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{{Short description|American chess player and author}}
'''Eric Schiller''' (born ], ] in ]) is an ] ] player, trainer, arbiter and author. He is also a ] in ], specializing in ] languages.
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Eric Schiller
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1955|03|20|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = ], ], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|11|03|1955|03|20}}
| other_names =
| known_for = ] author <br />] author
| occupation = Teacher
| children =
| website = {{URL|http://www.ericschiller.com/}}
| footnotes =
| module = {{Infobox chess player
| child = yes
|title = ] (2003)
|peakrating = 2370 (July 1986)
}}
}}


'''Eric Schiller''' (March 20, 1955 – November 3, 2018) was an ] ] player, trainer, arbiter and one of the most prolific authors of books on chess in the 20th century.
==Chess career==
Schiller is a ] and in the July 2004 ] list had an ] of 2205. He is also an ]. He was arbiter at the 2000 ] match between ] and ].


==Early life and education==
Schiller has organized many chess tournaments, including the World Youth Championship in ], and several international tournaments in ]. He has often been a news reporter, reporting on Olympiads and World Chess Championship matches. The fact that he is a fluent speaker of ] has been most useful.
Schiller was born in ]. He attended Guggenheim Elementary, Sousa Jr. High School and later Paul D. Schreiber High School. He graduated from the ] 1976, later teaching both there and at ]. In 1991, he earned his ] in ] from the University of Chicago.


After his undergraduate years, Schiller turned to music performance and founded a music group called the "Long Island Sound Ensemble" and studied conducting in Vienna, Salzburg and ]. He was a frequent attendant at NY Philharmonic rehearsals until 1981.
However, a problem arose with the ] ] in ], which was organized by Schiller. The ] claimed that Schiller owed them money, while Schiller claimed that the USCF owed him money.


==Chess career==
Schiller is noted as a prolific author of chess books, having written over 100, more than anyone else except ], ], and the late ]. However, some of the books have received scathing reviews: Reviewing for the ], ] said Schiller's tome on the ] of the ] was "by far THE WORST BOOK I HAVE EVER SEEN" , while ]' famous review of ''Unorthodox Chess Openings'' for ''Kingpin'' consisted of two words: "Utter crap." Others, however, have found some of Schiller's output to be well suited to its amateur audience. ] said of ''Complete Defense to King Pawn Openings'' and ''Complete Defense to Queen Pawn Openings'' that "these books are explicitly aimed at the developing student, not the advanced player, and I think they both do a particularly good job of gently guiding an inexperienced player through a new opening. . . . While Schiller probably deserves some of the criticism he gets, a consequence of writing too many books too quickly, he should also get credit when he does a good job."
In 1974, Schiller was the Illinois Junior Champion. Schiller played for the University of Chicago team several times at the ]. Schiller was the Hawaii action and blitz champion for 1988/89. He was an organizer of the Hawaii International chess festivals 1994–98, including 1998 US Open California Champion 1995. Later that year, he appeared as a chess advisor for the music group ] on some of the stops for their "Chess Tour" where they played an ongoing game of two chess moves per tour stop and some "band vs. audience" partial games as part of their stage performance. Schiller was an arbiter at several notable games and championships including the ]. While ] and ] opted not to participate in the event, they had both endorsed Schiller for this sensitive role during the planning stages.


Schiller was an ] and International Trainer.<ref name="FIDE">{{cite web|publisher=FIDE|title=Eric Schiller Chess Player Information|url=http://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=2002973|access-date=2011-06-03}}</ref>
==Linguistics career==
Schiller has been heavily involved in the study of linguistics since 1982, when he returned to the ]. His dissertation on serial verbs, An Autolexical Account of Subordinating Serial Verb Constructions, earned him a Ph.D. in 1991. He has taught at the ] and ].


Schiller organized several ]. He was often a news reporter, reporting on ]s and ] matches. Schiller was the arbiter for the ] in ] in 2005, 2007 and 2008,<ref name="GIB2006">Schiller's daily news reports posted at </ref> and the 2006 ] International Chess Festival in ].<ref name="GIB2006" />
His primary research focus has been ], a framework for the description and explanation of ] developed at the ]. Autolexical linguistics is a descendant of the ] theory of Bresnan et al. His language concentration is in ], and in particular the ] Family including ] (Cambodian). In addition, he has a strong interest in ]s and ], especially the ].


As of July 2017, Schiller's ] ] for chess at standard time controls was 1989. At his peak, his rating was 2370.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chessgames.com/player/eric_schiller.html|title=The chess games of Eric Schiller|website=www.chessgames.com|access-date=Jun 29, 2020}}</ref>
In 1992 he became involved with ], and worked at the ] at the ], under a ] grant, helping to build a ] based on ] theory. Prior to his work at the University of Chicago, he attended the ] on ] fellowships in 1987 (]), 1988 and 1989 (]).


