4+ 57. Kh5 Kg7 58. fxe6 fxe6 59. Rg1+ Kh8 60. Ra1 Kh7 61. Rg1 a1=Q 62. Rg7+ Kh8


Contributions to opening theory

A number of
chess opening A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defens ...
s are named after Tarrasch, with the most notable being: *The
Tarrasch Defense The Tarrasch Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves: :1. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4, d4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5, d5 :2. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5/2. c4, c4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5/2. c4/2...e6, e ...
, Tarrasch's favorite line against the
Queen's Gambit The Queen's Gambit is the chess opening that starts with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 It is one of the oldest openings and is still commonly played today. It is traditionally described as a ''gambit'' because White appears to sacrifice the ...
in which Black takes on an isolated queen's pawn: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5!? 4.cxd5 exd5. A main line is then 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0. Tarrasch famously proclaimed, "The future will decide who has erred in estimating this defense, I or the chess world!"; today it is considered sound, though unfashionable. *The Tarrasch Variation of the
French Defense The French Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e6 This is most commonly followed by 2.d4 d5, with Black intending ...c5 soon after, attacking White's and gaining on the . The French has a reputation for solidity ...
(3.Nd2), which Tarrasch late in his career considered to be refuted by 3...c5 4.exd5 exd5, with Black again "acquiring" an isolated queen's pawn. This is not thought a refutation today, but is still one of Black's most important lines. *The Tarrasch Variation of the
Ruy Lopez The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez is named after 16th-century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura. It is one o ...
, usually known as the Open Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4).


Famous Tarrasch combinations

In the game ''Tarrasch versus Allies'', Black seems to be holding here (at least against an immediate catastrophe), because the black queen guards against Qb7+ (followed by Kxa5 Ra1#), while the black rook on c8 defends against Rxc5#. Tarrasch played the ingenious interference move 31.Bc7! (known as a
Plachutta The Plachutta is a device found in chess problems wherein a piece is sacrificially positioned in blockade to deny coverage of multiple distant squares required by the opposition. For example, two of an opponent's bishops, queen, or rooks are defen ...
interference Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to: Communications * Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message * Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extr ...
because the pieces both move orthogonally). This blocks off both defences, and whatever piece captures becomes overloaded. That is, if 31...Rxc7, the rook is overloaded, having to look after both the key squares, since the queen is blocked from b7. So White would play 32.Qb7+ Rxb7, deflecting the rook from defence of c5, allowing 33.Rxc5#. But if Black plays instead 31...Qxc7, the queen blocks off the rook's defence of c5 and becomes overloaded: 32.Rxc5+ Qxc5 deflects the queen from defence of b7, allowing 33.Qb7+ Kxa5 34.Ra1#. Black actually
resigned Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...
after this move. In the game against
Carl Walbrodt Carl August Walbrodt (November 28, 1871, Amsterdam – October 3, 1902, Berlin) was a German chess master. Walbrodt's parents, along with his older brother, moved from Wesel, Rhine Province to Amsterdam shortly before Carl August was born. The ...
, Tarrasch played rather poorly, and his opponent had the better of him for a long time. But the game was redeemed by the following startling combination: 34.Rxd4 seems obvious, because 34...cxd4 allows 35.Bxd4 winning the queen. But Black has a seemingly strong counterattack which had to be foreseen ... 34...Nxg3 35.Nxg3 Rxg3+ 36.hxg3 Rxg3+ 37.Kf1! Rxd3 and now the startling 38.Rg4!! with devastating threats of 39. Rf8+ mating and Bxe5 not to mention cxd3 to follow. Black resigned.


See also

*
Tarrasch Defense The Tarrasch Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves: :1. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4, d4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5, d5 :2. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5/2. c4, c4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5/2. c4/2...e6, e ...
* Tarrasch Trap *
Tarrasch rule The Tarrasch rule is a general principle that applies in the majority of chess middlegames and endgames. Siegbert Tarrasch (1862–1934) stated the "rule" that rooks should be placed behind passed pawns – either the player's or the opponent ...
*
List of Jewish chess players Jews, Jewish players and Chess theory, theoreticians have long been involved in the game of chess and have significantly contributed to the development of chess, which has been described as the "Jewish National game". Chess gained po ...


References

Bibliography * Isidore Singer, Tarrasch, Siegbert, in ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' Vol 12. * Andrew Soltis, ''Grandmaster Secrets: Endings'' (1997, 2003, ) * Wolfgang Kamm: ''Siegbert Tarrasch, Leben und Werk'' (2004, ). * Alfred Brinckmann: ''Siegbert Tarrasch, Lehrmeister der Schachwelt'' (1963).


External links

*
Siegbert Tarrasch
at Chessmetrics * Ballo, Harald (1996)
Siegbert Tarrasch Part 1
''ChessCafe.com''. * Ballo, Harald (1996)
Siegbert Tarrasch Part 2
''ChessCafe.com.''

''mark-weeks.com''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarrasch, Siegbert 1862 births 1934 deaths German chess players Jewish chess players German chess writers Chess theoreticians Converts to Christianity from Judaism German Christians Silesian Jews Chess Olympiad competitors Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Sportspeople from Wrocław German male non-fiction writers 19th-century chess players