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(GR) File:Carl Schlechter (profile).png → File:Schlechter, Carl 1896 - DPLA - 832da5245429c37f5e2ffcdf1fa3b902 (cropped).jpg → File replacement: update to new version with better quality (c:c:GR)

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	{{Infobox chess player		{{Infobox chess player
	\|name = Carl Schlechter		\|name = Carl Schlechter
	\|image = ~~Carl_Schlechter_~~(~~profile~~).~~png~~		\|image = Schlechter, Carl 1896 - DPLA - 832da5245429c37f5e2ffcdf1fa3b902 (cropped).jpg
	\|birthname =		\|birthname =
	\|country = [[Austria-Hungary]]		\|country = [[Austria-Hungary]]
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	==Assessment==		==Assessment==
	The Carl Schlechter–[[Arthur Kaufmann]]–[[Hugo Fähndrich]] trio propagated the Viennese chess school, founded by [[Max Weiss]] in the 19th century. Schlechter, whose knowledge of the positional chess theories of [[Wilhelm Steinitz]] was profound, was known especially for his expertise in the [[Ruy Lopez]].		The Carl Schlechter–[[Arthur Kaufmann]]–[[Hugo Fähndrich]] trio propagated the Viennese chess school, founded by [[Max Weiss (chess player)\|Max Weiss]] in the 19th century. Schlechter, whose knowledge of the positional chess theories of [[Wilhelm Steinitz]] was profound, was known especially for his expertise in the [[Ruy Lopez]].

	A fine [[Chess problem\|problem solver]] and composer, Schlechter was also a chess journalist and editor.<ref name=":0">{{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=Schlechter, Carl \|isbn=978-0-517-53146-4 \|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/golombeksencyclo0000golo/page/288/mode/2up \|chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref> He prepared the eighth and final edition of the monumental ''[[Handbuch des Schachspiels]]'' [[chess opening\|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."<ref>{{cite book		A fine [[Chess problem\|problem solver]] and composer, Schlechter was also a chess journalist and editor.<ref name=":0">{{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=Schlechter, Carl \|isbn=978-0-517-53146-4 \|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/golombeksencyclo0000golo/page/288/mode/2up \|chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref> He prepared the eighth and final edition of the monumental ''[[Handbuch des Schachspiels]]'' [[chess opening\|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."<ref>{{cite book
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	[[Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]		[[Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
	[[Category:19th-century chess players]]		[[Category:19th-century Austrian chess players]]
	[[Category:Chess players from Vienna]]		[[Category:Chess players from Vienna]]
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2025-05-22T16:20:31Z

Altered pages. Add: isbn, authors 1-1. Removed parameters. Formatted dashes. Some additions/deletions were parameter name changes. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | Category:Deaths by starvation | #UCB_Category 108/127

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{{short description|Austro-Hungarian chess player}}
{{Infobox chess player
|name = Carl Schlechter
|image = Carl_Schlechter_(profile).png
|birthname =
|country = [[Austria-Hungary]]
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1874|3|2|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Vienna]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1918|12|27|1874|3|2|df=y}}
|death_place = [[Budapest]], [[First Hungarian Republic|Hungary]]
|title =
|caption = Schlechter in 1895
}}

'''Carl Schlechter''' (2 March 1874 – 27 December 1918) was a leading [[Austro-Hungarian Empire|Austro-Hungarian]] [[chess]] master and theoretician at the turn of the 20th century. He is best known for [[Tie (draw)|drawing]] a controversial [[World Chess Championship]] match with [[Emanuel Lasker]].

==Early life==
Schlechter was born into a Catholic family in [[Vienna]]. He is sometimes deemed to be Jewish,<ref>''The Great Jewish Chess Champions'', [[Harold U. Ribalow]] & Meir Z. Ribalow. Hippocrene Books, 1986.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chess |url=https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4314-chess |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> although others dispute this.<ref>[http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/jews.html ''Chess and Jews''], [[Edward Winter (chess historian)|Edward Winter]], 2007</ref> He began playing chess at the age of 13. His first and only teacher was an Austria-Hungarian chess problemist, [[Samuel Gold]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Goldman |first=Warren H. |url= |title=Carl Schlechter! Life and Times of the Austrian Chess Wizard |date=1994 |publisher=Caissa Editions |isbn=0-939433-18-4 |location=Yorklyn, Del. |oclc=31602393}}</ref>

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 chess tournament|Vienna 1908]], [[Prague 1908 chess tournament|Prague 1908]], [[Hamburg 1910 chess tournament|Hamburg 1910]] (the 17th DSB Congress), and the [[Trebitsch Memorial]] in Vienna (1911, 1912, 1913).<ref name=":1" />

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.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Hooper |first1=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}}</ref>

==Lasker–Schlechter match==
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.<ref>{{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 |isbn=978-0-7134-6214-2 |url-access=registration}}</ref> 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 (Lasker–Schlechter)|World Chess Championship 1910]].) Schlechter nevertheless distinguished himself as the first player to seriously challenge Lasker's hold of the world title.

==Later life==
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).

Schlechter died of pneumonia and starvation on 27 December 1918, and was buried in [[Budapest]] on 31 December 1918.<ref>{{cite book
| author=Verkhovsky, Leonid Solomonovich
| title=''Karl Schlechter''
| publisher=Fizkultura i sport
| year=1984
| pages=57 (Russian edition)
}}</ref>

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

A fine [[Chess problem|problem solver]] and composer, Schlechter was also a chess journalist and editor.<ref name=":0">{{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=Schlechter, Carl |isbn=978-0-517-53146-4 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/golombeksencyclo0000golo/page/288/mode/2up |chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref> He prepared the eighth and final edition of the monumental ''[[Handbuch des Schachspiels]]'' [[chess opening|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."<ref>{{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
}}</ref>

A true gentleman chess player, Schlechter [[draw by agreement|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 Schlechter Memorial Tournament]] is named after him.

==Opening variations named after Schlechter==
{{AN chess|pos=secright}}
His contributions to chess opening theory include:<ref>{{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 }}</ref>
*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

==Notable games==
*[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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Winter |first=Edward |date=2025-03-31 |title=Fleissig v Schlechter, Vienna, 1893 |url=https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/fleissigschlechter.html |website=Chesshistory.com}}</ref>
*[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.

==Popular culture==
The central character of [[Thomas Glavinic|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.

==References==
{{reflist|35em}}

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

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlechter, Carl}}
[[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]]

Carl Schlechter - Revision history

imported>Ziv: (GR) File:Carl Schlechter (profile).png → File:Schlechter, Carl 1896 - DPLA - 832da5245429c37f5e2ffcdf1fa3b902 (cropped).jpg → File replacement: update to new version with better quality (c:c:GR)

imported>Citation bot: Altered pages. Add: isbn, authors 1-1. Removed parameters. Formatted dashes. Some additions/deletions were parameter name changes. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | Category:Deaths by starvation | #UCB_Category 108/127