==Chess author==
In 1990 he founded the ] (with ] at ]). He has also been an officer of the ] (]).
Schiller wrote over 100 chess books, more than any other author of the genre in the 20th century except ] and ]. ], who co-wrote three books with Schiller,<ref>] and Schiller were the co-authors of ''The Big Book of Busts'', ''Handbook of Tricky Opening Strategies'', and ''Survive and Beat Annoying Chess Openings Vol. 1 (Open Games)''. See "Books" section above.</ref> considers some of Schiller's output to be well suited to its amateur audience. Watson wrote of ''Complete Defense to King Pawn Openings'' and ''Complete Defense to Queen Pawn Openings'' that "these books are explicitly aimed at the developing student, not the advanced player, and I think they both do a particularly good job of gently guiding an inexperienced player through a new opening. ... While Schiller probably deserves some of the criticism he gets, a consequence of writing too many books too quickly, he should also get credit when he does a good job."<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011222608/http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/jwatson9.html |date=2008-10-11 }}. Retrieved on 2008-12-29.</ref> ] ] wrote of Watson and Schiller's ''The Big Book of Busts'', "I am forced to swallow my bigoted view of Schiller's work (or does this just validate my opinion of Watson?) and admit that this is a great book".<ref>], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205182507/http://jeremysilman.com/book_reviews_js/js_big_book_busts.html |date=2009-02-05 }}. jeremysilman.com. Retrieved on 2009-02-17.</ref>


Schiller also worked as chess developer<ref>Schiller, Eric. from Eric Schiller website . Retrieved on September 19, 2012.</ref> mainly developing teaching tools, like all the tutorials for computer ] '']'',<ref>Schiller, Eric. . Answer to group rec.games.chess.computer. Retrieved on September 19, 2012.</ref> chapters of the reference manual of the same game and developing teaching tools included in ].
Although he is no longer actively involved in academia, Schiller continues to lecture at many conferences and is developing language and ] through ]. He can often be found at the conferences of the ] (February), ] (April). and ].


Amongst Schiller's large output, some of his books have received poor reviews. Chess ] ] has criticized many of Schiller's earlier books for large numbers of spelling, factual and typographical errors,<ref>], (1999). Retrieved on 2008-12-29.</ref><ref>Edward Winter, (1998). Retrieved on 2008-12-29.</ref><ref>Edward Winter, . ChessBase.com. Retrieved on 2009-03-17.</ref> and even claimed plagiarism.<ref>Edward Winter, . Retrieved on 2008-12-29.</ref> Schiller's ''Unorthodox Chess Openings'' received a noted two-word review from ] in ]: "Utter crap."<ref>''Tony Miles: 'It's Only Me': England's First Chess Grandmaster'', Geoff Lawton (compiler), Batsford, 2003, p. 261. {{ISBN|0-7134-8809-3}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chess.co.uk/|title=Home|website=Chess.co.uk|access-date=Jun 29, 2020}}</ref> Carsten Hansen wrote of Schiller's book on the ] of the ] that it was "by far the worst book that I have ever seen."<ref>. Retrieved on 2009-02-11.</ref>
== Books ==


==Career in linguistics==
Among Schiller's many books on chess are the following:
Schiller's PhD thesis was entitled "An autolexical account of subordinating serial verb phrase constructions". He was a published author in ], specializing in ].<ref>Encyclopedia of Languages and Linguistics, Oxford: Pergamon, entries on Khmer, Mon-Khmer and Austric.</ref><ref> 2008-11-07</ref> Schiller was a co-founder of the ]<ref>{{cite web|title=SEALS history|url=http://www.jseals.org/|work=Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society|publisher=jseals.org|access-date=26 November 2011}}</ref> and was an officer of the ]. He maintained a web page with a lengthy list of his linguistic publications at .


