Karel Traxler


Karel Traxler was a Czech chess master and composer of chess problems. He is best known for the hyper-aggressive variation named after him, the Traxler Variation in the Two Knights Defense.

Traxler Variation

The Traxler Variation was first shown in the following game against Reinisch, played in Hostouň in 1890:

Problem composer

Because Traxler was a Roman Catholic priest, he rarely played chess in serious competitions. As a composer of chess problems he pursued the style of Bohemian school. He wrote under a number of pseudonyms: Anonymus z Tábora, Karel Kaplan, Vis Maior und Karel Zboněk. From 1896 to 1899, he edited, in part, the journal České listy šachové. He composed over 900 chess problems, mainly 2-, 3-, and 4-move problems, but also multiple-move ones, and more rarely, selfmates. With his brother-in-law, Jan Kotrč, he published a selection of 247 problems that he'd composed by 1910.