TARRASCH, SIEGBERT

born March 5, 1862, Breslau, Prussia [now Wroclaw, Pol.] died Feb. 17, 1934, Munich, Ger. German chess master and physician who was noted for his books on chess theories. For most of his chess career, Tarrasch was not a strong winner, having had only one major victory, in 1898. After 1907 he participated in more than 20 international matches but never placed in the top three positions. Especially disappointing to him was his loss to Emanuel Lasker in 1908 for the world championship. Despite his failures, Tarrasch is best remembered for his books, especially The Game of Chess (1935), that developed and popularized Wilhelm Steinitz's theories, while differing with the master about what constituted a small advantage.