'''Books by Schiller on linguistics include:'''
*''Learn from Bobby Fischer's Greatest Games'', ISBN 1580421202
* ''Autolexical Theory: Ideas and Methods'', Eric Schiller, ] & ] (eds.), Mouton de Gruyter, 1995. {{ISBN|3-11-012626-5}}.
*''Learn from Garry Kasparov's Greatest Games'', ISBN 1580421466
* ''The Best of CLS: A selection of out of print papers from 1968 to 1975'', Eric Schiller, et al. (eds.), ], 1988. {{ISBN|0-914203-29-0}}.
*''Gambit Chess Openings'', ISBN 1580420575
*''Unorthodox Chess Openings'', ISBN 1580420729
*''Standard Chess Openings'', ISBN 1580420486
* Catalan Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1983 ISBN 0931462266
* Spanish:Schliemann (Jaenisch) Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller Batsford 1983 ISBN 0713442484
* Orthodox Variation Queen's Gambit Declined Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1984 ISBN 0931462347\
* Play the Tarrasch Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller Pergamon 1984 ISBN 0080297471
* U.S.S.R. versus Rest of World Eric Schiller The Chess Player 1984 ISBN 0906042585
* Cambridge Springs Defense Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1984 ISBN 0931462614
* Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1985 ISBN 0931462525
* Gruenfeld Defense: Russian Variations Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1985 ISBN 0931462444
* The Alekhine for the Tournament Player Lev Alburt & Eric Schiller Batsford 1985 ISBN 0713415967
* Wie spielt man Katalanisch Eric Schiller Walter Rau 1986 ISBN 3791902490
* Attacking the Castled King Eric Schiller The Chess Player 1986 ISBN 0906042616
* Sicilian Modern Richter Rauzer Systems Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1986 ISBN 0931462517
* Sicilian Richter Rauzer: Systems with 7...a6 Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1987 ISBN 0931462665
* Spanish Gambits Leonid Shamkovich Batsford 1987 ISBN 0020290209
* Sicilian Defence: Yugoslav Attack with 9 Bc4 Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1987 ISBN 0931462681
* Unorthodox Openings ] & Eric Schiller Batsford 1987 ISBN 0020165900
* Sicilian Classical Richter Rauzer Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1987 ISBN 093146272X
* Saving Lost Positions Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller Batsford 1987 ISBN 0020537700
* Wie spielt man Damenindisch Eric Schiller Walter Rau Verlag 1987 ISBN 3791902687
* How to Play the Reti Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1987 ISBN 0931462789
* Caro Kann: 4...Nd7 Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1987 ISBN 0931462266
* Janowski Indian Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1988 ISBN 0931462975
* Gruenfeld Defense: Russian Variations (Revised Edition) Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1988 ISBN 0931462843
* French Winawer Poisoned Pawn Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1988 ISBN 0931462746
* Fianchetto Against the West Indians Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1988 ISBN 0931462797
* Catalan (Revised Edition) Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1988 ISBN 0931462754
* The Best of CLS: A selection of out of print papers from 1968 to 1975 Eric Schiller et. al., (eds) ] 1988 ISBN 0914203273
* Wie spielt man die Reti-Eröffnung Eric Schiller Walter Rau Verlag 1988 ISBN 3791902792
* Modern Stonewall Dutch Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1989 ISBN 0931462967
* How to Play the King's Indian Attack Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1989 ISBN 0931462959
* Batsford Chess Openings 2 ] and Raymond D. Keene Henry Holt 1989 ISBN 0805034099
* Spanish Inquisition I: Zaitsev Variation Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1989 ISBN 0931462894
* Who's Afraid of the King's Gambit Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1989 ISBN 0931462908
* The Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav Attack II Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1989 ISBN 0931462886
* Tarrasch French: Guimard Variation Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1990 ISBN 0945470029
* How to Play the Albin Countergambit Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1991 ISBN 9045470195
* How to Play the Torre Attack Eric Schiller Chess Digest 1991 ISBN 087568199
* Modern Defense: Averbakh Lines Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1991 ISBN 0931462819
* How to Play the Chigorin Defense in the Queen's Gambit Declined Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1991 ISBN 0945470118
* The Alekhine for the Tournament Player (2nd ed.) ] & Eric Schiller Batsford 1991 ISBN 071346951X
* White to Play 1.e4 and Win Eric Schiller Chess Digest 1992 ISBN 0875682065
* How to Play the Scotch Gambit Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1992 ISBN 094547024X
* Strategy for Advanced Players Eric Schiller Chess Digest 1992 ISBN 0875682022
* How to Play the From Gambit Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1992 ISBN 0945470142
* The Chessplayer's Laboratory Volume 1 Eric Schiller Hays 1992 ISBN 0486202909
* Von Hennig-Schara Gambit Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1992 ISBN 0945470207
* The Schliemann Defense Volume 1: Tartakower Variation Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1993 ISBN 0945470320
* How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit Eric Schiller & Billy Colias Chess Digest 1993 ISBN 0875682367
* Black to play Classical Defenses and Win Eric Schiller Chess Digest 1993 ISBN 0875682197
