Emil Schallop

Introduction

Emil Schallopp was one of the mainstays of German chess in the nineteenth century. He was not only a strong player (Elo Historical rating 2450) but an almost an ever-present in Germany tournaments from the late 1860s to the mid-1890s. As readers will discover from the games in this book, Schallopp also found time to travel and, almost always, to play chess.

Not covered in this book are his simultaneous displays, blindfold simultaneous exhibitions, consultation games and problem compositions. Schallopp was a member of the Berliner Schachgellschaft (known as the BSG) for many years and President for ten of them.

At various times he wrote 8 chess columns that we know of, and perhaps more. He wrote tournament books on Leipzig 1877, Paris 1878, Leipzig 1879, Berlin 1881, Nürnberg 1883, Hastings 1895 and the Steinitz v Zukertort match of 1886. He was the leader of the editorial team that produced the revised seventh edition of Bilguer's Handbuch (in 1891).

In 1913, Dr. M. Lewitt of the BSG wrote Emit Schallopp. Ein Gedenkblatt zum 70. Geburtstage (Emil Schallopp. In Memory of his 70 th Birthday) which is part of the source material for this book and which we refer to as Gedenkblatt. The Gedenkblatt contains about 80 games and positions featuring Schallopp and a six page biography. That is the only book, until now, on Schallopp and it rarely appears on the secondhand market.

One extraordinary feature of Schallopp's play is his small number of draws in major events (see the next page). Of 371 games given overleaf, he drew just 38! This is a clear indication of his uncompromising style of play. Players with this style need only to be just a little below their best to perform disastrously. Had he played with just a little more circumspection, he would probably have done less well against the very best players but significantly better against the rest.

Tony Gillam

September 2008