Siegbert Tarrasch vs Alexander Alekhine Baden-Baden (1925)

Siegbert Tarrasch was born in Breslau (modern-day Wroclaw, Poland). At 15, he learned the game of chess, and he shot to prominence quickly, winning four consecutive international tournaments: Breslau (1889), Manchester in 1890 (http://www.thechesslibrary.com/file.), Dresden (1892), and 9th DSB Kongress, Leipzig (1894). He also won the Monte Carlo (1903) tournament. After Tarrasch's compatriot Emanuel Lasker won the World Championship, the two agreed to terms for a match to take place in autumn of 1904, but the negotiations collapsed after Tarrasch requested a postponement. A Lasker - Tarrasch World Championship Match (1908) eventually took place, but by then Tarrasch was aged forty-six and he was defeated by the score of +3 -8 =5. Tarrasch was held in high regard throughout his career for his contributions to opening theory. Tarrasch was an editor for Deutsche Schachzeitung, and also published his own Tarrasch's Schachzeitung (1932-1934) and the books Dreihundert Schachpartien (1895), Die moderne Schachpartie (1912), and Das Schachspiel (1931).

Lines from both the Queen's Gambit and the French Defense are named after Tarrasch. He is known for guidelines in rook endings that rooks generally serve their best purpose behind passed pawns. Many of his theories on the principles of mobility and other aspects of positional play still stand as well, and today guide players of all levels of ability.

Alekhine was born in Moscow, on 31 October 1892 (October 19th on the Russian calendar). Circa 1898, he was taught the game of chess by his older brother, Alexei Alexandrovich Alekhine (1888-1939). His life and chess career were highly eventful and controversial, spiced with two World Wars, including internments by the Germans and the Soviet Cheka (by whom he was marked for execution as a spy) at either end of WWI; subjection to suasion by, and suspicions of collaboration with, the Nazis in WWII; the deaths of his brother, Alexei, in 1939 and his sister, Varvara, in 1944; four marriages; five world championship matches; alcoholism; poor health during WWII and conspicuously failed World Championship negotiations with Capablanca. His eventful life and career terminated in strange circumstances in Portugal just hours after the details of the Alekhine-Botvinnik World Championship match were finalised.

Despite – or perhaps because of this - Alekhine played some of the finest games the world has ever seen. His meticulous preparation, work ethic and dynamic style of play provided the founding inspiration for the Soviet School of Chess despite the fact that soon after he won the world title, his anti-Bolshevik commentaries marked him as an enemy of the Soviet Union until after his death.