* Win with the Djin! Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1994 ISBN 0945470401
* Winning with the Hypermodern Raymond D. Keene Batsford 1994 ISBN 0713468742
* Panov Attack: Volume 1 Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1994 ISBN 0945470436
* The Aggressive Nimzowitsch Sicilian Eric Schiller Chess Digest 1994 ISBN 0875682456
* Cambridge Springs Defense: Expanded and Updated Edition Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1994 ISBN 931462320
* The Classical Caro-Kann Rejuvenated Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1994 ISBN 0945470347
* The Big Book of Combinations Eric Schiller Hypermodern 1995 ISBN 1886040141
* How to Play the Goering Gambit Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1995 ISBN 0945470630
* How to Play the Torre Attack (Revised) Eric Schiller Chess Digest 1995 ISBN 087568199
* How to Play the Queen's Indian Eric Schiller & ] Chess Enterprises 1995 ISBN 0931462770
* Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Bogoljubow Variation Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1995 ISBN 0945470460
* Autolexical Theory: Ideas and Methods Eric Schiller, ], ] (eds.) Mouton de Gruyter 1995 ISBN 3110126265
* How to play the Fischer Attack in the Najdorf Sicilian ] & Eric Schiller Chess Digest 1995 ISBN 0875682545
* Improve Your Endgame Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1995 ISBN 0945470665
* How to Play the Winawer Countergambit Eric Schiller Chess Digest 1995 ISBN 0875682723
* Kasparov's Opening Repertoire Leonid Shamkovich Batsford 1995 ISBN 0713457449
* The Big Book of Busts ] & Eric Schiller Hypermodern 1995 ISBN 1886040133
* Panov Attack: Volume 2 Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1995 ISBN 0945470479
* How to Play the Dilworth Attack Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1995 ISBN 0945470525
* The Schliemann Defense Volume 2: Classical Variations Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1996 ISBN 0945470606
* World Champion Openings Eric Schiller Cardoza 1996 ISBN 0940685698
* How to Play the Belgrade Gambit Eric Schiller Chess Digest 1997 ISBN 0875682944
* Standard Chess Openings Eric Schiller Cardoza 1997 ISBN 0940685728
* Unorthodox Chess Openings Eric Schiller Cardoza 1997 ISBN 0940685736
* Complete Defense to Queen Pawn Openings Eric Schiller Cardoza 1998 ISBN 0940685809
* Whiz Kids teach Chess Eric Schiller Cardoza 1998 ISBN 1580420079
* Panov Attack: Volume 3 (Fianchetto Var.) Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1998 ISBN 0947470673
* World Champion Combinations Raymond D. Keene & Eric Schiller Cardoza 1998 ISBN 0940685779
* Gambit Opening Repertoire for White Eric Schiller Cardoza 1998 ISBN 0940685787
* Gambit Opening Repertoire for Black Eric Schiller Cardoza 1998 ISBN 0940685795
* World Champion Tactics Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller Cardoza 1998 ISBN 1580420052
* Joel Benjamin: Selected Games of the United States Champion Bill Haines & Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1998 ISBN 0945470738
* The Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom Eric Schiller Cardoza 1998 ISBN 0940685930
* Who's Afraid of the King's Gambit (2nd Edition) Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1998 ISBN 0945470681
* Secrets of the Sicilian Dragon ] & Eric Schiller Cardoza 1998 ISBN 0940685922
* Secrets of the King's Indian Defense Eduard Gufeld & Eric Schiller Cardoza 1999 ISBN 1580420176
* 639 Essential Endgames Eric Schiller Cardoza 1999 ISBN 1580420168
* Frankenstein-Dracula Variation Eric Schiller Chess Enterprises 1999 ISBN 0945470754
* Hypermodern Opening Repertoire for White Eric Schiller Cardoza 1999 ISBN 158042015X
* The Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom Eric Schiller Cardoza 2000 ISBN 0940685930
* Development of a Chess Master Eric Schiller Cardoza 2000 ISBN 1580420508
* The Official Rules of Chess Eric Schiller & ] Cardoza 2001 ISBN 1580420257
* 100 Awesome Chess Moves Eric Schiller Cardoza 2001 ISBN 1580420214
* The Ultimate Tarrasch Eric Schiller Chess Central 2001 ISBN 1886846432
* Standard Chess Openings Eric Schiller Cardoza 2002 ISBN 1580420486
* World Champion Openings Eric Schiller Cardoza 2002 ISBN 158042046X
* Gambit Chess Openings Eric Schiller Cardoza 2002 ISBN 1580420575
* Unorthodox Chess Openings Eric Schiller Cardoza 2002 ISBN 1580420729
* The Official Rules of Chess Eric Schiller Cardoza 2003 ISBN 1580420923
* Killer Chess Tactics Raymond Keene, ] & Eric Schiller Cardoza 2003 ISBN 1580421113
* The Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom Eric Schiller Cardoza 2003 ISBN 1580420885
* Complete Defense to King Pawn Openings Eric Schiller Cardoza 2003 ISBN ISBN 1580421091
* Survive and Beat Annoying Chess Openings Vol. 1 (Open Games) Eric Schiller & John Watson Cardoza 2003 ISBN 1580420737
* How To Win With Hypermodern Chess Strategy" ] & Eric Schiller Hardinge-Simpole 2003 ISBN 1843821052
* Janowski Indian eBook Eric Schiller ChessCentral 2004
* Learn from Bobby Fischer's Greatest Games Eric Schiller Cardoza 2004 ISBN 1580421202
* Handbook of Tricky Opening Strategies John Watson & Eric Schiller Hardinge-Simpole 2004 ISBN 1843821494
* The Pterodactyl Defense Eric Schiller Chess Central 2004 forthcoming
* Learn from Garry Kasparov's Greatest Games Eric Schiller Cardoza 2005 ISBN 1580421466
* Checkmate in One Move Eric Schiller Cardoza 2005 ISBN 1580421717
* First Chess Openings Eric Schiller Cardoza 2005 ISBN 1580421520
* Win with the Djin Eric Schiller Hardinge-Simpole 2005 ISBN 1843821729
* The Rubinstein Attack Eric Schiller Universal 2005 ISBN 1581124546


