Forgotten Talents

Lost in the Labyrinth of Life

Throughout the history of chess, elite players have been studied, celebrated and adored. But there also been players, while perhaps not regarded as world-class competitors, who had a precious gift, but who did not know (or could not find) the way to success. They were lost in the labyrinth of difficulties that life always places before every human being.

In the end, for various reasons, history forgot this select group of masters. For some, their careers were very bright (as in the cases of von Kolisch, Neumann and Charousek) but also extremely short, limiting their renown and depriving them of deserved laurels. For others, chess turned out to be excessively demanding for which their minds were unprepared. Finally, for a truly unfortunate few, tragedy – always an unwelcome guest – took over their lives and then took life itself from them.

An exceptionally researched historical work, these pages contain the stories of 23 players with a very unique way of understanding chess (sometimes ahead of their time) and who prioritized the artistic side of the game over the results: an approach that was not properly appreciated in their time.

Now, for the first time, Spanish author and chess historian Javier Cordero puts these Forgotten Talents in the limelight. Archival photos and almost 200 selected games nicely supplement the biographies of these star-crossed players who became Lost in the Labyrinth of Life.