Brief Biography of Savielly Tartakower

Note: Caption above shows International Grandmaster Savielly Tartakower (Left) and fellow student International Master Edward Lasker.

Introduction

Savielly Tartakower (also known as Xavier or Ksawery Tartakower, and less frequently Tartacover or Tartakover; February 21, 1887 – February 4, 1956) was a Polish and French chess player. In 1950, he was awarded the title of International Grandmaster, its first year of existence. In the 1920s and 1930s, Tartakower was also a famous chess journalist and novelist.

Early Life

Tartakower was born on February 21, 1887, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, to Jewish Austrian parents. His father, a Christian convert, had him baptised with the Latin form of his name, Sabelius. In 1911, his parents were murdered in a robbery in Rostov-on-Don. Tartakower primarily resided in Austria. He earned degrees in law from the universities of Geneva and Vienna. He spoke both French and German. During his studies, he developed an interest in chess and began attending chess meetups in various Vienna cafés. He met numerous prominent masters of the day, including Carl Schlechter, Géza Maróczy (against whom he played arguably his most renowned display of brilliance), Milan Vidmar, and Richard Réti. His first accomplishment was winning a competition in 1906 in Nuremberg. Three years later, he placed second in the Vienna competition, losing only to Réti. During World War I, Tartakower served as a staff officer at several stations in the Austro-Hungarian army. He deployed with the Viennese infantry house regiment to the Russian front. He immigrated to France after the war and settled in Paris. After Poland recovered its independence in 1918, Tartakower accepted Polish citizenship and became one of the country's most distinguished honorary ambassadors despite not speaking Polish. He served as the captain and trainer of the Polish chess team in six international competitions, earning a gold medal for Poland at the 1930 Olympiad in Hamburg.

Career

1920s

In France, Tartakower made the decision to turn professional at chess. In addition, he began collaborating with many chess publications and authored a number of chess-related books and pamphlets. The most well-known of them, Die Hypermoderne Schachpartie (The Hypermodern Chess Game), was published in 1924 and has since been reprinted in about one hundred versions. Tartakower participated in several of the most prestigious chess competitions of his day. In 1927 and 1928, he won two tournaments in Hastings and tied with Aron Nimzowitsch for the top spot in London. On the most recent occasion, he overcame prominent opponents such as Frank Marshall, Milan Vidmar, and Efim Bogoljubov. He defeated Mir Sultan Khan by two points to win the 1930 Liège tournament. Akiba Rubinstein, Nimzowitsch, and Marshall appeared farther down the list.

1930s

Tartakower won the Polish Chess Championship in 1935 and 1937, in Warsaw and Jurata, respectively. In the 1930s, he represented Poland in six Chess Olympiads and France in 1950, winning three individual medals (gold in 1931, bronze in 1933, and silver in 1935) and five team medals (gold in 1930, two silver in 1931 and 1939, and two bronze in 1935 and 1937). In 1939, as World War II broke out, he was in Buenos Aires, representing Poland in the 8th Chess Olympiad alongside Miguel Najdorf, who always referred to Tartakower as "my teacher."

Personality

Tartakower is recognized as one of the most influential chess figures of his era. Harry Golombek translated Tartakower's collection of his finest games and wrote the following in the preface:

"Dr. Tartakower is far and away the most cultured and the wittiest of all the chess masters I have ever met. His extremely well stored mind and ever-flowing native wit make conversation with him a perpetual delight. So much so that I count it as one of the brightest attractions an international tournament can hold out for me that Dr. Tartakower should also be one of the participants. His talk and thought are rather like a modernized blend of Baruch Spinoza and Voltaire; and with it all a dash of paradoxical originality that is essential Tartakower."

Legacy

Tartakower, a superb chess player, is also well-known for his numerous aphorisms, which are frequently referred to as Tartakoverisms. A version of the Dutch Defense is named in his honour. The Tartakower Defense in the Queen's Gambit Declined (also called as the Tartakower–Makogonov–Bondarevsky System) and the most frequent form of the Torre Attack are also named after him. Tartakower is supposed to be the originator of the Orangutan Opening, 1.b4, which was named after he liked a giant ape during a zoo visit during the 1924 New York tournament.

1929 saw the creation of the Catalan Opening by Tartakower in Barcelona. This technique begins with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 It remains popular at all levels now. 

Notable games

Savielly Tartakower  vs  Akiba Rubinstein (not annotated)