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Max Weiss
M Weiss 
Max Weiss plays with Mikhail Chigorin  

Number of games in database: 200
Years covered: 1880 to 1911
Overall record: +80 -39 =81 (60.2%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Ruy Lopez (46) 
    C77 C67 C65 C70 C82
 French Defense (11) 
    C11 C14 C02 C00 C01
 Four Knights (9) 
    C49 C48
 Ruy Lopez, Open (6) 
    C82 C80 C83
 Petrov (5) 
    C42
 French (5) 
    C11 C00
With the Black pieces:
 Ruy Lopez (36) 
    C65 C77 C67 C82 C66
 Queen's Pawn Game (8) 
    D00 D05 D02
 French Defense (8) 
    C11 C00 C01
 Giuoco Piano (6) 
    C50 C53
 French (6) 
    C11 C00
 Ruy Lopez, Open (6) 
    C82 C80
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Blackburne vs M Weiss, 1889 0-1
   M Weiss vs N MacLeod, 1889 1-0
   Gunsberg vs M Weiss, 1889 0-1
   Chigorin vs M Weiss, 1882 0-1
   M Weiss vs J Schwarz, 1883 1/2-1/2
   M Weiss vs Chigorin, 1889 1/2-1/2
   Tarrasch vs M Weiss, 1887 0-1
   A Schottlaender vs M Weiss, 1883 0-1
   M Weiss vs J Mason, 1889 1/2-1/2
   M Weiss vs Paulsen, 1887 1-0

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   1st Kolisch Memorial, Vienna (1890)
   Vienna Chess Society Winter 1895/96 (1895)
   6th American Chess Congress, New York (1889)
   Graz (1880)
   5th DSB Congress, Frankfurt (1887)
   4th DSB Congress, Hamburg (1885)
   3rd DSB Congress, Nuremberg (1883)
   Vienna (1882)
   4th BCA Congress, Bradford (1888)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   New York 1889 by Mal Un
   New York 1889 by suenteus po 147
   My Short Notes I (2014) by Knight13
   My Short Notes II (2014) by Knight13
   Closer Look by Knight13


Search Sacrifice Explorer for Max Weiss
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MAX WEISS
(born Jul-21-1857, died Mar-14-1927, 69 years old) Austria

[what is this?]

Max Weiss (Miksa Weisz), born in Sereď(1), had a short but brilliant chess career. He tied for 2nd at Hamburg 1885, tied for 2nd at 5th DSB Congress, Frankfurt (1887) and tied for 1st with Mikhail Chigorin at New York 1889. The latter tournament was intended to select a challenger to Wilhelm Steinitz for the world championship. Weiss drew the subsequent play-off match (+0, =4, -0), establishing himself as one of the world's best players, but then quit chess for a banking career. In 1895 he did play a match with Georg Marco and won (+5, =1, -1).Also that same year he tied for first in the 1895–6 winter tournament with Carl Schlechter.

Sources
(1) Wikipedia article: Sereď
(2) Wikipedia article: Max Weiss

Last updated: 2024-03-12 18:17:57

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 8; games 1-25 of 200  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. H Faehndrich vs M Weiss  1-0121880Cafe AulaA03 Bird's Opening
2. M Weiss vs J Minckwitz  ½-½441880GrazB45 Sicilian, Taimanov
3. M Weiss vs A Schwarz ½-½231880GrazC11 French
4. E Schallopp vs M Weiss ½-½511880GrazC11 French
5. J Schwarz vs M Weiss ½-½471880GrazB06 Robatsch
6. M Weiss vs Wittek ½-½411880GrazC48 Four Knights
7. M Weiss vs J Berger  1-0401880GrazA91 Dutch Defense
8. J Noa vs M Weiss 0-1501880GrazC67 Ruy Lopez
9. M Weiss vs J Minckwitz  ½-½311880GrazC49 Four Knights
10. A Schwarz vs M Weiss ½-½211880GrazA07 King's Indian Attack
11. J Minckwitz vs M Weiss  ½-½371880GrazC11 French
12. M Weiss vs A Schwarz 0-1331880GrazA03 Bird's Opening
13. P Ware vs M Weiss 1-0381882ViennaD00 Queen's Pawn Game
14. V Hruby vs M Weiss 1-0371882ViennaC65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense
15. Wittek vs M Weiss  ½-½441882ViennaC11 French
16. P Meitner vs M Weiss 1-0981882ViennaC25 Vienna
17. B Fleissig vs M Weiss 0-1471882ViennaA07 King's Indian Attack
18. M Weiss vs Englisch ½-½461882ViennaC49 Four Knights
19. J Noa vs M Weiss 0-1571882ViennaB20 Sicilian
20. Chigorin vs M Weiss 0-1341882ViennaC01 French, Exchange
21. M Weiss vs A Schwarz 0-1381882ViennaD35 Queen's Gambit Declined
22. M Weiss vs Mackenzie 0-1471882ViennaC77 Ruy Lopez
23. Steinitz vs M Weiss 1-0361882ViennaC00 French Defense
24. M Weiss vs Paulsen ½-½291882ViennaA07 King's Indian Attack
25. M Weiss vs Winawer 0-1381882ViennaC49 Four Knights
 page 1 of 8; games 1-25 of 200  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Weiss wins | Weiss loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 1 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Sep-20-04  percyblakeney: Max Weiss (1857-1927) shared first place with Chigorin in New York 1889 (on 29 points, no small tournaments in those days) and was offered a match against Steinitz for the World Championship, but declined: http://www.endgame.nl/newyork.htm
Oct-15-04  Kean: An interesting player with another brief career in chess history. According with the supertournaments site, he also won latter the Kolisch Memorial in Vienna 1890, without a loss. "Then he concentrated on his work for the Rothschild Bank. His solid chess precedes the style of Marco, Schlechter and Maróczy" They suggest that a match against Steinitz would have seen the best positional chess of those years.
Aug-02-05  Knight13: A strong player. Very strong player.
Aug-13-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  WannaBe: Giving up chess for banking career... Was that a Weiss move?
Aug-13-05  SneechLatke: This sure is a punny website.
Apr-19-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  Gypsy: It seems that Miksa (Max) Weiss also tied for first with Schechter in Vienna 1895. It was right Weiss wictory overy Marco. Other notable contestants included Englisch, Marco, Zinkl, Mendelbaum, Judd (US consul to Vienna), Schwarz, Halprin, Albin.
Apr-14-07  wolfmaster: Did anyone see the latest on Kasparov? He was fined for making an outbreak in Moscow about Russian politics. Brave guy,eh? :)
May-14-07  BNEW: Max Weiss in wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_We...
Max Weiss in chessmetrics:
http://db.chessmetrics.com/
Look for Weiss Miksa
Jul-14-07  whiteshark: <Max Weiss> was !
Was ?
Dec-06-07  BIDMONFA: Max Weiss

