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Happened Today in the Chess World - Mar 4, 2024

NABOKOV'S INSPIRATION

Curt Von Bardeleben

Today, we remember Master Curt Von Bardeleben, born in Berlin, Germany, on March 4, 1861.
From a noble family, he graduated in law. Still, he dedicated himself almost exclusively to chess, establishing himself among the best chess players in Germany, winning the national title twice.
His fame was conditioned by the loss from the former World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz in Hastings in 1895, which was named by Tal "the most beautiful game of the century."
Von Bardeleben, however, defeated great champions such as Emanuel Lasker, Chigorin, Gunsberg, Tarrasch, Blackburne, Teichmann, Reti, and Spielmann.
Ended up in poverty, Von Bardeleben is said to have been a fortune hunter, often resorting to marriages with wealthy young women, followed by quick divorces.
His suicide, which some doubted - occurred in Berlin in 1924 - apparently inspired the novel "The Defense of Luzhin" by Vladimir Nabokov.