Tartakower - chess grandmaster and openings

Tartakower

Definition

In chess literature the word “Tartakower” can refer to two closely related ideas:

Savielly Grigorievich Tartakower (1887-1956) — the Polish-French grandmaster, wit, author, and leading chess thinker of the first half of the 20^th century.
Openings and variations that bear his name, notably the Tartakower (or Tartakower-Makogonov-Bondarevsky) System of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, the Tartakower Variation of the Ruy Lopez, the Tartakower Gambit in the Caro-Kann, and even the opening 1. b4 sometimes called the “Tartakower Opening.”

Historical Background

Savielly Tartakower was born in Rostov-on-Don, grew up in Galicia (then part of Austria-Hungary, today Poland/Ukraine), earned a doctorate in law at the University of Geneva, served as an officer in two world wars, and ultimately settled in France. He was a fixture at top tournaments from 1910 through the late 1940s and represented both Poland (winning two Olympiad gold medals on board one) and later France. Fluent in six languages and famous for his aphorisms (“The blunders are all there on the board, waiting to be made”), he also authored several classic books, notably Die Hypermoderne Schachpartie and Bréviaire des échecs.

Usage in Chess

When a player or commentator says “Tartakower,” context usually clarifies whether they mean the man or one of the following systems:

Queen’s Gambit Declined, Tartakower System
Moves: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Nf3 h6 7. Bh4 b6.
Idea: Black fianchettoes the queen’s bishop to actively contest the light squares and unbalance the typical “fixed chain” QGD positions.
Ruy Lopez, Tartakower (or Open) Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4.
Idea: Black grabs the e4-pawn, aiming for piece play and tactical skirmishes, accepting structural weaknesses if White reacts accurately.
Caro-Kann, Tartakower Gambit
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. f3!?
Idea: White sacrifices a pawn to accelerate development and open the f-file; rarely seen in top play but dangerous in rapid formats.
1. b4 – “The Polish” or “Tartakower Opening.”
Tartakower popularized it in simultaneous exhibitions, scoring well enough that the name stuck informally.

Strategic Significance

Hypermodern spirit: Tartakower was an early proponent of hypermodern ideas—controlling the center with pieces rather than occupying it with pawns. Several openings named after him embody this philosophy (e.g., …b6 in the QGD).
Flexibility and counterplay: His lines often give up a measure of structural purity (isolated or doubled pawns) in return for long-term dynamism and bishop activity.
Practical over perfect: Tartakower valued positions that presented the opponent with difficult choices at the board, a trait modern practical players still admire.

Illustrative Example

The following miniature shows Tartakower using his own QGD line to outplay the world champion:

[[Pgn| 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Nf3 h6 7. Bh4 b6 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Rc1 Be6 12. Qa4 c5 13. Qa3 Rc8 14. Bb5 a6 15. dxc5 bxc5 16. O-O Ra7 17. Be2 Nd7 18. Nd4 Qf8 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. e4! d4 21. f4 Qe7 22. e5 Rb8 23. Bc4 Nb6 24. f5 Nxc4 25. Rxc4 exf5 26. Rxc5 Rab7 27. b4 Rxb4 28. Rc8+ Kh7 29. Qxa6 Rxc8 30. Qxc8 Qxe5 31. Qxf5+ |fen|rnbq1rk1/pp2bp1p/2p1p1p1/3p2B1/3P4/4PN2/PPP2PPP/RN1QKB1R b KQkq - 0 6]]

Tartakower – Capablanca, New York 1924. The fianchettoed queen’s bishop and central pawn lever e3–e4 give White enduring pressure; Capablanca soon went wrong and lost—a rare defeat for the Cuban legend.

Interesting Facts & Anecdotes

Tartakower coined dozens of enduring chess maxims. His most quoted: “The winner of the game is the player who makes the next-to-last mistake.”
During World War II he fought with the Free French army and carried a pocket chess set through the North African campaign.
He played in the first ever team Olympiad (London 1927) and scored +11 −0 =4 on board one, leading Poland to team bronze.
His annotations in French often used whimsical symbols such as “??” for a blunder and “?!?” for an “interesting but dubious” try—precursors to today’s modern annotation symbols.
Multiple GM norms: although FIDE first awarded the grandmaster title in 1950, Tartakower was already considered world-class; he received the title in that inaugural batch alongside Capablanca, Alekhine, and Lasker.

Practical Takeaways for Modern Players

Study the QGD Tartakower to enrich your black repertoire with a resilient, counterpunching setup against 1. d4.
Use the Ruy Lopez Tartakower as a surprise weapon—especially in rapid play where concrete tactics can trump long-term weaknesses.
Remember Tartakower’s maxim: value positions that pose problems, not just those the engine calls “equal.”