Who Was Max Weiss?

Max Weiss has the immense honor to be the co-winner (tied with Chigorin) of the longest [over-the-board] tournament in chess history, a true marathon of twenty players in a double round event through 64 days! A tournament that was organized to find a challenger for the World Chess Championship, but neither Chigorin (who had already lost a championship match) nor Weiss pursued a title match with Steinitz.

Max Weiss (21 July 1857 – 14 March 1927) a Hungarian chess player had a short but shining chess career! Moving to Vienna, he studied mathematics and physics at the university and after that taught those subjects.

Weiss learned the game of chess at twelve and his interest in the game increased as he grew older, and participated in many international competitions. At Vienna 1882, he won 2 games from Zukertort, and drew with Steinitz; at Hamburg 1885, he tied with Englisch and Tarrasch for second prize; at Frankfort am Main 1885, he shared second and third prizes with Blackburne. Bradford 1888, tied with Blackburne for sixth prize. New York 1889, tied with Chigorin for first prize, Breslau 1889, third prize and Vienna 1890, first prize.

In 1895 he defeated Georg Marco in a match, +5 −1 =1 and he tied for first in the 1895–6 Vienna winter tournament with Carl Schlechter. Just about this time, Weiss began working to create a Viennese school of chess players.

Weiss quit international chess and in 1905 was employed by S M von Rothschild's bank in Vienna.

It is pretty possible that you guys do not know of his chess writings, Schach-Meistersteich (Mühlhausen 1918), Kleines Schachlehrbuch (Mühlhausen 1920), and the earlier problem collection Caissa Bambergensis (Bamberg 1902), which are not sufficiently remembered today.

Max Weiss was a good positional player with an admirable comprehension of endgames. It is good enough to review his games and to contemplate how well he played in this stage.