==External links== ==Personal life==
Since 2008, Schiller experienced some health setbacks, including having his right hand and foot amputated due to complications from diabetes. Nonetheless, he remained active and ambulatory with the aid of a walker and taught chess at several elementary schools in and near ], in affiliation with , where he lived in the last years of his life. He offered chess tutoring over the Internet via ]. He died on November 3, 2018, from complications of cardiovascular disease.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://new.uschess.org/news/eric-schiller-author-fide-master-dies-63-will-remembered-love-chess|title=Eric Schiller Dies at 63: "Will be Remembered for His Love of Chess"|first=Jennifer|last=Shahade|date=Nov 5, 2018|website=US Chess.org|access-date=Jun 29, 2020}}</ref>


== Books on chess==
* {{fide|id=2002973|name=Eric Schiller}}
* ''100 Awesome Chess Moves'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2001. {{ISBN|1-58042-021-4}}.
* ''639 Essential Endgames'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1999. {{ISBN|1-58042-016-8}}.
* ''The Aggressive Nimzowitsch Sicilian'', Eric Schiller, Chess Digest, 1994. {{ISBN|0-87568-245-6}}.
* ''The Alekhine for the Tournament Player'', Lev Alburt & Eric Schiller, Batsford, 1985. {{ISBN|0-7134-1596-7}}.
* ''The Alekhine for the Tournament Player (2nd ed.)'', ] & Eric Schiller, Batsford, 1991. {{ISBN|0-7134-6951-X}}.
* ''Attacking the Castled King'', Eric Schiller, The Chess Player, 1986. {{OCLC|14686051}} {{ASIN|B0007B7UDW}}, {{ISBN|4871874451}}.
* ''Batsford Chess Openings 2'', ] and ], Henry Holt, 1989. {{ISBN|0-8050-3409-9}}.
* ''The Big Book of Busts'', ] & Eric Schiller, Hypermodern Press, 1995. {{ISBN|1-886040-13-3}}.
* ''The Big Book of Chess'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza Publishing, 2006. {{ISBN|1-58042-133-4}}.
* ''The Big Book of Combinations'', Eric Schiller, Hypermodern Press, 1995. {{ISBN|1-886040-14-1}}.
* ''Black to Play Classical Defenses and Win'', Eric Schiller, Chess Digest, 1993. {{ISBN|0-87568-219-7}}.
* ''Blackmar-Diemer Gambit'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1985. {{ISBN|0-931462-52-5}}, {{ISBN|4871874338}}.
* ''Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Bogoljubow Variation'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1995. {{ISBN|0-945470-46-0}}, {{ISBN|4871874877}}.
* ''Cambridge Springs Defense'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1984. {{ISBN|0-931462-61-4}}.
* ''Cambridge Springs Defense: Expanded and Updated Edition'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1994. {{ISBN|0-931462-32-0}}.
* ''Caro Kann: 4...Nd7'', ] & Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1987. {{ISBN|0-931462-26-6}}.
* ''Catalan'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1983. {{ISBN|0-931462-26-6}}.
* ''Catalan (Revised Edition)'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1988. {{ISBN|0-931462-75-4}}.
* ''Checkmate in One Move'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2005. {{ISBN|1-58042-171-7}}.
* ''The Chessplayer's Laboratory Volume 1'', Eric Schiller, Hays, 1992. {{ISBN|0-486-20290-9}}.
* ''The Classical Caro-Kann Rejuvenated'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1994. {{ISBN|0-945470-34-7}}.
* ''Complete Defense to King Pawn Openings'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2003. {{ISBN|1-58042-109-1}}.
* ''Complete Defense to Queen Pawn Openings'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1998. {{ISBN|0-940685-80-9}}.
* ''Development of a Chess Master'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2000. {{ISBN|1-58042-050-8}}.
* ''The Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1998. {{ISBN|0-940685-93-0}}.
* ''The Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2003. {{ISBN|1-58042-088-5}}.
* ''Fianchetto Against the West Indians'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1988. {{ISBN|0-931462-79-7}}.
* ''First Chess Openings'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2005. {{ISBN|1-58042-152-0}}.
* ''First Chess Tactics'', Eric Schiller, Ishi Press, 2012, {{ISBN|4871874818}}.
* ''Frankenstein-Dracula Variation'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1999. {{ISBN|0-945470-75-4}}, {{ISBN|487187446X}}.
* ''French Winawer Poisoned Pawn'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1988. {{ISBN|0-931462-74-6}}.
* ''Gambit Chess Openings'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2002. {{ISBN|1-58042-057-5}}.
* ''Gambit Opening Repertoire for Black'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1998. {{ISBN|0-940685-79-5}}.
* ''Gambit Opening Repertoire for White'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1998. {{ISBN|0-940685-78-7}}.
* ''Gruenfeld Defense: Russian Variations'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1985. {{ISBN|0-931462-44-4}}.
* ''Gruenfeld Defense: Russian Variations'' (Revised Edition), Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1988, {{ISBN|4871874850}}.
* ''Handbook of Tricky Opening Strategies'', John Watson & Eric Schiller, Hardinge-Simpole, 2004. {{ISBN|1-84382-149-4}}.
* ''How to Play Black against the Staunton Gambit'', Eric Schiller & Billy Colias, Chess Digest, 1993. {{ISBN|0-87568-236-7}}.
* ''How to Play the Albin Countergambit'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1991. {{ISBN|90-454-7019-5}}.
* ''How to Play the Belgrade Gambit'', Eric Schiller, Chess Digest, 1997. {{ISBN|0-87568-294-4}}.
* ''How to Play the Chigorin Defense in the Queen's Gambit Declined'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1991. {{ISBN|0-945470-11-8}}.
* ''How to Play the Dilworth Attack'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1995. {{ISBN|0-945470-52-5}}, {{ISBN|4871874869}}.
* ''How to play the Fischer Attack in the Najdorf Sicilian'', ] & Eric Schiller, Chess Digest, 1995. {{ISBN|0-87568-254-5}}, {{ISBN|4871874826}}.
* ''How to Play the From Gambit'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1992. {{ISBN|0-945470-14-2}}, {{ISBN|4871874486}}.
* ''How to Play the Goering Gambit'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1995. {{ISBN|0-945470-63-0}}.
* ''How to Play the King's Indian Attack'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1989. {{ISBN|0-931462-95-9}}.
* ''How to Play the Queen's Indian'', Eric Schiller & ], Chess Enterprises, 1995. {{ISBN|0-931462-77-0}}.
* ''How to Play the Reti'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1987. {{ISBN|0-931462-78-9}}.
* ''How to Play the Scotch Gambit'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1992. {{ISBN|0-945470-24-X}}.
* ''How to Play the Torre Attack'', Eric Schiller, Chess Digest, 1991. {{ISBN|0-87568-199-9}}.
* ''How to Play the Torre Attack (Revised)'', Eric Schiller, Chess Digest, 1995. {{ISBN|0-87568-199-9}}, {{ISBN|4871874893}}.
* ''How to Play the Winawer Countergambit'', Eric Schiller, Chess Digest, 1995. {{ISBN|0-87568-272-3}}.
* ''How To Win With Hypermodern Chess Strategy'', ] & Eric Schiller, Hardinge-Simpole, 2003. {{ISBN|1-84382-105-2}}.
* ''Hunting the Castled King'', Eric Schiller, Ishi Press, 2012, {{ISBN|4871874451}}.
* ''Hypermodern Opening Repertoire for White'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1999. {{ISBN|1-58042-015-X}}.
* ''Improve Your Endgame'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1995. {{ISBN|0-945470-66-5}}.
