Curt Carl Alfred von Bardeleben (4 March 1861 – 31 January 1924) was a German chess master, journalist, and member of the German nobility.
Biography
Curt von Bardeleben started playing chess when he was ten years old and quickly developed into one of the strongest players in Weimar. Originally a student of law, Bardeleben gave it up in order to become a professional chess player. He later quit competitive chess for four years between 1883 and 1887 to complete his law studies.[2] He recorded some fine tournament results, especially in the 1880s and 1890s. Although his later chess career was spotty, he continued to be a strong player. In 1908 he lost a match to future world champion Alexander Alekhine, who described him as "a charming old chap" but also said he lacked the will to win. Bardeleben was married three times in the early 1900s, supposedly to women who wanted his title of nobility.[3] He was described thus by Edward Lasker:
He always wore a black cut-away suit of dubious vintage. Apparently he could never spare enough money to buy a new suit, although I learned one day that at fairly regular intervals he received comparatively large sums – from one to several thousand marks – through the simple expedient of marrying, and shortly after, divorcing, some lady who craved the distinction of his noble name and was willing to pay for it. Unfortunately, when he received his reward, it was usually far exceeded by the amount of the debts he had accumulated since his last divorce. Evil tongues had it that the number of the ladies involved in these brief marital interludes had grown so alarmingly that they could easily have made up a Sultan's harem.[4]
Bardeleben is perhaps best known for the game he lost to the former world championWilhelm Steinitz at Hastings 1895, especially because he simply walked out of the tournament room instead of resigning.[13] Although he was sharing the second place in the tournament before this game (7.5 in 9 rounds, Mikhail Chigorin had the lead with 8),[14] he achieved only 4 points in the final 12 rounds. The game against Steinitz:[15]
^"In all probability suffering from severe arteriosclerosis, he has had a slight dizzy spell or a rush of blood to the head, and in seeking some fresh air by opening a low silled window he fell out." Mieses and Kagan in Nachrufe in Kagans Neueste Schachnachrichten, Sonderheft No. 2, 1924