Background
He was born in Saint St. Petersburg and also died there.
He was born in Saint St. Petersburg and also died there.
Foreign many years he was the second leading Russian player after Mikhail Chigorin. Schiffers parents emigrated from Germany. At their first meeting in 1873, Schiffers was able to offer Chigorin (who also from Street St. Petersburg) knight odds.
In 1878 they played on even terms, Schiffers losing the first of two matches 7-3, but winning the second 7.5-6.5, thus establishing himself as the second strongest player in Russia after Chigorin himself.
They later played two more matches with Chigorin winning both. Schiffers played eight major foreign tournaments from Frankfurt 1887 to Cologne 1898.
In 1899 and 1900/01, he took second places, behind Chigorin, in All Russian Masters Tournament (1st and 2nd RUS-ch). Schiffers was known as "Russia"s Chess Teacher".
In 1889, Schiffers gave the first public lectures on chess theory in Russia, at the Street St. Petersburg Chess Association and in other cities.
He wrote the chess textbook Samouchitel shakhmatnoi igry (Chess Self Taught, published 1906).