* ''Janowski Indian'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1988. {{ISBN|0-931462-97-5}}, {{ISBN|4871874354}}.
* ''Janowski Indian eBook'', Eric Schiller, ChessCentral 2004.
* ''Joel Benjamin: Selected Games of the United States Champion'', Bill Haines & Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1998. {{ISBN|0-945470-73-8}}.
* ''Kasparov's Opening Repertoire'', Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller, Batsford, 1995. {{ISBN|0-7134-5744-9}}, {{ISBN|4871874885}}.
* ''Killer Chess Tactics'', Raymond Keene, ] & Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2003. {{ISBN|1-58042-111-3}}.
* ''Learn from Bobby Fischer's Greatest Games'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2004. {{ISBN|1-58042-120-2}}.
* ''Learn from Garry Kasparov's Greatest Games'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2005. {{ISBN|1-58042-146-6}}.
* ''Learn to Attack with Rudolph Spielmann'', Eric Schiller, Ishi Press {{ISBN|4871874346}}.
* ''Modern Defense: Averbakh Lines'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1991. {{ISBN|0-931462-81-9}}.
* ''Modern Stonewall Dutch'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1989. {{ISBN|0-931462-96-7}}, {{ISBN|4871874311}}.
* ''New Ideas in the RAT'', Eric Schiller & Bill Maddex, Chess Enterprises, 1989. {{ISBN|0-931462-83-5}}.
* ''The Official Rules of Chess'', Eric Schiller & Richard Peterson, Cardoza, 2001. {{ISBN|1-58042-025-7}}.
* ''The Official Rules of Chess'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2003. {{ISBN|1-58042-092-3}}.
* ''Orthodox Variation Queen's Gambit Declined'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1984. {{ISBN|0-931462-34-7}}, {{ISBN|4871874842}}.
* ''Panov Attack: Volume 1'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1994. {{ISBN|0-945470-43-6}}, {{ISBN|4871874494}}.
* ''Panov Attack: Volume 2'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1995. {{ISBN|0-945470-47-9}}, {{ISBN|4871874494}}.
* ''Panov Attack: Volume 3 (Fianchetto Var.)'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1998, {{ISBN|4871874494}}.
* ''Play the Tarrasch'', Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller, Pergamon, 1984. {{ISBN|0-08-029747-1}}.
* ''Queens Gambit Accepted Smyslov Variation'', ] {{ISBN|4-87187-888-0}}, {{ISBN|4871878880}}.
* ''The Pterodactyl Defense'', Eric Schiller, {{ISBN|4871874834}}.
* ''The Ryder Gambit Accepted'', Eric Schiller, Ishi Press {{ISBN|4871874435}}.
* ''The Rubinstein Attack'', Eric Schiller, Universal, 2005. {{ISBN|1-58112-454-6}}.
* ''Saving Lost Positions'', Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller, Batsford, 1987. {{ISBN|0-02-053770-0}}.
* ''Saving Lost Positions'' revised 2011, Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller, Ishi Press. {{ISBN|4-87187-441-9}}.
* ''The Schliemann Defense Volume 1: Tartakower Variation'', Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1993. {{ISBN|0-945470-32-0}}, {{ISBN|4871874362}}.
* ''The Schliemann Defense Volume 2: Classical Variations'', Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1996. {{ISBN|0-945470-60-6}}, {{ISBN|4871874362}}.
* ''Secrets of the King's Indian Defense'', Eduard Gufeld & Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1999. {{ISBN|1-58042-017-6}}.
* ''Secrets of the Sicilian Dragon'', ] & Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1998. {{ISBN|0-940685-92-2}}.
* ''Sicilian Classical Richter Rauzer'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1987. {{ISBN|0-931462-72-X}}.
* ''Sicilian Defence: Yugoslav Attack with 9 Bc4'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1987. {{ISBN|0-931462-68-1}}.
* ''The Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav Attack II'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1989. {{ISBN|0-931462-88-6}}.
* ''Sicilian Modern Richter Rauzer Systems'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1986. {{ISBN|0-931462-51-7}}.
* ''Sicilian Richter Rauzer: Systems with 7...a6'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1987. {{ISBN|0-931462-66-5}}.
* ''Spanish Gambits'', Leonid Shamkovich, Batsford, 1987. {{ISBN|0-02-029020-9}}.
* ''Spanish Gambits updated in 2011'', Eric Schiller and ], {{ISBN|4-87187-440-0}}.
* ''Spanish Inquisition I: Zaitsev Variation'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1989. {{ISBN|0-931462-89-4}}.
* ''Spanish: Schliemann (Jaenisch)'', Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller, Batsford, 1983. {{ISBN|0-7134-4248-4}}, {{ISBN|4871874362}}.
* ''Standard Chess Openings'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1997. {{ISBN|0-940685-72-8}}.
* ''Standard Chess Openings'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza 2002. {{ISBN|1-58042-048-6}}.
* ''Strategy for Advanced Players'', Eric Schiller, Chess Digest, 1992. {{ISBN|0-87568-202-2}}.
* ''Strategy for Advanced Players'', Eric Schiller, Ishi Press, 2011. {{ISBN|4-87187-442-7}}.
* ''Survive and Beat Annoying Chess Openings Vol. 1 (Open Games)'', Eric Schiller & John Watson, Cardoza, 2003. {{ISBN|1-58042-073-7}}.
* ''Tarrasch French: Guimard Variation'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1990. {{ISBN|0-945470-02-9}}, {{ISBN|4871874478}}.
* ''The Ultimate Tarrasch'', Eric Schiller, Chess Central, 2001. {{ISBN|1-886846-42-1}}.
* ''Unorthodox Chess Openings'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1997. {{ISBN|0-940685-73-6}}.
* ''Unorthodox Chess Openings'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2002. {{ISBN|1-58042-072-9}}.
* ''Unorthodox Openings'', ] & Eric Schiller, Batsford, 1987. {{ISBN|0-02-016590-0}}.
* ''U.S.S.R. versus Rest of World'', Eric Schiller, The Chess Player, 1984. {{ISBN|0-906042-58-5}}.
* ''Von Hennig-Schara Gambit'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1992. {{ISBN|0-945470-20-7}}.
* ''White to Play 1.e4 and Win'', Eric Schiller, Chess Digest, 1992. {{ISBN|0-87568-206-5}}.
* ''Whiz Kids Teach Chess'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1998. {{ISBN|1-58042-007-9}}.
* ''Who's Afraid of the King's Gambit'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1989. {{ISBN|0-931462-90-8}}.
* ''Who's Afraid of the King's Gambit (2nd Edition)'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1998. {{ISBN|0-945470-68-1}}, {{ISBN|4871874303}}.
* ''Wie spielt man Damenindisch'', Eric Schiller, Walter Rau, 1987. {{ISBN|3-7919-0268-7}}.
* ''Wie spielt man die Reti-Eröffnung'', Eric Schiller, Walter Rau, 1988. {{ISBN|3-7919-0279-2}}.
* ''Wie spielt man Katalanisch'', Eric Schiller, Walter Rau, 1986. {{ISBN|3-7919-0249-0}}.
* ''Win with the Djin!'', Eric Schiller, Chess Enterprises, 1994. {{ISBN|0-945470-40-1}}.
* ''Win with the Djin'', Eric Schiller, Hardinge-Simpole, 2005. {{ISBN|1-84382-172-9}}.
* ''Winning with the Hypermodern'', Raymond D. Keene & Eric Schiller, Batsford, 1994. {{ISBN|0-7134-6874-2}}.
* ''World Champion Combinations'', Raymond D. Keene & Eric Schiller, Cardoza 1998. {{ISBN|0-940685-77-9}}.
* ''World Champion Openings'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1996. {{ISBN|0-940685-69-8}}.
* ''World Champion Openings'', Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 2002. {{ISBN|1-58042-046-X}}.
* ''World Champion Tactics'', Leonid Shamkovich & Eric Schiller, Cardoza, 1998. {{ISBN|1-58042-005-2}}.


