At the beginning, Traxler was a chess autodidact. In the light of the <Maturitätsprüfung>, Traxler found the time and courage to write down and study the games of the Vienna 1882 tournament from Falkbeer's 'Wiener Illustrierter Zeitung'. He was studying chess and did his schoolwork, until Lange's book on Morphy outcompeted everything else.

First, he couldn't find chess colleagues in Budweis, and those who were, weren't chess enthusiasts. This changed during his Bohemian <Gymnasialzeit> with chess enthusiasts like Cimburek, Svejda, Vancura and others. They read every chess column, analysed every game and tried to solve every problem they found.

Traxler (p. 298 of the 1891 'Deutsches Wochenschach'): <Es heißt, wer den Musen sich weiht, muß sie lieben lebenslang... auch das Schach hat seine Muse, und wer der Schachgöttin einmal verfällt, ist so umstrickt von ihren Reizen, daß er sie nie und nimmer lassen kann...> (It is said that he, who consecrates to the muses, has to love them for a lifetime... also Chess has its muse, and he who becomes addicted to the chess goddess once, is so ensnared by her charms, that he never ever can let her go...).

His chess life spans now 30 years and he is one of the foremost problemists. Yet,he started out as a practical chess player. But his profession did only allow for corespondence chess and sporadic visits in chess centres like Plzen and Prague.

Once, after a chess expeditions, he was sitting in the cabin and revised his chess combinations on his pocket chess set. A foreign man came along, called Traxler by name and introduced himself. Traxler was surprised, but the man, with a side glance to the chess utensils, said that you couldn't err - He had to be <P. Traxler>. Both started to play and Traxler completely forgot that he had to exit the train.

In between 1886, where he won 1st prize in his group at the II. National Congress in Prague (I. in 1872), and 1902, where he won every game in the <Wessely a. L.> Main tournament ahead of Duras, he proved his playing strength in several tournaments against the best players of Bohemia. A coincidence only prevented him from participating in the Dresden Main tournament 1892 he had registered for.

Many of his games can be found in the 'Ceske Listy Sachove' from 1896 onwards. Among them are two beautiful games he won against Adolf Schwarz during his visit of the Vienna Chess Society on August 17, 1900.

In 1866, Traxler established a chess column in 'Tabor', and was later actively engaged in the compilation of 'Ceske Listy Sachove'and contributed many a good article. Currently, he is editing the chess column of the Vienna 'Delnicke Listy', which he took over from his friend Kotrc.

Traxler was born on January 17, 1866, in Wällischbirken, and has been a priest for many years now in Dub near Wodnian.