Curt von Bardeleben
Curt von Bardeleben (
1861-
1924) was a
count and a
German chess master who committed
suicide by jumping out of a window in
1924. His life and death were the basis for that of the main character in the novel
The Defense by
Vladimir Nabokov.
He is perhaps best known for the game he lost to the former world champion Wilhelm Steinitz at the Hastings tournament of 1895.