==References==
*
{{Reflist|30em}}


==External links==
*
* {{Official website}}

* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105202545/http://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=2002973 |title=Eric Schiller rating card at FIDE}}
*
* {{USCF|10346100}}
* {{Chessgames.com player|27484}}
* {{365Chess.com player|Eric_Schiller}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029054932/http://www.chess.com/coach/fmericschiller |title=Chess.com coach entry}}
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708120522/http://www.cardozabooks.com/authors/author/Eric-Schiller-45.php |date=2011-07-08 }}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518172837/http://www.chesscity.com/ |title=Chess City - another teaching website operated by Schiller}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905034431/http://www.bayareachess.com/enrich/staff/eric.php |title=BayAreaChess.com profile}}


{{Authority control}}
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Latest revision as of 13:47, 28 November 2024

American chess player and author

Eric Schiller
Born(1955-03-20)March 20, 1955
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 3, 2018(2018-11-03) (aged 63)
OccupationTeacher
Known forChess author
Linguistics author
TitleFIDE Master (2003)
Peak rating2370 (July 1986)
Websitewww.ericschiller.com

Eric Schiller (March 20, 1955 – November 3, 2018) was an American chess player, trainer, arbiter and one of the most prolific authors of books on chess in the 20th century.

Early life and education

Schiller was born in New York City. He attended Guggenheim Elementary, Sousa Jr. High School and later Paul D. Schreiber High School. He graduated from the University of Chicago 1976, later teaching both there and at Wayne State University. In 1991, he earned his PhD in linguistics from the University of Chicago.

After his undergraduate years, Schiller turned to music performance and founded a music group called the "Long Island Sound Ensemble" and studied conducting in Vienna, Salzburg and Hancock, Maine. He was a frequent attendant at NY Philharmonic rehearsals until 1981.

