Chess Teachings
Tarrasch was a very influential chess writer, and was called Praeceptor Germaniae, meaning "Teacher of Germany." He was editor of the magazine Deutsche Schachzeitung in 1897 and wrote several books, including Die moderne Schachpartie and Three hundred chess games. Although his teachings became famous throughout the chess world, until recently his books had not been translated into English.
He took some of Wilhelm Steinitz's ideas (e.g. control of the center, bishop pair, space advantage) and made them more accessible to the average chess player. In other areas he departed from Steinitz. He emphasized piece mobility much more than Steinitz did, and disliked cramped positions, saying that they "had the germ of defeat."
Tarrasch stated what is known as the Tarrasch rule, that rooks should be placed behind passed pawns—either yours or your opponent's. Andrew Soltis quotes Tarrasch as saying
| “ | Always put the rook behind the pawn.... Except when it is incorrect to do so. | ” |
Read more about this topic: Siegbert Tarrasch
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