Siegbert Tarrasch (b. 5 March 1862 -- d. 1934)
was a
chess grandmaster winning
chess tournaments
in
Breslau in 1889;
Berlin, 1889;
Manchester, 1890;
Dresden, 1892; and
Nuremberg, 1892. In 1893 he tied
Tchigorin and in 1894 in
Nuremberg he beat
Walbrodt 7.5-0.5.
He came in first again in
Leipzig in 1894.
Tarrasch was born in Breslau, Germany and was a bright
student. He had a club foot, but did not let this
physical abnormality effect his life adversely.
He started playing chess at the age of 15, but
went on to a career in medicine. His tournament victories
brought enough notice that he was challenged by Wilhelm Steintz
to a match for the World Championship. Alas, Tarrasch declined
due to his obligations to his medical practice.
Tarrach came in second to Pillsbury at the Hastings tournament
in 1895, and to Emanuel Lasker at the Nuremberg tournament
in 1896. He won first prize in Vienna in 1898 and in Monte Carlo
in 1903. In 1914 Tarrasch beat Nimzowitch with a famous
two bishop sacrifice. Along with Lasker, Capablanca,
Alekhine, and Marshall,
Tarrasch was named one of the 5
original grandmasters by Czar Nicholas.
Asked how many moves ahead he looked, Tarrasch replied,
"I look one move ahead ... the best!"
Tarrasch wrote several chess books, the most notable being
The Game of Chess, wherein he wrote
"Chess is a form of intellectual productiveness. Therein lies its peculiar charm. Intellectual productiveness is one of the greatest joys -- if not the greatest one -- of human existence.
It is not everyone who can write a play, or build a bridge,
or even make a good joke. But in chess everyone can, everyone must,
be intellectually productive and so can
share in this select delight. I have always a slight feeling of
pity for the man who has no knowledge of chess, just as I would pity
the man who has remained ignorant of love. Chess,
like love, like music, has the power to make men happy."
A powerful variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined is named
after him: the Tarrasch Defense.
Reference: http://pages.infinet.net/tarrasch/Tarrasch.html