Carl Schlechter (2 March 1874 – 27 December 1918) was a leading Austro-Hungarian chess master and theoretician at the turn of the 20th century.

Schlechter's final years were strugglesome as it was becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet as a chess professional.

[7] The Carl Schlechter–Arthur Kaufmann–Hugo Fähndrich trio propagated the Viennese chess school, founded by Max Weiss in the 19th century.

Published in eleven parts between 1912 and 1916, it totaled 1,040 pages and included contributions by Rudolf Spielmann, Siegbert Tarrasch, and Richard Teichmann.

International Master William Hartston called it "a superb work, perhaps the last to encase successfully the whole of chess knowledge within a single volume.

If his opponent arrived late for a game, Schlechter would inconspicuously subtract an equal amount of time from his own clock.