Tarrasch, Siegbert
Siegbert Tarrasch (1862-1934) was a German player who was one of the top 4 players in the world for 20 years. He had the lamest excuse in history for losing a world championship match. After losing to Lasker, he blamed his loss on the influence of sea-air. The match began at Düsseldorf, 100 miles from the coast. In 1918 he won a chess match in which the prize was a kilogram of butter. Tarrasch was a medical doctor specializing in hypnosis. Tarrasch lost two sons in the early days of World War I.