WEISS, Max
http://www.bidmonfa.com/weiss_max.htm
_

Dec-06-07  MorphysMojo: Not only was Weiss high rated per chessmetrics, let it be known that he had plus scores against 19th century greats Zukertort, Chigorin and Janowski, with even scores against Tarrasch, Bird and Winawer. Yeah, I'd say he deserves recognition! With only 167 games in the DB he gets overlooked for the wrong reasons. His loss percentage of only 17% puts him in excellent company!
Dec-06-07  whiteshark: Player of the day.

It looks as if he is widely unknown / underestimated. Wise decision to do banking biz. Should do some investigations in the near future.

Feb-24-08  Knight13: He should've played in Hastings 1895. Then he would've gone down in chess history in a better picture.
Mar-13-08  wolfmaster: Weiss, I think, is the oldest player in the database with more draws than wins or losses. Interesting trivia.
Jul-21-08  brankat: An exceptionally talented chess player.

R.I.P. Master Weiss.

Aug-26-08  myschkin: . . .

Pen portraits of the participants in New York, 1889 were published on page 8 of the New York Times, 16 June 1889, under the heading <The Chessboard Kings - Ways and looks of 20 great players>:

"<Max Weiss> is one of the most careful and conservative chessplayers. In appearance he is a small-built man of fair complexion, very light brown mustache, mild, thoughtful eyes, and a well-developed, polished brow. With his hat on his head, and it is often there, hiding his forehead, he looks like a mild, easy-going German who takes life easily and knows how to enjoy both lager beer and a good cigar ..."

see sketch here (use your imagination):
http://www.c7c5.com/file.php?file=i...

Oct-22-08  Karpova: <Max Weiss (quoted in Lasker's Chess Magazine, Volume III):

“The poorest chessplayer is more to be envied than the most favored servant of the Golden Calf.”>

From Hans Ree's "Farewell, Jeroen Piket!", March 2003: http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hans8...

May-06-10  Marmot PFL: <He who hopes to learn the fine art of the game of chess from books will soon discover that only the opening and closing moves of the game admit of exhaustive systematic description, and that the endless variety of the moves which develop from the opening defies description; the gap left in the instructions can only be filled in by the zealous study of games fought out by master-hands.>

Not Weiss, but his friend, Sigmund Freud (154 years old today). No games of his survive evidently, although I think he was a strong player for an amateur.

May-30-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  GrahamClayton: <Kean>Then he concentrated on his work for the Rothschild Bank

<Kean>,
Some more information from the "Illustrated Sydney News", dated 21 June 1890, regarding Weiss's victory in the Kolisch tournament:

"In connection with the above it is interesting to note that Baron Rothschild, the famous banker of Vienna, has appointed the winner, Max Weiss, to a lucrative clerkship in his Austrian bank."

Jul-21-12  brankat: A very talented chess player indeed.

A quote attributed to M.Weiss:

"The poorest chessplayer is more to be envied than the most favoured servant of the Golden Calf."

To bad Max Weiss himself went to the Golden Half's service when still young.

Jul-27-12  Karpova: Max Weiss died of apoplexia.

He used to play against Moreno Heim with knight odds and for the last time on February 20, 1927. After winning this game he remained at the club and kibitzed a bit. After leaving, he never returned and the next thing they heard about him was the news of his death, one day aftwards. He seems to have been very silent and humble.

Source: Pages 89-91 of the 1927 '(Neue) Wiener Schachzeitung'

Jul-21-13  brankat: R.I.P. master Weiss.
Jul-21-13  GENERALreplacesQ: Interesting that he always opened with the king's pawn like Fischer. In fact in those days e4 was the most popular
Jul-21-15  JimNorCal: I once read a quote attributed to him but it isn't on the Internet and perhaps is apocryphal.

It went something like this "There is no greater pleasure than to shut out the world and sit at a chess table with a steaming mug of coffee at one's elbow"

Sep-29-15  zanzibar: <JimNorCal> Can't argue with the sentiment.

* * * * *

Doing a quick look at the earliest Caro-Kann games. <CG> has this game:

Cochrane vs Somacarana, 1856

(missing from <MB>) which is followed by this game (first in <MB>):

Zukertort vs C Lehmann, 1864

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

But its real introduction, by a consistent practitioner of note, seems to be by Max Weiss, who played it several times in 1883 Nuremberg, e.g.

Gunsberg vs Max Weiss, 1883

Then Delmar and others picked it up, and Delmar (and later Macro) even played it as Black against Weiss in this early example:

Max Weiss vs E Delmar, 1889

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