Chess career

In 1974, Schiller was the Illinois Junior Champion. Schiller played for the University of Chicago team several times at the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship. Schiller was the Hawaii action and blitz champion for 1988/89. He was an organizer of the Hawaii International chess festivals 1994–98, including 1998 US Open California Champion 1995. Later that year, he appeared as a chess advisor for the music group Phish on some of the stops for their "Chess Tour" where they played an ongoing game of two chess moves per tour stop and some "band vs. audience" partial games as part of their stage performance. Schiller was an arbiter at several notable games and championships including the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000. While Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparov opted not to participate in the event, they had both endorsed Schiller for this sensitive role during the planning stages.

Schiller was an International Arbiter and International Trainer.

Schiller organized several chess tournaments. He was often a news reporter, reporting on Chess Olympiads and World Chess Championship matches. Schiller was the arbiter for the Staunton Memorial tournament in London in 2005, 2007 and 2008, and the 2006 Gibtelecom International Chess Festival in Gibraltar.

As of July 2017, Schiller's FIDE Elo rating for chess at standard time controls was 1989. At his peak, his rating was 2370.

Chess author

Schiller wrote over 100 chess books, more than any other author of the genre in the 20th century except Fred Reinfeld and Raymond Keene. John L. Watson, who co-wrote three books with Schiller, considers some of Schiller's output to be well suited to its amateur audience. Watson wrote of Complete Defense to King Pawn Openings and Complete Defense to Queen Pawn Openings that "these books are explicitly aimed at the developing student, not the advanced player, and I think they both do a particularly good job of gently guiding an inexperienced player through a new opening. ... While Schiller probably deserves some of the criticism he gets, a consequence of writing too many books too quickly, he should also get credit when he does a good job." International Master Jeremy Silman wrote of Watson and Schiller's The Big Book of Busts, "I am forced to swallow my bigoted view of Schiller's work (or does this just validate my opinion of Watson?) and admit that this is a great book".

Schiller also worked as chess developer mainly developing teaching tools, like all the tutorials for computer software Kasparov's Gambit, chapters of the reference manual of the same game and developing teaching tools included in Chessmaster 5000.

Amongst Schiller's large output, some of his books have received poor reviews. Chess historian Edward Winter has criticized many of Schiller's earlier books for large numbers of spelling, factual and typographical errors, and even claimed plagiarism. Schiller's Unorthodox Chess Openings received a noted two-word review from Tony Miles in Kingpin: "Utter crap." Carsten Hansen wrote of Schiller's book on the Frankenstein–Dracula Variation of the Vienna Game that it was "by far the worst book that I have ever seen."

Career in linguistics

Schiller's PhD thesis was entitled "An autolexical account of subordinating serial verb phrase constructions". He was a published author in linguistics, specializing in Mon-Khmer languages. Schiller was a co-founder of the Southeast Asian Linguistic Society and was an officer of the Chicago Linguistic Society. He maintained a web page with a lengthy list of his linguistic publications at this URL.

Books by Schiller on linguistics include:

Personal life

Since 2008, Schiller experienced some health setbacks, including having his right hand and foot amputated due to complications from diabetes. Nonetheless, he remained active and ambulatory with the aid of a walker and taught chess at several elementary schools in and near Mountain View, California, in affiliation with Bay Area Chess, where he lived in the last years of his life. He offered chess tutoring over the Internet via videoconferencing. He died on November 3, 2018, from complications of cardiovascular disease.

Books on chess

References

  1. "Eric Schiller Chess Player Information". FIDE. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  2. ^ Schiller's daily news reports posted at Chessgames.com's Gibtelecom 2006 Tournament Page
  3. "The chess games of Eric Schiller". www.chessgames.com. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  4. John L. Watson and Schiller were the co-authors of The Big Book of Busts, Handbook of Tricky Opening Strategies, and Survive and Beat Annoying Chess Openings Vol. 1 (Open Games). See "Books" section above.
  5. Book Reviews by IM John L Watson #9 Archived 2008-10-11 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2008-12-29.
  6. Jeremy Silman, Review of The Big Book of Busts Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine. jeremysilman.com. Retrieved on 2009-02-17.
  7. Schiller, Eric. Eric Schiller's Chess from Eric Schiller website . Retrieved on September 19, 2012.
  8. Schiller, Eric. Opinions on Kasparovs Gambit program?. Answer to group rec.games.chess.computer. Retrieved on September 19, 2012.
  9. Edward Winter, A Sorry Case (1999). Retrieved on 2008-12-29.
  10. Edward Winter, World Champion Combinations (1998). Retrieved on 2008-12-29.
  11. Edward Winter, Chess Explorations (18). ChessBase.com. Retrieved on 2009-03-17.
  12. Edward Winter, Copying. Retrieved on 2008-12-29.
  13. Tony Miles: 'It's Only Me': England's First Chess Grandmaster, Geoff Lawton (compiler), Batsford, 2003, p. 261. ISBN 0-7134-8809-3.
  14. "Home". Chess.co.uk. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  15. Checkpoint August 2000. Retrieved on 2009-02-11.
  16. Encyclopedia of Languages and Linguistics, Oxford: Pergamon, entries on Khmer, Mon-Khmer and Austric.
  17. Publications in linguistics by Schiller, organized by topic 2008-11-07
  18. "SEALS history". Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society. jseals.org. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  19. Shahade, Jennifer (November 5, 2018). "Eric Schiller Dies at 63: "Will be Remembered for His Love of Chess"". US Chess.org. Retrieved June 29, 2020.

External links

Categories: