Carl Schlechter

Schlechter was born into a Catholic family in Vienna. He is sometimes deemed to be Jewish,The Great Jewish Chess Champions, Harold U. Ribalow & Meir Z. Ribalow. Hippocrene Books, 1986.{{Cite web |title=Chess |url=https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4314-chess |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=jewishencyclopedia.com}} although others dispute this.[http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/jews.html Chess and Jews], Edward Winter, 2007 He began playing chess at the age of 13. His first and only teacher was an Austria-Hungarian chess problemist, Samuel Gold.{{Cite book |last=Goldman |first=Warren H. |url= |title=Carl Schlechter! Life and Times of the Austrian Chess Wizard |date=1994 |publisher=Caissa Editions |year=1994 |isbn=0-939433-18-4 |location=Yorklyn, Del. |oclc=31602393}}

From 1893 onwards, he played in over 50 international chess tournaments. He won or shared first at Munich 1900 (the 12th DSB Congress), Coburg 1904 (the 14th DSB Congress), Ostend 1906, Stockholm 1906, Vienna 1908, Prague 1908, Hamburg 1910 (the 17th DSB Congress), and the Trebitsch Memorial in Vienna (1911, 1912, 1913).

Schlechter played several matches. He drew with Georg Marco (+0−0=10) in 1893, drew with Marco and Adolf Zinkl both (+4−4=3) in 1894, drew with Dawid Janowski (+2−2=3) in 1896, drew with Simon Alapin (+1−1=4) in 1899, beat Janowski (+6−1=3) in 1902, drew with Richard Teichmann (+1−1=1) in 1904, and drew with Siegbert Tarrasch (+3−3=10) in 1911.{{Cite book |last=Hooper |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/TheOxfordCompanionToChessFirstEditionByDavidHooperKennethWhyld/page/n303/mode/2up |title=The Oxford Companion To Chess |last2=Whyld |first2=Kenneth |date=1984 |publisher=Oxford University Press |edition= |pages=296-97}}

In 1910, Schlechter played a match against Emanuel Lasker for the World Chess Championship (in Vienna and Berlin). Schlechter was leading by one point going into the tenth and final game. However, in that dramatic three-day contest, he blundered from a winning into a clearly drawn position, only to blunder again into a loss.{{Cite book |last=Divinsky |first=Nathan |url=https://archive.org/details/batsfordchessenc0000divi/page/188/mode/2up |title=The Batsford Chess Encyclopedia |date=1990 |publisher=Batsford |pages=188-89 |url-access=registration}} The match ended in a 5–5 tie (+1 −1 =8) and Lasker retained the title. It is disputed whether Schlechter needed to score +2 to win the match and thus had to win the tenth game. No contract for the match has ever been located. (For match details see World Chess Championship 1910.) Schlechter nevertheless distinguished himself as the first player to seriously challenge Lasker's hold of the world title.

Schlechter struggled to make ends meet as a chess professional during the worsening socio-economic conditions of World War I. He won the Trebitsch Memorial in Vienna three times. In 1918, he took third in Vienna, lost a match to Akiba Rubinstein (+1−2=3), placed second in Berlin (Quadrangular, Milan Vidmar won), tied for third place in Kaschau, and took third place in Berlin (Quadrangular, Emanuel Lasker won).

Schlecter died of pneumonia and starvation on 27 December 1918, and was buried in Budapest on 31 December 1918.{{cite book

| author=Verkhovsky, Leonid Solomonovich

| title=Karl Schlechter

| publisher=Fizkultura i sport

| year=1984

| pages=57 (Russian edition)

}}

The Carl Schlechter–Arthur Kaufmann–Hugo Fähndrich trio propagated the Viennese chess school, founded by Max Weiss in the 19th century. Schlecter, whose knowledge of the positional chess theories of Wilhelm Steinitz was profound, was known especially for his expertise in the Ruy Lopez.

A fine problem solver and composer, Schlecter was also a chess journalist and editor.{{Cite book |last=Divinsky |first=Nathan |title=Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess |date=1977 |publisher=Crown |editor-last=Golombek |editor-first=Harry |pages=289-90 |chapter=Schlecter, Carl |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/golombeksencyclo0000golo/page/288/mode/2up |chapter-url-access=registration}} He prepared the eighth and final edition of the monumental Handbuch des Schachspiels openings treatise. Published in eleven parts between 1912 and 1916, the Handbuch totaled 1,040 pages and included contributions by Rudolf Spielmann, Siegbert Tarrasch, and Richard Teichmann. William Hartston described it as "a superb work, perhaps the last to encase successfully the whole of chess knowledge within a single volume."{{cite book

| author=Hartston, William

| title=The Kings of Chess

| url=https://archive.org/details/kingsofchesshi00hart

| url-access=registration

| publisher=Harper & Row

| year=1985

| pages=[https://archive.org/details/kingsofchesshi00hart/page/87 87]

| isbn=0-06-015358-X

}}

A true gentleman chess player, Schlecter would offer courteous draws to opponents who felt unwell. If his opponent arrived late for a game, he would inconspicuously subtract an equal amount of time from his own clock. He also mentored many of his rivals, including Oldřich Duras.

The Carl Schlecter Memorial Tournament is named after him.

{{AN chess|pos=secright}}

His contributions to chess opening theory include:{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/7378/opening.htm |title=Bill Wall's list of chess opening names |access-date=2009-07-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028083209/http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/7378/opening.htm |archive-date=October 28, 2009 }}

• Schlechter Gambit, Bird's Opening: 1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 Nc6
• Schlechter Variation, French Defence: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3
• Schlechter Variation, Slav Defence: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 g6 (or via a Grünfeld move order, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 c6)
• Schlechter Variation, Danish Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 d5

• [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1564823 Fried vs. Schlechter, Vienna 1894, From's Gambit (A02), 0–1] A 14-move win by Schlechter, who sacrifices his queen and mates his opponent's king in the middle of the board.
• [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1120921 Bernhard Fleissig vs. Schlechter, Vienna 1893 (friendly), Polish Opening: General (A00), 0–1] One of Schlechter's most famous games, Black sacrifices both his rooks and bishops.{{Cite web |last=Winter |first=Edward |date=2025-03-31 |title=Fleissig v Schlecter, Vienna, 1893 |url=https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/fleissigschlechter.html |website=Chesshistory.com}}
• [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1120971 Schlechter vs. Steinitz, Cologne 1898, Vienna Game (C28), 1–0] Schlechter routs the former World Champion in 24 moves.
• [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1121017 Schlechter vs. Meitner, Vienna 1899, Italian Game: Classical Variation. Greco Gambit Moeller–Therkatz Attack (C54), 1–0] A 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.

The central character of Thomas Glavinic's 1998 novel, Carl Haffner's Love of the Draw, is closely based on Schlechter. The book presents a fictionalized account of the 1910 World Chess Championship match with Lasker.

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• {{chessgames player|id=10503}}
• [https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/schlechter.html Carl Schlecter] Biography, photos and games by Edward Winter

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Category:1874 births

Category:1918 deaths

Category:Austrian chess players

Category:Chess theoreticians

Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis

Category:19th-century chess players

Category:Chess players from Vienna

Category:Tuberculosis deaths in Austria-Hungary

Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Hungary

Category:Deaths by starvation

Category:Chess players from Austria-Hungary