"Schiffers began to play chess when about fifteen, and within five years had made such progress that he defeated Tochoumoff and others of equal standing. He continued to advance until he became the leading player in Russia. In 1873 he first played with Tchigorin, to whom he then gave the odds of a knight. During the following seven years the pupil came to play a stronger game than his teacher, and in 1880 Schiffers lost the championship of Russia to Tchigorin. He has won matches against Alapin, Chardin, and Mitropolsky; and at the International Tournament held at Hastings, England, in 1895, at which twenty-two masters competed, Schiffers gained sixth prize."

This information is from the book - Mikhail Chigorin the first Russian Grandmaster - by Alexander Khailfman & Sergei Soloviov

1887 - Frankfort - 10th +7 -7 =6
1889 - Breslau - 17th +3 -8 =6
1894 - Leipzig - 8/9th +5 -4 =8
1895 - Hastings - 6th +9 -9 =6
1896 - Nurnberg - 9/10th +5 -4 =9
1897 - Berlin - 11th +7 -6 =6
1898 - Vienna - 12th +13 -14 =10
1898 - Cologne - 10/11th +6 -7 =2

Just about every other master had had this kind of experience when facing Dr.Lasker :-)

SCHIFFERS, Emanuel
http://www.bidmonfa.com/schiffers_e...
_

<The St. Petersburger Schiffers was broadly cultivated, highly intelligent man, with a splendid sense of humor <von prachtvollem Humor – maybe “splendid temperament” is better?>, a lively conversationalist, amiable in company <Verkehr>, in short, as the student song says, “a fellow like velvet and silk, the only harm, is that he drinks!” <”ein Kerl wie Samt und Seide, nur schade, dass er suff!”>. This he did with great consistency, and so it is no wonder, that he went to the madhouse several times, and a greater or shorter time after his release, each time relapsed. His disease was: alcoholic psychosis; chess had nothing to do with this. He never showed any particular strain playing chess; rather in tournaments he always played well “con amore,” as if nothing were at stake <sondern spielte in Turnieren immer so recht con amore, als ob es um gar nichts ginge>. Nevertheless, he achieved well-known, beautiful successes <Gleichwohl hat er bekanntlich recht huebsche Erfolge erzielt>. His sympathetic personality was known to all who met him and remains in memory. Every man has weaknesses, and every man must die, one sooner, others later, one from this, others from that disease; in fact we all die – to Life! <Swachen hat jeder Mensch, und sterben muss ebenfalls jeder Mensch, die eine fruher, der andere spater, der eine an dieser, der andere an jener Krankheit, in Grunde genommen sterben wir alle – am Leben!>>

"A notable absentee is Schiffers, second prize winner at Moscow, who has since been place in an asylum for the insane."

<nescio>, <whiteshark>, and anyone else who knows, any thoughts you have are welcome.

That's also true for the last words "to life". Tarrasch is saying that life is always the cause of death (the dash is just there to indicate a short pause if you say it aloud). I would choose "from life" or "of life", whatever the usual phrase is in English, but perhaps "to life" also has a similar meaning with which I'm not familiar. It looks like a toast to life to me.

For convenience I repeat <keypusher's> translation from above: <“a fellow like velvet and silk, the only harm, is that he drinks!”>.

LTJ

From page 13 of the 1900 'Wiener Schachzeitung'

I think it has more or less fallen out of use, in the United States at least.

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.